Commentary on the Gospel of John (Continuation)

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

with them, both that "I must work the works of Him who sent me," and that "I am the light of the world," and since no one else taught such things except Jesus alone, and He frequently employed these expressions—from these things the blind man recognized that it was Jesus. As for the making of the clay ^A and the anointing of the eyes, he recognized them by touch; but the spitting he did not. For he did not know, and therefore because he did not know, he did not add it, so truthful was the man.

VERS. 12-16. *Then they said unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not. They bring to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.* ^B Since the Lord, when healing and performing a miracle, was accustomed to withdraw because He was averse to boastfulness, when the blind man was asked, "Where is he?", he says, "I know not," definitely speaking the truth in this as well. But they bring him to the Pharisees, in order that he might be questioned more diligently and exactly. Moreover, the evangelist noted that it was the Sabbath, so that their malice might be shown: how they seized an opportunity against Christ, and accused Him of violating the Sabbath, and by this means attempted to overshadow the miracle. For this reason they do not even ask him, "How did you receive your sight?" but, "How did He open your eyes?", through everything slandering the Lord because He had worked on the Sabbath, forcing the blind man to remember that He had made clay, namely on the Sabbath. But he, as if speaking to those who had already heard, neither remembers the name of Jesus nor what the Lord had said to him, but only, "He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see." For it was likely that the Pharisees had heard from those who brought him to them—who perhaps were accusing the Lord and saying, "Look at the sorts of things Jesus does on the Sabbath." ^C But it is worth seeing the boldness of the blind man, how he discourses fearlessly even with the Pharisees. For they had brought him so that, struck with fear, he might deny the healing. But he proclaims more clearly, "I have sight." "Then said some of the Pharisees"—but not all, only the more impudent—"This man is not of God." "But others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles?" Do you see many being softened by signs? Behold, these too were Pharisees and rulers, yet they are shamed by the sign and undertake his defense. "And there was a division among them." ^D This division had arisen earlier in the crowd: "for some said, He deceiveth the people; others said, Nay." But now it is also among the rulers.

and behold, many of the Pharisees, having separated themselves from the others, speak in support of the miracle. ^A Nevertheless, even if they were divided, they still stood up for Christ more slackly, and rather doubtfully and double-mindedly than firmly. For hear what they say: "How can a man that is a sinner do such signs?" See the slackness of this objection! See also the malice of those who were accusing Him. For they do not say, "This man is not from God, because He heals on the Sabbath," but, "Because He does not keep the Sabbath," mentioning not the benefit, but bringing up the violation of the day, over and over. Note, moreover, this: how the rulers are more sluggish than the crowd in regard to what is good. For behold, the crowd was divided in their opinions earlier, and not all spoke with one voice against Christ; ^B but the rulers later came to this praiseworthy division. For it is possible to be divided in a good way, as the Lord also says: "I came to send a sword upon the earth," meaning the division that is altogether for the sake of what is good and for piety.

VERS. 17-19. "They say to the blind man again: What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thy eyes? But he said, He is a prophet. The Jews did not therefore believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and had received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight, and asked them, saying: Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then doth he now see?" Who were they that were asking the blind man, "What sayest thou of him?" They were from the party of the well-disposed. For since they had said, "How can a man that is a sinner do such signs?" ^C in order that they might not appear to be speaking in His support to no purpose, they bring forward as a witness him who had received the benefit, so that through him who had felt the power, they might refute the slanderers. See, for they ask benevolently. For they did not say, "What sayest thou of him, because He made clay? Because He did not keep the Sabbath?" but they make mention of the miracle, "That He hath opened thy eyes," as if sharpening the one who was healed to say what was worthy on behalf of Christ. For they bring to his mind, and goad him, "That He hath opened thy eyes." He has benefited you, they say, and so you ought to proclaim Him. Therefore the blind man also confesses for the time being what he could, that He is not a sinner, but is from God. ^D "For He is a prophet," he says, even though "others were saying that He is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath." And yet, while Christ, by anointing the clay with one finger, seemed to be breaking the Sabbath, they themselves, by untying their animals on the Sabbath so that they may give them drink with their whole hand, seemed to be pious. Since He who was healing and working miracles was accustomed, because of His lack of vainglory, to withdraw from the place, the blind man being asked, "Where is He?" says, "I know not," speaking the truth in this also. "This division," etc.

COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN. — CHAP. IX.

The hard-hearted and disobedient ^A call the parents, wishing to render them perplexed and thus deny the blindness of their son. For since they could not stop the grateful mouth of the boy, they frighten the parents, expecting in this way to wound the miracle. They set them, therefore, in the midst, and make their inquiry with much anger, or rather with much malice. For they did not say, "This is your son who was once blind," but, "Whom you say," as if saying, "Whom you have made blind," sowing that rumor everywhere and inventing and lying. But, O wicked Pharisees, what father would force himself to tell such lies against his own son? With two narrow straits they press them, and force them to deny their son, both by saying, "Whom you say," and by, "How then does he see now?" Do you see that they present this as a sign that the parents in their previous account—I mean, that the boy was blind—were lying, namely, that he sees later? "For this," they say, "is false, that he sees now, or that is false, that he was blind." But surely this is true, for he sees; therefore, that which you heralded is a lie, that he was blind before. ^B

VERS. 20-23. "His parents answered them and said: We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind. But how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know: he has age, ask him, he himself shall speak about himself." His parents said these things because they feared the Jews. For the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Him to be Christ, he would be cast out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, "He has age, ask him." The Pharisees had put three ^C questions to the parents of the blind man: whether he was their son, whether he was born blind, and how he recovered his sight. And they indeed confess two things: that he is their son and that he was blind; but, being ignorant of the manner of the healing, they do not add it. And this happens altogether so that the confession of the truth might become firmer, so that he himself, having experienced the benefit and being more worthy of belief, might testify to these things, just as his parents say, "He has age." For is he an infant, or senseless, so as not to understand how he was healed? "But his parents said such things," fearing the Pharisees: so much were they still unpracticed and more ignoble than the boy. For he remained an unshaken witness of the truth: so illuminated were his mental eyes as well. ^D

VERS. 24-29. "They called therefore the man who had been blind a second time, and said to him: Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner." He answered therefore and said: "If he is a sinner, I know not: one thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see." They said to him again: "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" He answered them: "I have told you already, and you have not heard; why do you wish to hear it again? Do you also wish to become his disciples?" They heaped insults upon him then, and said: "You be his disciple,

^B but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses; but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from." ^C Since the parents had urged that their son be questioned, the calumniators proceed to do so—and they do not bring him forward in order to ask him questions, but rather to provide a pretext for slandering the one who healed him. For "Give glory to God" ^D signifies: "Confess," they say, "that Jesus did nothing for me," since they imagine that it is giving glory to God to testify nothing good about Jesus. "For we know," they say, "that he is a sinner." How then did you not convict him when he challenged you, saying, "Who among you convicts me of sin?" But the blind man says, "If he is a sinner, I do not know"—that is, "I am not examining this now, nor am I making a pronouncement; this much, however, I know clearly: that he performed a miracle upon me. Let him, therefore, consider the matter itself, and let him deliver his verdict concerning it." Then, because they were again asking him, "What did he do to you?"—on account of the smearing of clay that had taken place on the Sabbath, they were laying a snare for the Savior—the man perceived that they were asking questions not in order to learn, but to lay a snare, and he answers them more sharply: "I do not deem you worthy of a word any longer," he says, "for how many times have I told you, and you have not paid attention?" Then he adds what was able to sting them most of all: "Do you also wish to become his disciples?" He indicates, therefore, that he himself wishes to be his disciple; but mocking them and deriding them, he says these things quietly, as one of a spirit that is uninhibited and undaunted, and one not terrified by their madness. But they, in order to insult him, said, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses." But they appear to be lying in this. For if they had been disciples of Moses, they would also have been disciples of Christ, just as He himself said to them: "If you believed Moses, you would believe me." And they did not say, "We have heard," but "We know that God has spoken to Moses," ^A even though they had heard it from their parents; they claimed to have exact knowledge regarding things they had received by hearsay, yet the one whom they had seen with their own eyes performing miracles, and whom they had heard speaking divine and heavenly words, they called an impostor. Do you see stupidity manufactured out of malice?

VERS. 30-33. "The man answered and said to them: 'Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He listens to him. Since the world began it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of one born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.'" You, he says, O Jews, reject the one who healed me, as if you do not know ^B where he comes from; but I say that for this reason he is even more marvelous, because a man who is not from among the notables or the honored among you is able to do such things. And thus it is manifest from every side that he is of a certain greater power, and does not require human assistance. Furthermore, ^C

Moreover, ^A since some of them had previously said, "How can a sinful man do such things?" he adopts their own judgment, and brings their own words to their remembrance. "For we know," he says, "that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, him He hears." Observe with me from this, how he not only exempts the Lord from sins, but also shows Him to be highly pleasing to God and doing all things that pertain to Him, in saying: "But if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will." ^B Then, since he knew that they wished to overshadow the miracle, he himself, full of much wisdom, proclaims the benefaction: "For if this man were not from God, he could not have done such a miracle, such as no one has done from the beginning." For the eyes of blind men may perchance have been opened, but they were not blind from birth, but by some other affliction; but this is the strange thing which has now happened. It is evident, therefore, that he who has performed so great a miracle is greater than a man. But some raise a frigid and sophistical question. "How," they say, "did he say that 'God does not hear sinners'? And yet He hears those praying that their sins might be forgiven; for He is loving to mankind. What then is it," they say, "which he says here, that 'God does not hear sinners'?" It would have been better not to respond to such things at all; nevertheless, it must be said that God's not hearing sinners means that God does not grant to sinners the performance of signs. For the Spirit of God will not dwell in a body subject to sins. However, He does hear those asking for the forgiveness of sins truly and from the heart, not as sinners, but as penitents. For as soon as they ask for forgiveness, they are transferred from the order of sinners into the order of the penitent. It is therefore reasonably said that "God does not hear sinners." For He does not give the grace of signs to sinners. For how could He, whom He also hates if they should ask for anything of such a kind, as those who attribute to themselves things that in no way befit them? And even though He hears those asking for forgiveness, He does not hear them as sinners, but as penitents. ^C But consider how he said, "If anyone is a worshiper of God," and immediately added, "and does His will." For many are indeed worshipers of God, but do not do the will of God. It is necessary that both be present, the worship of God and the fulfillment of the divine will, that is, faith and works, or, as Paul names it, "faith and a good conscience," or to say it more briefly, theory and practice. For then does faith truly live, when it has works well-pleasing to God, from which a good conscience is born, just as a bad conscience is born from evil works; and again, works then live, when they have faith, but separated from one another, they are dead; as it has been said: "Faith without works is dead," and works without faith are dead. ^D See also how truth grants the beggar boldness to speak

^A to those among the Jews who are great and honored; such is the great power of this, just as it is for the constraint and lack of boldness that belongs to falsehood.

"They answered and said to him: You were born entirely in sin, and do you teach us? And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and finding him, he said to him: Do you believe in the Son of God? He answered and said: Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him? And Jesus said to him: You have both seen him, and he who is speaking with you is he. And he said: I believe, Lord; and he worshipped him."

As long as they expected the man to speak things pleasing to them, they would call him and question him, and this they did frequently. But when they realized from his answers that he did not favor their own views, but rather favored the truth, they despised him as one born in sin; foolishly and entirely attributing his blindness to him, and thinking that he was, as it were, cursed, and condemned before birth so that he would be born blind—a notion which lacked any reason. They cast him out of the temple as a confessor of the truth, these sons of falsehood. But see the profit: ^B he was cast out of the temple, and immediately he found the Lord of the temple. He was despised in their opinion for Christ's sake, and he was honored by the recognition of the Son of God. For Jesus, he says, found him, coming for this purpose as if on purpose, in order to console him, just as an umpire receives an athlete who has labored much and been crowned.

And what does He say? "Do you believe in the Son of God?" What is this? After such great contradiction with the Jews, after so many words, does He ask, "Do you believe?" He does not do this out of ignorance, but wishing to make Himself known to the blind man. For since he had not seen Him at all, not even after his healing (for how could he, being dragged hither and thither by the worst of dogs, the Jews?), for this reason He now questions him, so that when he asked, "And who is the Son of God?" He might consequentially reveal Himself. At the same time, He also reveals to him that He highly values his faith, saying, as it were: A crowd of such size has insulted me, yet I have no concern for them; I care for one thing only, that you believe.

And he said: "And who is he, Lord, the Son of God?" ^C He spoke the word of a longing soul. And He: "You have both seen him," He says, "and he who is speaking with you, he is the one." He did not say, "I am the one who healed you, who said to you, Go, wash," but He spoke with restraint at first, and obscurely, "You have both seen him," and then more clearly, "And he who is speaking with you, he is the one." The Lord seems to have spoken the words, "You have seen him," on purpose, so that He might bring him entirely into the memory of his healing, and that he received from Him the power of sight. And he immediately believes, and displays the work of a fervent and true faith, worshipping, and confirming his word by his deed, and [showing] that he is glorifying ^D Christ as God. For it is cautioned by the law that worship is to be rendered to God alone. Understand, however, that this miracle is also fulfilled spiritually. For he was indeed blind in every...

way—either ^A every man from birth, that is, from being under generation, to which corruption is altogether joined (for from the time we were condemned to mortality, and sentenced to grow through passionate generation, from then on a thick cloud, and perhaps a 'garment of skin,' as the sacred Oracles say, was poured over the eyes of our mind)—or even the people of the Gentiles. For this people also was blind from birth, just as the Greeks were, having been blinded because they deified things subject to generation and corruption, according to the saying: "Their foolish heart was darkened." Such also were the Magi among the Persians, who spent their lives on birth and the prediction of the future. Jesus saw this blind man, therefore (whether we mean simply every man, or the Gentile people). For since he was unable to see the Creator, He ^B Himself "visited us, the sunrise from on high, through the tender mercy." But how did He see him? "Passing by," that is, not remaining in heaven, but coming forth by the method of self-emptying, and having looked down from heaven according to the prophet, and seen all the sons of men. And in another way: "Passing by," He saw the Gentile people, that is, He did not come to them primarily; for He came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then, as if in passing on the road, He made a visitation of that people who were sitting entirely in the darkness of total ignorance. How, then, does He heal the blindness? By spitting on the ground and making clay. For whoever believes that the Word, like a ^C drop falling upon the earth, descended into the holy Virgin, this person's spiritual eyes shall be anointed with the clay made from the spittle and the earth—that is, by the one Christ, who is from Godhead (of which the drop and the spittle are a symbol) and manhood (of which the earth, from which the Lord's body is taken, is a symbol). Does the healing, then, stop at belief? By no means; but one must also go to Siloam, the fountain of baptism, and be baptized into the One who was sent, that is, Christ. For as many of us as have been baptized spiritually, have been baptized into Christ. But one will also encounter temptations after one is baptized. For he will, perhaps, be led before kings and governors for the sake of Christ, ^D who healed him. It is necessary, therefore, to hold firmly and to stand unshakably in the confession, not denying Him through fear, but even if it should be required, to become cast out and expelled from the synagogue, according to the saying: "You will be hated by all for my name's sake, and they will put you out of the synagogues." And even if men cast out the confessor, hating the truth, and persecute him regarding those things that are sacred and precious to them—I mean riches and glory—Jesus will find him, and he will be honored by Christ even more so then, when he has been dishonored by his enemies, through acknowledgment and a more accurate faith. For he will then worship Christ all the more, appearing as a man, yet who is also the Son of God. For the Son of God is not one person and the Son of Mary another (for such is the impiety of Nestorius), but one and the same is the Son of God and of man. For observe how the Lord, when the blind man says: "Who is the Son of God, that I may believe in Him?"

and Son of God incarnate. For the Son of God is not one [person] and He who was born of Mary another (for this is the impiety of Nestorius), but one and the same is the Son of God and of man. ^A For observe how the Lord, upon the formerly blind man’s asking, "And who is He, the Son of God, that I may believe in Him?", says, "You have both seen Him, and it is He who speaks with you." Who, then, was the one speaking? Was it not entirely He who was born of Mary? And the same is also the Son of God; therefore, He is not one [person] and another. Whence also, holy Mary is strictly the Theotokos, since she gave birth to the Son of God, who became flesh, existing indivisibly, and as one, the twofold [Being], who is Christ the Lord.

VERS. 39-41. "And Jesus said: For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind." And some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things, and said to Him: "Are we also blind?" Jesus said to them: "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see'; therefore your sin remains." ^B Since the Lord saw that the Pharisees were more offended than benefited by the miracle, and were on that account deserving of a greater condemnation, He says, as it seems and as the circumstances show: "For judgment I came," that is, for a greater condemnation and punishment, "that those who do not see may see, and those who see"—the Pharisees, namely—"may become blind" in the eyes of their soul. For behold, the one who did not see from birth now sees both in soul and body, while those who appear to see have been blinded in mind. For He speaks here of two sights and two blindnesses. But the Pharisees, who were always intent upon sensible things, thinking that He was speaking about a physical blindness, said, "Are we also blind?", being ashamed of this physical blindness alone. But the Lord, wishing to show them that it would be better for them to be blind in body than to be unbelieving, says: "If you were blind, you would have no sin." ^C For if you were blinded by the necessity of nature, a pardon would be granted to you for suffering from unbelief; but now, because you say that you see, and were clearly yourselves spectators of this miracle upon the blind man, and yet you still suffer from unbelief, you are not worthy of pardon. For your sin remains indelible, and you shall be punished more severely, inasmuch as you are not led to faith by the wonders which you see. Perhaps one might also understand the passage, "If you were blind, you would have no sin," in this way: For you, He says, are asking about bodily blindness, as if you were ashamed only of this; but I am speaking of your blindness of soul, that "if you were blind," that is, unlearned in the Scriptures, you would not have such sin, because you would be sinning out of ignorance; ^D but now you say that you see, and you make yourselves out to be wise and learned in the Law, so that you are self-condemned and have greater sin, because you sin knowingly.

CAPUT X. OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD AND THE HIRELING. HOW JESUS WAS QUESTIONED IN THE PORTICO, WHILE HE WAS WALKING.

VERS. 1-5. "Amen, amen, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up another way..."

he is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he has sent out his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice. But a stranger they will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers."

Since He has reproached them with unbelief, saying that they are "blind in soul" because of the disease of their unbelief, so that they might not be able to say, "We do not turn away as if we were blind, but we flee from You as a seducer," for this reason He now speaks at length on this matter. And what does He do? He sets forth the marks of the true shepherd and of the wolf and destroyer, and in this way He proves Himself to be on the side of the good, taking testimony from His works. And first, He sets forth the marks of the pernicious one. For he, He says, does not enter by the door, that is, through the Scriptures; for he does not use the Scriptures as witnesses, nor the ^A prophets. For the Scriptures are in truth the door, through which we are brought to God. These do not allow wolves to enter; for they hinder heretics, keeping us in safety, and providing answers concerning everything we might wish. Therefore, he who does not enter the sheepfold through the Scriptures, in order to provide for the sheep, but climbs up from another place—that is, cutting for himself another and unusual path, just as Theudas and Judas, who before the time of Christ led the people astray, ruined them and perished themselves—is a thief. Such will also be the little Antichrist. For there is no testimony for them from the Scriptures. ^B Moreover, He also notes the Scribes. For they made light of the commands of the Law, while they diligently taught the commands of men and traditions. Aptly, then, He says, "He who climbs up," which refers to the thief who leaps over the fence and does everything dangerously. Have you seen the marks of the robber? See also those of the shepherd. For the shepherd enters through the Scriptures, and to him the gatekeeper opens. Consider the gatekeeper to be Moses (for to him the oracles of God were entrusted; and Moses opened to the Lord, having spoken in every way of Him, as the Lord Himself says: "If you believed Moses, you would believe Me"), or the Holy Spirit is the gatekeeper. For, because in the Holy Spirit the Scriptures ^C are understood and opened, which show us Christ, the Holy Spirit is rightly called the gatekeeper, in whom, as the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge, the Scriptures are opened, through which the Lord enters for our care, and through which the shepherd is shown. "And the sheep hear His voice." For because they often called Him a deceiver, and confirmed this from their own unbelief, saying, "Does any one of the rulers believe in Him?" Christ shows that He ought not to be considered a harmful person just because they do not ^D believe in Him; rather, He shows that they provide evidence of their own disbelief, saying, "Shall any of the rulers believe in Him?" Christ shows that He ought not to be considered a harmful person because they [the rulers] do not...

believe, but rather that ^B they themselves are to be cast out from the order of the sheep. For "I," he says, "entering through the door, it is manifest that I am truly the shepherd; but you, who have not followed, seem not to be sheep." And from where does He lead out His own sheep, if not from the midst of the unbelievers, just as He led the blind man from the midst of the Jews, who also heard Him and recognized Him? He also walks ahead of the sheep, although the opposite happens with bodily shepherds; for they walk behind. But here He shows that He will lead all to the truth, since He also sends the disciples as sheep into the midst of wolves; thus, therefore, is Christ's pastoral care more novel. "And they will not follow a stranger, for they do not know the voice of strangers." Here, too, He definitely alludes to those around Theudas and Judas, whom the sheep did not follow. For a few were stolen away, and these, after their death, also fell away; but the whole world followed Christ, both when He was living and especially when He had passed on. He also alludes to the Antichrist; for he, too, having led astray for a short time, will not have those who follow him after his own destruction. For as to that, "They will not follow," ^C this implies that after the death of those who lead astray, there will not be anyone paying heed or following them. The door is the Scripture, but the Lord leads the sheep out to pasture through this door. And what is the fodder? Either future delights, or the rest into which the Lord brings us. Although He also calls Himself the door in another place, it is not to be wondered at. For when He wishes to show His care for us, He calls Himself a shepherd; but when He wishes to show that He is the one who leads to the Father, then He calls Himself the door; because the same One is both sheep and shepherd according to one sense or another. Furthermore, if the words of the divine Scriptures are the door, and the Lord Himself is said to be the Word, He is deservedly also called the door.

VERSES 6-8. "This proverb Jesus spoke to them; but they did not understand what it was that He was speaking to them. Then Jesus said to them again: Amen, amen I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them."

^A. Moreover, the statement, 'The sheep did not hear them,' He spoke in commendation; for nowhere does He appear to commend those who disregarded the prophets, but on the contrary, He censures and accuses them vehemently. Furthermore, attend closely to the precision of the word: 'Whoever came,' He says, not, 'Whoever were sent.' For the prophets came having been sent, but the false prophets, such as the aforementioned seditious ones, came with no one having sent them, for the subversion of those being deceived, just as God also says: 'I did not send them, yet they ran.'

'I am the door; if anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out, and will find pasture.' ^B He who enters, He says, through me, the door, and having been brought to the Father, and having become His sheep, will be saved; and not only will he be saved, but also, as a Lord and Master, he will have great freedom from fear; for this is what He means by saying: 'And he will go in and go out,' just as the apostles also went in and went out, speaking boldly before tyrants, and upon going out, they were joyful and unconquered. 'And he will find pasture,' He says, that is, abundant food. And in another way: Since our man is twofold, called both inner and outer by Paul, he would be said to enter who occupies himself with the care of the inner man; and to go out again, is he who 'mortifies the members that are upon the earth' and the works of the body in Christ. Such a one, therefore, ^C will also 'find pasture' in the age to come, according to what the prophet says: 'The Lord shepherds me, and nothing shall be lacking to me,' and so on.

'The thief does not come, except to steal, and to slay, and to destroy. I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his soul for the sheep; but the hireling, and he who is not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees, and the wolf snatches them, and scatters the sheep. But the hireling flees because he is a hireling, and is not concerned about the sheep.' Since those who were led astray by Theudas, and Judas, and the other apostates, were slaughtered and perished, for this reason He added, saying: 'The thief does not come, except to steal and to slay and to destroy,' ^D calling them and those like them thieves. 'But I,' He says, 'came that they might have life.' They were slaughtering and destroying those who followed them; 'I came that they might live, and might have something more,' the participation of the Holy Spirit, which also one must understand to be the kingdom of heaven. All then have life in Christ. 'For all shall rise,' and shall live, but the righteous have also something more, the kingdom of heaven. Thereafter He also discourses concerning the passion, and says that 'I lay down my soul for the sheep,' showing that He approaches the passion not unwillingly, but willingly. For 'I lay down' signifies: No one snatches it from me, but I lay it down myself. He notes in

^A this place also the seditious often mentioned. They, He says, did not lay down their soul for the sheep, but abandoned those who followed them; for they were hirelings. But the Lord Himself is the opposite. When He was arrested, He said: "If therefore you seek me, let these go their way, that the word might be fulfilled, that 'Of those whom thou hast given me I have lost not one.'" And this, even though the Jews were attacking in such a manner that wolves could not be more savage; for with swords, He says, and clubs they came to seize Him.

It is possible here to understand by the wolf the spiritual enemy, whom the Scripture also names a lion, and a scorpion, and a serpent, which is said to snatch a sheep when it makes someone its food through an evil action; and to scatter, when it confuses the soul through evil thoughts; who also might deservedly be called a thief, stealing through evil thoughts, slaughtering through consent, and destroying through action. ^B For the thought of wickedness is compared to theft, but the consent to evil concupiscence to diabolical slaughter, and the evil work to destruction. And this is perhaps what is signified by that: "The thief comes not but that he may steal, and slaughter, and destroy." For the Lord does the opposite of what that thief does. He gives divine life, sanctifying us and our thoughts through the arrival of good desires, and our bodies through good works; and He gives something even more abundant, that we might also be able to be of benefit to others through the gift of teaching, and indeed He rewards us with the kingdom of heaven as a certain superabundant honor. This, therefore, is the good shepherd, but not a hireling, like the rulers of the Jews, who were neglectful of the people and looked only to receive wages from them. For they did not seek ^C the benefit of the people, but base gain from them.

VERS. 14-16. "I am the good shepherd, and I know mine, and mine know me. As the Father knows me, and I know the Father: and I lay down my life for my sheep. And other sheep I have, that are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd."

From this point you may discern the difference between the shepherd and the hireling. For the hireling, indeed, does not know the sheep, which happens because he does not visit them often; for if he were to visit them often, he would know them. But the shepherd, such as the Lord, knows His own ^D sheep, because He takes care of them, and is in turn known by those whom He deems worthy of His visitation, as they recognize their own guardian through intimacy. Observe, however, that He first recognizes us, and then we recognize Him, and it is not otherwise possible to know God, unless we should first be recognized by Him. For indeed, He first made Himself familiar to us by having become man in the flesh; then we were made familiar to Him, having received the grace by which we are deified. Wishing to show that the unbelievers are destitute of being recognized by God, because they are not truly sheep, [next page continues...]

^A he said: "And I know my own, and am known by my own," according to that which is written: "The Lord knoweth them that are His." But lest anyone should think that He knew them as a man knows, He added, saying: "As the Father knoweth Me, and I know the Father." For in this way, He says, I understand Him as accurately as He understands Me. Constantly, moreover, He sets forth this: "I lay down My life for the sheep," signifying that He is not a deceiver. For to say, "I am the Light and the Life," seemed to the foolish to be boastful; but to say, "I am willing to die," has no malice in it, but rather reveals a great concern, inasmuch as He was willing to offer Himself for those who were stoning Him.

Having said, "And other sheep I have," He speaks about the Gentiles: "They are not of this fold," which is under the Law; for the nations are not enclosed by the Law. "And them also I must bring; for they are scattered, and they, like these, have no shepherd." For even those among the Jews who were of sound mind, and more inclined to believe, were without a shepherd, and the Gentiles were so far more. It is necessary, therefore, to gather those from the Gentiles, just as those also from the Jews. And the word "must" does not here signify necessity, but is an indication of an outcome that will definitely come to pass. ^B "And there shall be one fold and one shepherd." "For in Christ Jesus there is neither Greek nor Jew," nor any difference; for there is one character for all, one seal of baptism, one shepherd, the Word of God and God. Let the Manichaeans be ashamed, who reject the Old Testament; let them hear that there is one fold and one shepherd: for the same God is of the Old and of the New.

"Therefore My Father loveth Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of My Father." A dissension, therefore, arose again among the Jews because of these words. And many of them said: "He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye Him?" Others said: "These words are not of one that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?" ^C Since they called Him a stranger to the Father, and a deceiver, and a destroyer, and not the Savior of souls, He shows by what He says that, "I am not a destroyer of you, but am ready to endure all things for your sake; and if for no other reason, yet at least because God so loves you that I too am loved by Him for this reason, because I die for you. How, then, should I deceive you, whom I know to be beloved by God? And would I not rather strive to die for you, so that if for no other reason, at least for this, I might be loved the more by My Father?" But He says these things, which are so humble, by way of condescension, because the hearers could not receive Him speaking high things about Himself; ^D since, if the saying were to be considered otherwise, it would seem absurd. For why, then, in the former time

^A was He not loved, but now the Father has begun to love, and the death for us has become to Him the cause of this? It is not so; but, as I said, He speaks these things in condescension. One might also say this, that since the love of God and the Father toward us was confessed, and God and the Father saw that His Son also manifested the same goodness toward us—so that He was willing to die for us, and was accurately preserving the characters of the Father’s goodness—He loved Him deservedly, not as one bestowing love upon the Son as some sort of wages for the death on our behalf, but seeing the genuineness of His own essence in the Son, and being called to this, as it were, by certain necessary and inevitable bonds of nature. For did not the Son manifest a work of great love toward us, dying ignominiously for our sake, and not only dying, but taking up His soul again, that He might put death to death and procure immortality for us through the resurrection? This, therefore, He signifies when He says, "The Father loves me," because I die for you: as if the Father exults and rejoices that the Son is like Him and preserves the characters of His own charity toward men.

But as for what He says, "No one takes my soul from me," He says this on account of those who were plotting His death. For you, He says, thirst for my blood; but know well that no one will prevail against me if I am unwilling. ^B Furthermore, that no one might think that He dies as a servant and minister under command from another, and yielding to Him, He says: I have the power of my own death, as Lord of death. Therefore, He says, "I have power to lay down my soul," even though each of you has the power to lay down his own soul. For it is possible for anyone who wills it to kill himself; but the Lord is not speaking of that kind of way, but that no one could do this to me against my will—a thing which does not happen in the case of men. For we are even killed by others against our will; but Christ would never have suffered against His will, for the reason that He was not otherwise subject to death except as He willed it. He has also what is greater, that He takes His soul again. And He says that He received this command from the Father, to die for the world. To such an extent, He says, am I not an adversary to God, that even this very thing, to die, has been commanded to me by the Father.

Having spoken first what is sublime, "I have power to take my soul," for this shows Him to be Lord of death and the author ^C of life, He again places the humble [expression], "This commandment I have received from my Father." Thus He weaves both together so wonderfully: both that He may not be thought inferior and a servant of the Father, and that He may not be thought an adversary, but as having the same power and the same will. Immediately, then, He profited many of the hearers by saying such things, so that even a schism resulted. For some, since the utterances seemed to them enigmatic, thought He was possessed by a demon, speaking things that were unintelligible; but others, who understood them ^D moderately, said, these words are not those of one who is possessed by a demon. Moreover, because they could not refute them with words; for since the well-disposed did not sufficiently grasp those things which were spoken by the Lord, nor did they...

persuade them, they attempted to plead for Christ by means of facts, and they say ^A that, "These words are not of one possessed by a demon." But whence is this clear? From the works. "Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" Since, therefore, the work is divine, the words also were such. Why, then, does Christ answer nothing to those who said that He was possessed by a demon? Because there were those sufficient to refute them, and more credible ones who opposed them and rendered a defense on His behalf. Therefore, since they disagreed among themselves, what further need was there to contradict those who were accusing, especially since they were not going to have faith even in this way?

^B VERS. 22-26. "And it was the Dedication at Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him, and said to Him, 'How long do you keep our soul in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.' Jesus answered them: 'I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I told you.'" What Dedication happened in Jerusalem? Some say that on the day the temple was built by Solomon, they celebrated the Dedication on that same day. But others do not say this, but say that the Evangelist speaks of the Dedication of the temple ^C after the captivity. They celebrated a brilliant and public feast. For as if the city had recovered its own ornament after that long captivity, they made the day of the Dedication a joyful one. In this feast, therefore, Jesus was also present; for from now on He frequented Judea more constantly, since the Passion was at the doors. For winter had set in, after which winter the Lord suffered in the first month of spring. And for this reason, the Evangelist noted the time, showing that the time of the Passion was near, and for this reason the Lord was staying in Jerusalem. "Then the Jews surrounded Him;" and in appearance, indeed, they ask from a certain desire and love of learning that He might tell them if He himself is the Christ, but in truth the questioning proceeded from a curious and corrupted mind. For while the ^D works proclaimed Him to be the Christ, they sought to learn from words; which is more the act of those mocking and jeering. But altogether the questioning is full of great ingratitude, and it shows the wickedness of their mind. "Tell us," they say, "plainly." And yet He said things plainly in many places, and by frequenting the feasts, and speaking nothing in secret, and naming Himself the Son of God, and the Light, and the Way, and the Door, and bringing forward Moses as a witness. Therefore, the Lord rebuking them, as those speaking from a wicked disposition, "I told you," He says, "often, and you do not believe." And otherwise, why do you pretend that you are persuaded by a bare word? "The works that I do, not as an adversary of God, but in the name of My Father, you do not receive, and how will you believe bare words? For altogether the greater power is

for persuasion resides in works than in words. ^A And those of them who were more sensible said: "Can a sinful man do such signs?" For this reason, He says, "You do not believe me, because you are not of My sheep." For I, indeed, as a good shepherd, have done what ought to have been done; but if you do not follow, it is not I who am unworthy of the shepherd's calling, but you who are unworthy of the sheep's. Do you also give diligence, while it is winter—I mean the present life, which is always troubled by the spirits of wickedness—to celebrate the dedication of your spiritual temple, becoming always new, and ^B "placing ascents in your heart." For then Jesus will also be present with you, celebrating together the feast of these dedications in the porch of Solomon, guarding you with His protection, and making you peaceful from the passions. For He Himself is the peaceful Solomon. Whoever, therefore, dwells in the protection of Christ the peaceful, has the Lord also celebrating with him the feast of the soul's dedication as long as the winter of this life lasts. For the future age is spring, in which all things revive and receive regeneration, in which no one can renew the soul; for all such things are concluded in the present age. ^C

VERS. 27-30. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give them eternal life, and they shall not perish forever, and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who gave them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and the Father are one." Since He had said to them, "You are not of My sheep," He now exhorts them to become sheep. Therefore He also adds, saying, "My sheep hear My voice, and they follow Me." Then, inciting them, He tells them what they shall obtain by following Him. "For I give," He says, "them eternal life, and they shall not perish forever," and so forth. And altogether, by these words, He stirs them up and injects zeal and desire to follow Him, since He bestows such things. And why does He say, "They shall not perish"? Because "no one can snatch them out of My hand," because "My Father, who gave them to Me," is the greatest of all, and out of His hand no one can snatch them, and so "not out of My hand." For My hand and the Father's is one. "For I and the Father are one," according to power, that is, and strength; for by 'hand' He means power and strength. ^D Therefore, "I and the Father are one" according to substance, and nature, and majesty. Which the Jews also, having understood, that He was making Himself consubstantial with God by these words, wanted to stone Him, as one who was making Himself the Son of God. But someone might ask: How did the Lord say, "No one shall snatch them out of My Father's hand," when we see, however, many perishing? It must be said that to snatch indeed

by force and tyranny, no one has the power to do from God, but we are tripped up daily by deception. How then ^A does He say, "My sheep follow me, and they shall never perish"? For we see that Judas perished. But he perished for this reason, because he did not follow, nor did he remain a sheep until the end. Christ, however, is speaking about those who have followed Him and are sheep, when He says, "They shall never perish," since if anyone falls away from the order of the sheep, and from following the Shepherd, he immediately perishes. You may use this event concerning Judas as an example against the Manichaeans. For indeed, even he, being holy and a sheep of God, fell away, since he was obviously changeable of will and fell by his own choice. Therefore, evils and goods do not exist by nature, but are both constituted and resolved by choice.

VERS. 31-36.

^A to save, and not that of a man deified by grace. If, therefore, those to whom the word of God came—that is, I, for I am the Word of God—and having dwelt in them, granted them adoption; if, then, they are gods, much more would I be outside of every culpability, calling myself God, who am also such by nature, and who grant this to others. Let the Arians and Nestorians be confounded by this. For Christ is indeed the Son of God, and God in substance and nature, and not a creature; and he grants divinity to others to whom he, being the Word of God, may come, but he himself is not deified by grace. For he clearly distinguishes himself from those who are deified by grace through the things here spoken, and shows that he is even to them the cause of deification, being the Word of God and dwelling in them. For this is what he signifies by saying, "To whom the word of God came," that is, with whom he came, in whom he dwelt. How then do I blaspheme, saying that I am the Son of God? For even if I bear flesh and am from the seed of David, yet you are ignorant of the mystery, and that the carnal nature of men could not otherwise have received intimacy with God, unless he had communed through flesh, as if in a veil.

^B "If I do not the works of my Father, do not believe me; but if I do, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in him." Do you wish, he says, to know the equality with the Father? You cannot know it from the substance, for it is impossible to know the substance of God; but receive from the equality and identity of the works a proof of the identity according to power. For from these you will have the testimony of my divinity, and you will know and believe that I am nothing else than what the Father is. ^C For I have the same substance, remaining Son, and differing in hypostasis. Likewise the Father, remaining Father and differing in hypostasis, is nothing else but Son, according to substance, that is, and nature. But although we differ by hypostases, yet the hypostases are not separated and divided, but the Father and the Son are in each other without confusion. For it is not as among us the father is separated from the son, although they are one by nature; so also it is not thus in the divine persons, but they are in each other without confusion. Therefore we are called three men, as being separated by subsistence and not strictly existing as one. But in the divine Triad there is one God, and not three gods, because of the unconfused ^D circumincession of the persons in each other; add also the same counsel and the same will.

"They sought therefore again to seize him, and he escaped from their hand, and went away again beyond the Jordan into the place where John was at the first baptizing, and he remained there. And many came to him and said, John indeed did no sign; but all things which John said about this man were true. And many believed in him there." They indeed seek to seize the Lord, not bearing the sublime testimony concerning himself.

ENARRATIO IN EVANGELIUM JOANNIS. — CAP. XI.

^A nor did they bear his more sublime theology. But he himself withdraws, yielding to their fury, and by his absence making their disease of anger subside. He withdraws even against their will, showing, as we have often said, that he would not have been caught on the cross had he not delivered himself up willingly. And where does he withdraw? "Across the Jordan, where John was baptizing." Nor is it without reason that he withdrew thither, but [it is for the purpose of] reminding the many of what had been done and said there by John concerning him. And that his stay in that place benefited many, the evangelist adds, saying: "And many came to him, and remembering the place, they said, John performed no sign." What he says is of this sort: If we believed that man who performed no sign, how much more [shall we believe] this one who has wrought so many and such great miracles? Since John had indeed testified concerning Christ, but performed no sign, and for this reason perhaps might have been thought not worthy of belief, he adds, saying: "But all that John said about this man was true," not further affirming this one by that one, but demonstrating that one to be worthy of belief by the things which Christ did. Therefore, "Many," he says, "believed there." And by saying "there," he signifies that that place benefited them greatly; since for this very reason the Lord also ^B continually leads the crowds out into desert places, delivering them from the company of wicked men, so that he might the more benefit them: just as he also appears to have done under the Old Law. For having led them out of Egypt, he prepared and fashioned a people for himself in the desert, giving the law to them. But note also the withdrawal of Christ which is accomplished spiritually. For he withdraws from Jerusalem, that is, from the Jewish people; but he crosses over to a place having fountains, namely, the Church from the Gentiles, which has the fountains of baptism. And indeed many come to him, crossing the Jordan, and passing through by means of baptism. For "across the Jordan" ^C signifies this, the passage by means of baptism, I say. For no one comes to Jesus in any other way, and becomes a true believer, unless he passes through the baptism that is signified by the Jordan.

CAPUT XI.

VERS. 1-3. "Aetigrotabat autem quidam nomine Lazarus, Bethaniensis, a castello Mariae et Marthae et hujus sororis. Maria autem erat ea quae unxit Dominum unguento, et extersit pedes ejus capillis suis, cujus frater Lazarus aegrotabat. Miserunt ergo sorores ad eum, dicentes: Domine, ecce, quem amas aegrotat." Solus quidem Joannes hunc de Lazaro meminit historiae. Meminit autem, ut nos erudiat ne quis gravatim ferat, si boni et Deo amici viri morbo teneantur, quia et Lazarus cum esset amicus Christi, aegrotavit. Neque hoc ignorandum est, quod non erat ista Maria quae un-

unxerat Dominum unguento 73 meretrix apud Lucam vel Matthaeum; sed alia, non meretrix, honesta autem et religiosa et officiosa. Etenim diligenter ministrabat suscepto Christo, sicut Joannes testatur: quin et bonam partem elegisse testimonium habet, ut ait Lucas. Illæ autem claræ et admirabiles fuerunt sorores, ut et Lazarus ipse notior factus sit per eas. "Erat enim, inquit, Lazarus Bethaniensis a castello Mariæ et Marthæ." Quare autem mittentes accersunt Jesum, et non ipsæ veniunt, sicut centurio 74 et regius? Quia plurimum fidebant Christo, et quia mulieres erant, non oportebat eas ita facile e domo progredi, et quia in luctu erant, occupatæque circa fratrem. Nam quod hoc non fecerint ex contemptu, manifestum est ex his quæ sequuntur. Magnum enim honorem, et pietatem, et precum constantiam præ se ferunt. Dicentes autem, "Ecce quem diligis, ægrotat," ad miserationem Dominum movere volebant, eo quod memores erant nominis 75 amicitiæ. Declarat autem et fidem quamdam verbum hoc mulierum. Ita enim multam Domino inesse virtutem cognoverunt, ut admirarentur quomodo infirmitate laboret vir ab illo dilectus. Admirationem enim quodammodo habere videtur, "Ecce, quem diligis ægrotat."

Versus 4-6

until he might expire and be buried; so that no one might be able to say that it was a fainting spell, a swooning, a seizure, ^A and that he did not die. For this reason he also remains for so long a time, so that corruption might even take place, and the sister say that he "stinks."

After this, he says to the disciples, "Let us go into Judea again." His disciples say to him, "Rabbi, just now the Jews were seeking to stone you, ^B and are you going there again?" Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." Nowhere else does he predict whither he is about to journey, but here alone he seems to predict it, because the disciples were greatly afraid to depart into Judea. Therefore, he predicts it, so that they might not be disturbed by the sudden change, being led unexpectedly into a region which they feared. ^C Since, therefore, they were afraid both on his account (for they did not yet have perfect knowledge concerning him) and, more so, on their own account, they say, "Just now the Jews were seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?" But he encourages them, and says that as he who sees the light does not stumble, but he who walks in the night, he stumbles; so he who does good and walks in luminous works will suffer nothing terrible; but he who practices evil things will suffer something terrible. Thus, you must not be fearful; for we have done nothing worthy of death. Or otherwise: If he who sees this light, he says, does not stumble, much more he who is with me, ^D unless he separates himself from me, will not stumble. Thus, even you, being with me in the light, fear in vain. Others understand the "day" as the time before the passion, and the "night" as the time of the passion. You, therefore, he says, as long as it is day—that is, as long as the time of the passion has not yet arrived—you will not stumble; for you will not be persecuted by the Jews, nor will any other obstacle meet/you will not meet it. But when the night arrives—I mean my passion—then truly you will be huddled together in one little house because of the fear of the Jews. "From that time onwards you will have afflictions, and sorrows, and many stumbling blocks and oppositions,"

When I, who am the light, will no longer dwell with you bodily, but you will have the night of afflictions.

He said these things, and after this he says to them, "Lazarus our friend sleeps; but I go, that I may awaken him." His disciples said to him, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will be saved." Jesus had spoken concerning his death, but they thought that he was speaking concerning the drowsiness of sleep. Then, therefore, Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, and I rejoice for your sakes, that you may believe, because I was not there. But let us go to him." Thomas, therefore, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." Since they had feared to go into

^A Judea, the Lord says to them: "Even if the Jews were seeking to stone me, I was then conversing with them and rebuking them; but now I go not to converse with them, but to visit a friend, and thus there is no need to tremble. For I do not go to the same things as before, so as to fear the danger from the Jews, but for the awakening of a friend." But they, wishing to hinder his journey there, say, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will be saved." Therefore, there is no need for us to go; for it is not necessary. Although he himself added this, "Our friend," to show that the journey there was necessary; yet they say it is not necessary, since he has already been saved by sleeping. Or rather, they say, your arrival is not only not necessary, but even harmful to the friend. For if his sleep is for his salvation, as we think, and you are about to go to wake him, you will cut off his salvation. Therefore, one should not go to wake him, for this is harmful.

Since, therefore, he saw them still hesitating, then he says with plainness: "He is dead." And for what cause did he not speak so clearly before, but obscurely, calling death sleep? For many reasons: one, because he was a stranger to vainglory; for he did not wish to ^B appear boastful, but obscurely called the resurrection an "awakening." And how could he have used this expression, if he had not called death sleep? And that this is true—that he spoke obscurely out of modesty—is clear from what follows. For saying, "He is dead," he did not add, "I go that I may raise him up." See how he avoided boastfulness, and how he did not wish to have what he was about to do celebrated? Meanwhile, he also teaches us not to be so ready to make promises. For although he did this for the centurion (for he said, "I will come and heal him"), he said this there to demonstrate that man's faith. This, therefore, is one reason why he called death sleep. Another is to show us that every death is a sleep and a rest; and a third is that, even if Lazarus’s end was death to others, yet to Jesus himself, who was about to raise him up momentarily, it was considered a sleep. And just as it is easy ^C for us to wake a sleeper, so it is for him, or rather it is ten thousand times easier to raise the dead.

"I rejoice, however," he says, "for your sake, that you may believe in me more now as God, because I was not there, and being far away, I predict to you the death in Bethany, of which I have not heard, but as God I see things that happen from afar." Some, however, understood this in this way: "I rejoice," he says, "for your sake; for my not being there will contribute to more faith for you. For if I had been present, I would have healed him while sick, but this would have been a small miracle for the demonstration of my power. But since I was left behind, and death has occurred, and as I go I am about to raise him, you will be confirmed more strongly in the faith when you see me capable of this too, which ^D I have not yet shown, that the one who is already decomposing, and who was putrid, (is able to have) his limbs...

^A receives him back, and he is resurrected. When the Lord had said these things, and had shown them that his presence there was necessary, Thomas, more fearful than the others, said, "Let us go, that we may die with him." This is an utterance not of confidence, but of fear and a heavy heart. For in order to deter his fellow disciples, he reminds them of death, and deliberately adds the phrase, "that we may die," as if saying such things as, "Let us also go, we fools and senseless ones, not caring for our own safety and life, that we may die with him." "Granted," he says, "that he himself does not value his own life highly; but why should we be so foolish?" These are the words of a coward. But watch him later, how he was slaughtered as an apostle for the sake of the truth; so did divine grace strengthen him, that this of Paul’s might be said concerning him too: "Our sufficiency is from God," and, "Not I, but the grace ^B of God."

But Origen says something quite dream-like regarding Thomas. For Thomas, it is said, having heard the prophecies concerning Christ, and having learned that he was about to descend into Hades with his soul to liberate souls, when he heard Christ saying, "I go that I may awaken Lazarus," he thought that he could not be awakened—that is, his soul liberated—in any other way, unless he himself also laid aside his body and descended into Hades. Therefore, as a true disciple of Christ, and not wanting to be separated from his Master even in this, he plans for himself and the other fellow disciples to lay aside their bodies so as to descend with Jesus, who he supposed was about to lay down his own soul to lead the soul of his friend out of Hades. I have set forth this ridiculous interpretation to put to shame those who admire the things of Origen. For is not the interpretation of that wise man ^C just clearly nonsense and a dream? But you, observe how the Lord, although Lazarus was dead, said, "Let us go to him," as if to a living person. For Lazarus was indeed alive to Christ as God.

VERSES 17-20. "Jesus therefore came, and found him having already been four days in the tomb. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia off. And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother. Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, met him; but Mary sat in the house."

The Lord deliberately waited for Lazarus to be four days dead, then came, so that he might ensure the miracle would be beyond libel from any quarter. But why does the evangelist add that Bethany was fifteen stadia ^D from Jerusalem? To show that it was reasonable that many of the Jerusalemites were present; for Bethany was not far away. They were consoling the women, not because they were loved by Christ (for they had conspired that if anyone would confess him to be Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue), but because of the necessity of the calamity, or because they respected

the more noble among them, or those who were not wicked, those were present; whence many also believed from among them. But Martha alone goes to meet him, and does not take her sister with her, because she wished to meet him in private, and to announce the event. Whence, when she had brought her into good hopes, then she departs and calls her sister. Previously, however, she did not speak to her sister Mary, wishing to escape the notice of those who were present. For if Mary had heard that Jesus was coming, she would have risen up to meet him, and those Jews who were present would have followed her, whose knowing that Jesus had come Martha did not desire. ^B

VERS. 21-28. "Martha therefore said to Jesus: Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died: but now also I know that whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee." Jesus saith to her: "Thy brother shall rise again." Martha saith to him: "I know that he shall rise again, in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her: "I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, although he be dead, shall live: and every one that liveth and believeth in me, shall not die for ever. Believest thou this?" She saith to him: "Yes, Lord: I have believed that thou art Christ the Son of the living God, who art come into this world." And when she had said these things, she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying: "The master is come, and calleth for thee." Martha had faith indeed in Christ, but not as much as she ought to have had. Therefore she also says: "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." For she said this certainly as one not believing that he, even though absent, could, if he had willed it, drive away the death of her brother; and furthermore, through what follows, she declares the greater weakness of her faith. "For whatsoever," she says, "thou shalt ask of God, he will give it thee." Do you see that she considered him to be as some man endowed with virtue and approved by God? For she did not say, "Whatsoever thou wilt, thou shalt do," but, "Whatsoever thou shalt ask, he will give it thee." But he, overturning this suspicion of hers, says, "Thy brother shall rise again." For he did not say to her, "Yes, I shall ask God, and he will give it to me," nor did he agree with her statement, but he used a middle expression; nevertheless, through what follows, he makes his authority and power more manifest, saying, "I am the resurrection and the life." ^D For since the woman was still incredulous, and did not understand the saying, "Thy brother shall rise again," but understood him to be going to rise in the final resurrection—and she knew that the final resurrection was to be, and this indeed from the divine Scriptures, and especially from the constant discourses of Christ about the resurrection—since, therefore, the woman was still a woman, the Lord arouses her mind, and awakens her, as it were, dead faith, saying more clearly: "You indeed say that whatsoever I shall ask of God, he will give it to me: but I openly say to you, 'I am the resurrection and the life.'" So that my power is not enclosed by place, but, both absent and present, I am able to heal. For I

^A am the provider of good things, and not as though another gives them, but I myself being the resurrection and the life, I have the power both to raise up and to give life. And, "He who believes in me, even if he die ^B this natural death, shall live; and everyone who lives and believes in me shall not die," that is, the death of the soul. Therefore, do not be troubled; for even if your brother is dead, he shall live. And why do I speak of your brother? Not even you, if you believe in me, shall die; but you shall be stronger than the more grievous death, that of the soul. And He who delivers from the more grievous death will much more deliver your brother, who has died, from the lesser, the bodily death. He then asks the woman if she believes. Although she had heard such things, nevertheless she did not understand what the Lord said to her, being, I think, beside herself because of her sorrow and suffering from confusion. For when He asked one thing, she answered another. For He asked if she believed that He is "the resurrection and the life," and that "he who believes ^C in Him shall not die forever," whether one wishes to understand this of the death of the soul or of the body. For in truth, believers are not even said to die, because of the hope of the resurrection. But what does she answer? "I have believed that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who comes into the world." She testified well and truly, yet she did not make her answer appropriate to the question. Nevertheless, for the time being, she gains this: the intensity of her grief is calmed, and the excess of mourning is checked. Secretly she calls her sister, acting very prudently in this, because of the Jews who were present there. For if they had known that she was going to meet Christ, they would have withdrawn, and thus the miracle would have remained unwitnessed. But as it was, thinking that Mary was going to the tomb to weep, and therefore having gone along with her, they necessarily became eyewitnesses and witnesses of the miracle. But how does Martha say to Mary, "The Master is calling you," even though the evangelist has not noted that the Lord had called her? Either the ^D Lord had commanded Martha to call her sister in what is left unsaid, or she considered the presence of Christ Himself to be in place of a summons, as if to say, "The Master is calling you." For how was it not required, with Christ present, that she also should come to Him? Therefore, the evangelist calls the presence of the Lord, which necessitated that she meet Him, a summons. "The Master," she says, "is present and is calling you." Since He "is present," that very presence of His acts toward you as a summons; for it is unavoidable that, He being present, you also should go forth to meet Him. She, as she heard this, rises quickly and comes to Him. But Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was in the place where Martha had met Him. The Jews, therefore, who were with her in the house and were consoling her, seeing that Mary had risen quickly and gone out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb, that she may weep there." Mary, therefore, when she had come to where Jesus was, seeing Him, fell at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When she first heard He was present

Mary did not delay, but rose and came to Him. From this it is evident that Martha would not have preceded her either, had she known that Jesus was coming. ^B But Jesus had not yet come into the village. For He was walking rather slowly, lest He appear to be rushing toward the miracle, but rather as one entreated by them to perform it. And since the miracle to be performed was great, and of a kind He had seldom done, and since many were to be won over through it, for this reason He orchestrates that there should be many witnesses to the miracle. For the evangelist says that "the Jews who were with her in the house followed her." Mary, however, approached Christ with greater fervor than her sister Martha. For having seen Him, it is said, she fell at His feet, not fearing the crowd, and not at all suspecting that there were some there who held hostile feelings toward Christ; but casting aside every human consideration—the Master being present—and remaining constant in the honor for Him, she says: "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." Martha did not do anything of the kind, for she did not fall at His feet, but rather seemed incredulous when Christ promised her better things regarding her brother. Although Mary herself also appears imperfect in saying, "If You had been here, my brother would not have died," nevertheless Christ says nothing to her such as He said to her sister, because a great crowd was present and it was not the time for such words. Instead, He condescends more, and lays bare His human nature, and displays its proper characteristics. For hear what the evangelist says.

VERS. 33-37. "Jesus, therefore, when He saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her weeping, groaned in the spirit and troubled Himself, and said: Where have you laid him? They say to Him: Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. The Jews therefore said: Behold how He loved him! But some of them said: Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind, have done something so that this man would not die?" ^C Nature was indeed moved to tears, and was troubled on account of Mary weeping, and her, and those who were present. But the Lord groans over the affection of the spirit, that is, He rebukes the confusion through the Spirit and restrains it, and thus inquires, so that the interrogation might not occur with wailing. For because He was grieved (for He was truly man, and in order to confirm human nature, He allowed it to work its own [effects]), He also strikes at the flesh, and rebukes it with the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore the flesh, not bearing the rebuke, is troubled and groans, and struggles against the sorrow. ^D The Lord permits nature to suffer all these things, at once confirming that He was truly man and not in appearance only, and also instructing us to set bounds and measures for sorrow and for the lack of it. For to be without compassion and tears is beastly, but to weep and wail and be sorrowful in excess is womanish. Since, therefore, He has partaken

^A of our flesh and blood, of human and natural things, He demonstrates the measures of these to us. And He asks, "Where have you laid him?" not as one ignorant—for how could He be ignorant, who knew even while far off that he had died?—but so that, lest He should seem to be thrusting Himself into the miracle, He might learn everything from them, and as one entreated, perform the deed, so that He might free the sign from every suspicion. But since no proof of the resurrection of Lazarus had yet appeared, nor was He even thought to have come to raise him, but rather to mourn, they say to Him, "Lord, come and see." But the wicked Jews again weave their malice, although so great a calamity lay before their eyes. But what do they say? "Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man from dying?" They were slandering the miracle of the blind man by saying these things. For they ought to ^B have admired that sign; instead, they cavil at that one because of this death, as if it had not happened, and they anticipate with accusations, not waiting for the end of the matter. So had envy corrupted their minds.

^C Vers. 38–42. "Jesus therefore again groaning in Himself, cometh to the monument. Now it was a cave, and a stone was laid over it. Jesus saith: Take away the stone. Martha the sister of him that was dead, saith to him: Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he is now four days dead. Jesus saith to her: Did not I say to thee, that if thou believe, thou shalt see the glory of God? They took therefore the stone away where the dead was lying. And Jesus lifting up his eyes said: Father, I give thee thanks that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always; but because of the people who stand about, have I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me." Why ever does the evangelist turn up and down ^D the fact that "Jesus wept," and that He "groaned" at the passion? In order that we may learn that He truly put on our nature. For since he speaks of the Lord more highly than all the other evangelists, and declares great mysteries of His divinity, for this reason he also speaks much more humbly concerning bodily things. Whence, even in His mourning, he says He showed Himself to be man, from this demonstrating the truth of the flesh, so that you may learn that even if He were God, yet He was also man. For just as Luke [does] from the agony, and the drops of blood, and the sweat, so also this one from the mourning makes it credible that He truly wore flesh. But for what reason did He not cause Lazarus to rise while the stone was lying there, but says, "Take away the stone"? For He who moved a dead body by His voice, and brought back to life one who had already decomposed, ^A could much more easily have moved the stone with His voice. "Take away," He says, "the stone," that He might make them witnesses of the miracle, so that they might not again say as they did in the case of the blind man, "This is he," or "This is not he." For being present at the place, and taking away the stone with their own hands, were sufficient to stop the mouths of the ungrateful, for they had become witnesses of the sign. Furthermore, Martha, being ill-disposed to believe, said, "By this time he stinketh, for he is now four days dead."

^A Thus she was still creeping upon the earth. But Christ, recalling for her the things he had said to her before, and rebuking her almost as one who has forgotten, says: "Did I not say to thee, that if thou wouldst believe, thou shouldst see the glory of God?" To the disciples, therefore, he was saying, "That the Son of God might be glorified," because it was for this reason that Lazarus died; but to Martha he says, "Thou shalt see the glory of God," speaking of the Father. For the weakness of those who hear is the cause that these things are said in different ways. For when the Jews were standing there, it was not fitting for the Lord to say, "Thou shalt see the glory of the Son of God," for he would have seemed to be boasting about himself. But now, having spoken concerning the Father, he made his word more acceptable and more modest. ^B But why does he pray, or rather, why did he assume the appearance of one praying, when he himself is the Lord? Hear him speak. For he says: "Because of the crowd standing around I said it, that they might believe that thou didst send me." That which he says is thus: "That they may not think me an adversary of God, that they may not say, 'He is not from God,' that I may show that this work is being done according to thy will." That this is the case, and not that he prayed for any other need, but is seen to pray for the sake of those standing around, look at the prayer: "I thank thee, because thou hast heard me." Who ever prayed thus? For before he had said anything, he says: "Thou hast heard me." So it is not a prayer, but an appearance of prayer, and a mere demonstration. And that he does not need prayer is evident from many other things which he did without prayer. "I say to thee, demon, come out of him"; and, "I will, be thou clean"; and, "Thy sins are forgiven thee," which is greater than all; and to the sea, "Be silent, be muzzled." ^C Therefore, he prays so that those standing around might believe that he is from above, and not contrary to God. For if, while doing these things and showing in every way his gratitude toward the Father, they still said, "He is not from God," what would they not have said if he had done nothing of the sort?

VERS. 43-46. "And when he had said these things, he cried with a loud voice: Lazarus, come forth. And he who had been dead came out, having his hands and feet bound with burial wrappings. And his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus says to them: Loose him, and let him go." Many therefore of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen what Jesus had done, believed in him. But some of them went away to the Pharisees, and told them what Jesus had done. ^D The Lord, having given thanks to the Father rather than prayed (for as has been said, he did not need prayer and the assistance of prayer, as he is equal in power to the Father), cries with a loud voice, having authority and power. For he did not say, "In the name of my Father, Lazarus, come forth," nor, "Raise him, Father," but, as has been said, with authority, completely stopping the mouths of those who call him less than the Father. For what equal to the power

of this authority could there be, ^A that he spoke to the deceased as if to one living: "Lazarus, come forth"? And now, that which was said has also come into effect: "The hour is coming when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear shall live." For lest anyone should think that he received the power from another, he proclaims this which he was about to demonstrate through his works. The great voice of the Savior, therefore, which raised Lazarus, is a symbol of the great trumpet that is to sound at the general resurrection. But the Lord cried out with a great voice for this reason: that he might shut the mouths ^B of the Greeks who invent myths that the soul is in the tomb; for he calls it as though it were far away through the cry. And just as this particular resurrection is in an instant and "in the twinkling of an eye," so too will the universal one be. "And he who was dead came forth," it says, "bound hand and foot." For it seemed no less marvelous that he came forth bound than that he was raised; and it was a miracle, in every respect, that one who was bound should move, being linked to the miracle of his resurrection. He commands them to unbind him, so that those who are standing nearby, by touching him, might see that he is indeed the same man. And he tells him to go on ^C because of his not being showy; for he neither leads him along with himself, nor commands him to walk with him, so that he might show him off. When the miracle had taken place, some of those who saw it believed, but others reported it to the Pharisees, slandering him in every way, as if he had dared something unholy, because he had ordered the buried man to be dug up.

^{A B C D} 47, 48. Congregaverunt ergo pontifices et Pharisei concilium

Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. If we leave him alone in this way, all will believe in him; and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." ^D Though they ought to have been astonished and to have marveled at one who was performing such great miracles, the Pharisees instead deliberate to kill him—which was the height of foolishness, because they imagined that they would deliver to death him who was overcoming death in the bodies of others. Consequently, they sought to obscure his glory, and after such great miracles, they considered him to be a mere man. "What are we doing," they say, "because this man performs many signs?" And what is the crime in this, if he performs signs? One ought to believe and worship, and no longer consider him to be a mere man. But observe the perversity of the Pharisees: eager to incite the people, they introduce the argument that the multitude of the Jews is about to be in danger and be destroyed by the Romans on suspicion of tyranny. "For if we let him be," they say, "he will have a great crowd behind him, being led by the exhibition of the signs, and henceforth the Romans will suspect us all of tyranny, and they will take away our cities and destroy them." These things, as I said, they were saying out of malice. For in order that they might not appear to be plotting against Christ out of envy, they bring the common danger into the middle, inciting the people against Christ, as if he were to be the author of their destruction. Receive also and

apply to the interior this miracle. For our mind is a friend to Christ, but often it is overcome by the weakness of human nature, falls into sin, and dies a psychic and miserable death, worthy of receiving mercy from Christ. For the one who is dead is his friend. Therefore, let the sisters and kin of the dead mind—the flesh as Martha (for Martha is more coarse and material), and the soul as Mary (for she is more reverent and pious)—approach Christ and prostrate themselves, having also the thoughts of confession accompanying them, as those women had the Jews. For Judas is interpreted as "confession." And the Lord will certainly stand by the tomb, and, having commanded the hardness that lies upon the memory, like a stone, to be lifted, he will lead it back to the remembrance of future good things and punishments; and he will cry out with the great voice of the evangelical trumpet, "Lazarus, come out" ^B from the world; do not be buried in worldly distractions and passions; just as he said to the disciples: "You are not of the world"; and again Paul: "Let us go forth to him outside the camp," that is, outside the world. And thus he will waken from sin the one dead who has contracted the scars of malice, who for this reason stank—because he was a four-day-old corpse—being deprived of the four divine and luminous virtues, and being motionless and idle toward them. Nevertheless, even if he were motionless, and his hands and feet bound, and he were restrained by the chains of his own sins, and declared useless for every good work, and even if his face were covered with a napkin, so that he could see nothing divine, being hindered by the carnal veil, and were in sum in a wretched condition, both according to the practical virtue, which is signified by the hands and feet, and according to the contemplative, which is signified by the covered face; although, I say, he is in such a miserable state, he will yet hear, "Loose him," O you good men and co-workers of salvation, you angels or priests, ^C and give him remission of sins, so that he may go and be moved toward the practice of good. Some, however, have understood Martha as the Synagogue of the Jews, and Mary as the Church of the Gentiles. For the Synagogue of the Jews is troubled about many things (for many are the commandments of the Law and difficult to perform), but the Church of the Gentiles has no need of many commandments, but of a few, on which the whole Law and the prophets hang, which have been ordained concerning love. And by their brother, who rose from the dead, those souls are signified which descend into Hades on account of sin, according to the text: "Let sinners turn into Hades." These are the souls, therefore, that the Lord raises.

VERS. 49-55. "But one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them: You know nothing, ^D nor do you consider that it is profitable for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish." This he did not say of his own accord, but

^A being high priest of that year, he prophesied that Jesus was to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but that he might also gather together the children of God who were scattered abroad. "From that day on, therefore, they plotted to kill him."

Among the Jews, the dignity of the high priesthood had been corrupted, both with other things and because offices had become venal, so that one would not serve in the priesthood for the whole time of his life, but only year by year. Yet, although the dignity was so corrupted, the Holy Spirit was still present, working in those who had been anointed. But after they laid hands upon Jesus, then grace completely abandoned them and passed over to the apostles. The others, therefore, were pondering the death of Christ under the guise of an official council, but the high priest was so bloodthirsty that he gave his opinion against Christ with a ^B naked head (as they say), with the utmost impudence. He even reproached the others, claiming that they did not understand what was required and were slothful in discerning what was advantageous for the matter. "For you," he says, "know nothing." You are sluggish, he says, in understanding, and you do not consider that it is expedient that one man should die, and the whole people be saved. He said this, indeed, with a sinister frame of mind, yet the grace of the Spirit used his mouth to predict things to come, even though it did not touch his defiled heart. Observe, therefore, the great power of the Spirit: for it caused words possessing a wonderful prophecy to come forth from an evil mind. For when Christ died, all who believed from the [Gentile] nation were delivered from great and eternal punishment. And he died not for the Jewish nation alone, but that the other children of God, that is to say, the nations, might be gathered into one. He calls the nations children of God, either ^C from the fact of what was to be; for since they were going to become children of God, he calls them so—just as he says elsewhere, "And other sheep I have" (John x, 16), calling even them by what was to be—or in the sense that he is the Father of all, having generated us in a creative manner, and in that he has honored us, creating us after his own image and likeness; just as also in the Acts, Paul, haranguing the Athenians, says: "For being the offspring of God" (Acts xvii, 29). Since, therefore, man is a creature of high rank, and in this respect assimilated to God, every man is called a child of God.

When we were thus scattered—for Satan had divided men from one another and from God in various ways, having prepared each one to rage against his neighbor out of love of wealth and vainglory—Christ brought us into one, gathering us into one ^D Church and one yoke, and making those who were near and those who were far off into one body, so that he who sits in Rome might consider the one in India a close member, and might confess that there is one head of all, Christ (Eph. ii, 16). But as for the part that says, "From that day on they plotted to kill Jesus," it manifests that from that day they confirmed the sentence; for although they had been pondering his murder before, it was more half-heartedly, and it was a matter of inquiry rather than a decision; now

^A it is a perfect judgment and a firm sentence. For formerly, it says, they were seeking to kill him; and he himself, rebuking them, says: "You seek to kill me." Consider, then, the power of the high-priestly office, how it is full of the grace of the Spirit, even if those who bear it are unworthy. And honor the high priests for me, worthily on account of the grace in them, not on account of their own disposition. For not only does Caiaphas prophesy, but many other unworthy ones also foresaw future things: Pharaoh concerning the years of plenty and famine, Nebuchadnezzar concerning the kingdoms and Christ, and Balaam concerning Christ. But not everyone who prophesies would be called a prophet; rather, if someone is a prophet, that person also prophesies. Just as, therefore, not everyone who does something medicinal is already a physician; but the one who heals according to the method of healing is called a physician; nor is a person righteous because they do something righteous, but because they do it righteously, according to that saying: "Righteously pursue what is righteous." Caiaphas also prophesies, but not with a prophetic mind, and therefore he is not a prophet.

VERS. 54-56. "Jesus therefore walked no longer openly among the Jews, but went away into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there he stayed with his disciples." Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem from the country before the Passover, to purify themselves. They were looking for Jesus, therefore, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple: "What do you think, that he will not come to the feast?" Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command that if anyone knew where he was, he should report ^C it, so that they might seize him. The Lord withdraws for the condemnation of the Jews, not out of cowardice, but at the same time teaching us not to throw ourselves into dangers, even if they are for the sake of piety, but to stand bravely if we are caught; but if we are not caught, let us not rush into voluntary danger because the outcome is uncertain. See also the foolish judgment of the Jews, how they did not even abstain from murder at the time of the feast, but planned to commit murder, while going up to be purified. For those who had sinned, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, did not keep the Passover unless they had first been purified according to custom, by washing and fasting and shaving their heads, and offering certain prescribed sacrifices. These ^D excellent men, therefore, were lying in wait for the Lord and saying: "What do you think, that he will not come to the feast?" That is, he will necessarily be present; for the time, if nothing else, will force him to be trapped. O the wickedness! At the very time when they ought rather to release those who have been condemned, on account of the feast, then they lie in wait for the innocent one. And if, indeed, private individuals alone had done these things, it might have seemed to be attributed to ignorance; but now the Pharisees command that he be reported and seized. Rightly, therefore, does he depart from them. For the Word of God indeed walked freely among the Jews before, when he was announced through the prophets; but now he does not

to be seized. The Lord, then, rightly departs from these. For the Word of God ^A previously walked openly among the Jews, being proclaimed through the prophets; but now he does so no longer, but has withdrawn to the wilderness, the synagogue of the nations, of which it has been said: “More are the children of the desolate than of her who has a husband.” Now, this wilderness is near Ephraim. Ephraim is interpreted as “fruitfulness.” This brother was younger, Manasseh being the elder; and Manasseh is interpreted as “from forgetfulness.” The people of the Jews, therefore, were the elder son of God (“For he says, ‘Israel is my first-born son’”), but God fell into forgetfulness regarding him; yet the Lord makes Ephraim, that is, the fruitfulness from the nations, his second son. Into the wilderness of Ephraim, therefore—the Church of the nations, which has been made fruitful through the Gospel—the Word went out, abandoning Judea.

CAPUT XII. Concerning the woman who anointed the Lord with ointment. Concerning things said by Judas. Concerning the young donkey. Concerning the Greeks who approached and questioned Philip. Concerning the voice from heaven that was heard.

^B “Jesus therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany, where Lazarus had been, whom he raised from the dead. So they made him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining with him. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive, pure nard ointment, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.” On the tenth day of the month they take the lamb to be sacrificed at the feast of the Passover, and from that time they begin to seek out what is necessary for the feast. Indeed, six days beforehand, which is the ninth day of the month, they feast more sumptuously, and make this day the beginning of the feast. Therefore Jesus also dines with them, having come to Bethany. The evangelist, wishing to show ^C a sign of the true resurrection of Lazarus, says: “But Lazarus was one of those reclining.” For he did not die immediately as he appeared, but remained for a long time, doing customary things, eating and drinking, and performing other activities. By saying that “Martha was serving,” he indicated that the supper took place in her house. Observe also the faith of the woman, how she did not permit the serving-maids the duty of service, but performs it herself. And Paul says concerning a widow: “who has washed the feet of the saints.” Now this woman serves all in common, but Mary bestows the honor upon Christ alone, since she does not approach him as a man, but as God. For this reason she poured out the ointment, and wiped them with the hairs of her head, not holding such an opinion concerning him as the many do, as if he were a mere man, but as Lord and God. ^D Mary may be understood, in an anagogical exposition, as the deity of the Father and Lord of all, for Mary is interpreted as “lady.” The deity of the Father, therefore—the Lady of all—anointed the feet of Jesus, by which I mean the flesh of the Word, in the latter days, with the ointment of the Spirit, just as David also says: “Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil

^A of gladness.” And the great Peter says: “Let all the house of Israel know that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” For the flesh assumed by the Word, having been anointed by the divine Spirit who came upon the Virgin’s womb, and having become what the Word is—that is, God—filled the world with fragrance, just as the ointment of Mary filled the whole house with a sweet odor.

But who are the hairs that wiped the feet? They are surely the saints, who adorn the head of God and His sovereign authority. For they are for the glory of God, and could be called His ornament, since they have become partakers of the anointing of the Lord’s flesh, whom David also calls “partakers.” And Paul also says to the Corinthians: “He who confirms us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, is God.” And we know that those who have lived according to Christ are everywhere called Christs. Christians, therefore, may be understood as the hairs ^B that wiped the feet of Jesus and partook of the divine grace. Hairs are something dead, and so are those who belong to Christ; for they have crucified their flesh, and mortified the members that are upon the earth, and have died to the world. Hairs adorn the head, and are its glory; the saints are the glory of God, whose light shines before men, and the Father is glorified through them, to whom even eating and drinking becomes for the glory of God, and who glorify Him in their members.

And you, too, since Jesus has raised your mind like another Lazarus, and you receive Him into the house of your soul, and the mind that has risen feasts with Him, anoint the feet of the Lord six days before the Passover, before the Passover of the ^C coming age arrives, for as long as you live in this world, which was created in six days. The feet of Christ are the Apostle, and the Gospel, and, to speak briefly, the commandments themselves; for through them He walks in us. To these commandments, therefore, bring an ointment—namely, a disposition gathered from various virtues, of which the best, like nard, is fervent faith. For unless you show a fervent and diligent disposition, endowed with virtues, toward the commandments, and wipe them—as it were, with hairs—upon your dead members, and unless you receive Him, you will not be able to fill your house with a good odor.

The feet of the Lord are also the least of the brethren, through whom Christ goes to the door of each one, seeking what is useful; anoint these with the ointment of almsgiving. Many, indeed, show mercy for ^D the sake of display; therefore, they receive no benefit in themselves. “For they have received their reward” in this life. But you, wipe [them] with the hairs of your head, and receive the benefit in your soul; gather the profit of almsgiving in the principal part [of your being], and if you have anything dead and inanimate, as hairs are, imbue it with this good ointment. “For your sins,” He says, “blot out with alms.”

^A Then one of His disciples says, Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, who was about to betray Him: “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” He said this, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money-box, and carried what was put into it. Jesus said therefore, “Let her be; she has kept it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you; but Me you do not always have.”

Judas, being a lover of money, finds fault with the manner in which honor is paid. Why, he asks, did you not bring money that I might, to be sure, steal it, rather than ointment? How then does another evangelist say that all the disciples said this? It must be said, therefore, that while they all indeed said it, the others did not say it with the same intention as this man. The Lord does not rebuke him, although He knew that he had said this with a thievish intent, for He did not wish to put him to shame, teaching us also to be long-suffering toward such men. He does, however, secretly reproach him for his betrayal, and for the fact that because of his avarice he was about to betray Him to death. For this reason, He mentions the burial, striking at his senseless heart in the hope that it might be corrected.

And the part that follows implies such a meaning as this: “For the poor,” He says, “you always have with you, but Me you do not always have,” since I am about to depart shortly, with you plotting My death. If, therefore, I am burdensome to you, and that honor paid to Me is annoying, wait a little while, and you will be rid of Me, and then you will know if you truly have need of the sale of the ointment for the sake of the poor.

But for what reason, if indeed he was a lover of money and ^B a thief, did the Lord entrust the administration of the funds to him? For this very reason: that he was a thief, so that he might take away from him every excuse. For he could not say that he had betrayed Him for the sake of a love of money. For he had sufficient consolation from the money-box, and yet he was not faithful even while having the money-box. “For he carried,” that is, he stole, “what was put into it,” and he was a temple-robber, purloining those things that were given for divine use—let the sacrilegious hear to what faction they belong—and, as the crowning point of wickedness, he later betrayed the Lord. Do you see where avarice leads? To betrayal. Rightly, therefore, did Paul call this the “root of all evils,” inasmuch as it betrayed the Lord and does the same thing every day.

Some say that the administration of the money was entrusted to Judas as being a lesser task than the others. For to serve in matters of money is less than the work of preaching, just as the apostles also say in the Acts: “It is not right for us to leave the word of God and serve tables.”

^C “A great crowd of the Jews therefore knew that He was there, and they came not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death, because many of the Jews were going away on his account and believing in Jesus.” These were well-disposed, those who [came] to ^D the Lord, and not ungrateful and raging like the rest. They came...

^A he says, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also. For, since it was truly a most great miracle, many desired to be spectators of him who had risen, perhaps expecting to hear something also from Lazarus regarding those things in Hades. But the Pharisees were so inhuman that they desired to kill not only Jesus but also Lazarus, because he was becoming a cause of salvation to many, drawing those of simpler mind toward faith by the miracle wrought upon him; thus, even doing good was a crime in their eyes. Most of all, it gnawed at them that, as the feast was at hand, all were running to Bethany, and becoming hearers of the miracle and eyewitnesses of him who had risen.

^B V. 12, 13. “On the next day, a great crowd that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, and were crying out: ‘Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel.’” After the Lord had withdrawn a little into the wilderness, in order to extinguish the rage of the manslayers, he enters again with boldness and is manifest to all. For the time of the passion was pressing, and it was no longer fitting for him to remain hidden, but to give himself for the salvation of the world. Observe, then, the sequence of the passion: He raised Lazarus, having saved this most great miracle of all for the end; on account of it, many were running together and believing; because of the many believing, envy was born the greater; and from this came the plot and the cross. For when the crowds ^C heard, he says, that Jesus was coming, they went out to meet him with glory, because of the miracle concerning Lazarus, paying him in every way greater honor than was owed to a mere man. For they no longer held him as a prophet; for which of the prophets did their fathers ever honor in such a way? Whence also they said: “Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” And from these words we conclude, first, that he is God. For “Hosanna” is interpreted, “Save, I beseech,” just as it has been translated into Greek by the Seventy in the one hundred seventeenth Psalm, where it has in Hebrew: “Hosanna,” and in Greek it is said: “O Lord, save, I beseech.” But to save is of God alone, and to him it is said: “Save us, O Lord our God.” And one might collect from all places that Scripture attributes salvation to God alone. Therefore, those who apply the words of David to Christ show ^D first of all that he is God; then, that he is God in the proper sense. For, he says, “He who comes,” not “He who is brought.” For that is, in a way, servile, but “to come” is of one in authority. And by saying, “In the name of the Lord,” they teach this very thing, that he himself is the true God; for they do not say he comes in the name of a servant, but of the Lord. And furthermore, they assert that he is not a rebel against God, but came in the name of the Father, just as the Lord himself also says: “I have come in the name of my Father, and another will come in his own name.” Moreover, they called him King of Israel, perhaps imagining some sort of worldly kingdom; for they were awaiting such a king to arise who would be greater than

what human nature permits, one who would deliver them from the empire of the Romans. ^A

VERS. 14-16. “And Jesus, having found an ass, sat upon it; as it is written: Fear not, daughter of Sion; behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt.” These things his disciples did not understand at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about him, and that they had done these things to him. How is it that the other evangelists say the Lord told his disciples, “Loose and bring them to me,” but John here says nothing of the sort, but simply says, “Jesus, having found an ass”? And what of this? They are not in disagreement; rather, what the others told more fully, he has said more concisely: “Jesus, having found an ass.” For he found it ^B loosened and brought by the disciples, and he sat upon it. And by this he was fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah, who said: “Fear not, daughter of Sion; behold, thy King cometh unto thee, sitting on an ass's colt.” For because, in most cases, the kings in Jerusalem were unjust and greedy, the prophet says: “Fear not, Sion; for the King I proclaim to thee is not such, but is gentle and modest, and displays no arrogance; and this is demonstrated by his coming seated on an ass. For he did not enter dragging an army behind him, but riding on an ass.”

It was also a symbol of what was to come, his seating himself upon an ass. For this is an unclean animal according to the Law, and it was a symbol of the unclean people of the Gentiles, upon whom the Word of God, Jesus, sat, subjecting that untamed and uninstructed one—I mean the new people—like a colt, ^C whom he also leads to the true Jerusalem, having become subject and obedient to Him. For did not the Lord gather those from the Gentiles unto heaven, who became his people and were obedient to his preaching? The palm branches also suggested it, perhaps that He had also become the victor over death by raising Lazarus; for the palm is given to the victors in the games. Perhaps they also signified that He who was being praised was heavenly, and had come from on high. For alone among other trees it reaches upward toward the very heaven, so to speak, and has foliage at the top, bearing white buds upon the leaves; yet in the trunk and the middle, up to the summit, it is rough and difficult to climb, presenting thorns upon its branches. Thus, therefore, he who strives toward the knowledge of the Son and Word of God ^D shall find it rough and steep, journeying through the labors of virtue; but upon arriving at the height of knowledge, he shall encounter the most brilliant light of the knowledge of God, and the revelation of invisible and ineffable things, like the most white buds of the palms. But I would have you admire the evangelist, how he is not ashamed, but publishes the first ignorance of the apostles. “These things, indeed,” he says, “his disciples did not understand at first, but when Jesus was glorified.” By glory he means the ascension after the crucifixion and passion. For then they understood in the coming

of the Spirit that these things had been written about him. ^A For although they knew perhaps that it was written, the fact that it applied to Jesus escaped them, and conveniently so; for they would have been scandalized at him as he was being crucified, if he who was proclaimed by Scripture as King were to suffer such things.

VERS. 17-19. “The crowd, therefore, that was with him when he called Lazarus out of the monument and raised him from the dead, bore witness. For this reason the crowd also went to meet him, because they heard that he had performed this sign. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves: ‘See that you profit nothing? Behold, the world has gone after him.’” The crowd, he says, that had seen the miracle regarding Lazarus, was a witness and herald of his power; for this reason, those who had heard that this sign had occurred, clearly those who believed, went to meet him with glory. For ^B they would not have been so suddenly transformed had they not believed. But the Pharisees, who say, “See that you profit nothing,” do not speak these things out of malice; for they were not among those who had plotted the death of Jesus, but appear rather to be well-intentioned, though not yet daring to speak freely, because they did not dare to resist openly those who were raging against the Lord, and were trying through this pretext to restrain them, saying almost the following: “What profit is there for you from the many plots against this man? However much you plot, so much does this man grow, and his glory increases. For ‘the world,’” that is, the whole multitude, “‘has gone after him’; and so, since you achieve nothing, cease from your plots, so that you may not commit injustice to no purpose.”

VERS. 20-25. “And there were certain Greeks among those who had come up to worship at the feast. These, therefore, came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ Philip comes and tells Andrew; and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. But Jesus answered them, saying, ‘The hour has come that the Son of man ^C should be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit.’” Because of the beauty of the temple, and the wondrous things being said among the Jews, many of the Greeks also went up to worship. These were close to becoming proselytes, that is, to approaching Judaism. Therefore, when the report concerning Jesus was spread, they approached Philip and asked him to see Jesus, that is, they requested it. But he (but observe his modesty and good order) “tells Andrew,” as to one who was before him. And he does not snatch at the suggestion for himself, nor does he usurp authority, but taking Philip with him, thus they confidently report it to the Lord. Such was the order and mutual love that existed between them. What then does the Lord do? Since he had commanded his disciples not to go into the way of the Gentiles, and he already saw the Gentiles approaching him (for the Greeks, those wishing to see him, were entirely ^D Gentiles...

and he knew the ^A Jews were plotting against him; the time, he says, is now come to enter into his passion. "For the hour is come," he says, "of the cross, so that the Son of Man may be glorified." For what profit is there in not receiving the Gentiles who are approaching us, and in running instead to the Jews who hate and persecute us? Since, therefore, those from among the Gentiles are rushing to us, now at last is the hour to be crucified. Therefore, I will allow the Jews to bring their plots to their conclusion, and I will yield to them so that they may crucify me, so that they may indeed be without excuse in the future, when I have justly left them as my crucifiers and murderers, and have betaken myself to the Gentiles, who have already begun to approach my teaching. For it is very unjust to give nothing to the Gentiles who thirst for the word and for salvation, while lavishing [favor] upon the Jews who reject the gifts offered them and plot against their benefactor. Furthermore, so that the disciples might not be scandalized that at the very time when the Gentiles had begun to approach, he dies, he says that this very dying of mine will rather increase the faith of the Gentiles. For just as the "grain of wheat," when it has been sown, dies, and then "brings forth much fruit," so also may my death bring forth much fruit in the faith of the Gentiles. So let no one be scandalized, as if the bringing in of the Gentiles were hindered by my death; rather, let them be persuaded by the example of the grain, that the downfall at my death will bring an increase of those who believe. For if this happens in a grain, it happens much more in me. For by dying and rising again, I will more fully show my power ^B by rising, and all will believe in me as God.

"He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be. And if any man serve me, him will my Father honor." Since the Lord was near to his passion, and knew that the disciples were to be full of sorrow, for this reason he says that you ought not to be so sorrowful at my death that you do not see that if you yourselves do not die, you will have no gain; rather, every man whomsoever, who loves the present life and "loveth his soul"—that is, does its absurd desires and grants it what it should not have, and does not despise death—"loseth it." "But he that hateth it," that is, he who does not yield to it, nor bow down to it, "shall keep it unto life eternal." Wishing to demonstrate the intense aversion that one must have toward the desires of the soul, he said, "He that hateth." For we do not endure to see the face or hear the voice of those who are held in hatred. Thus, therefore, must we be disposed toward the irrational appetites of the soul, hating them with extreme hatred. But by saying, "He that hateth his soul in this world," he declares that the matter is temporal. For since the commandment seemed cruel and harsh, he mitigates it by that which he adds, "in this world." For, he says,

I do not command you to hate the soul for an endless time; in this transitory world, turn away from it when it commands you to do absurd things. ^A He adds the gain: "For eternal life," he says, "he will guard it." You hate it for a time, but for the ages you keep the divine life living. Urging them further toward contempt for the present life and boldness against death, he says, "He who serves me, let him follow me; thus let him be ready for death as I am." For he speaks here of following through works. Then comes the consolation: "Where I am, there also my servant will be." But where is Christ? In the heavens. So he who follows him through death, and is not ^B attached to this world, will be there in the heavens. For above and below are contrary to one another. He who loves to be below will not be above; but he who flees the things below and the world will be above and in the heavens. "For if anyone serves me," he says, "my Father will honor him." He did not say, "I will honor him," but "the Father," displaying through this that he is the true Son; for as the servant of the true Son, the true Father will deem him worthy of honor. At the same time, he also shows through this that he is not opposed to the Father; for God and Father would not honor one who was a servant opposed to him. Therefore, do not let us love our soul in such a way that we save it from ^C dangers for the sake of the truth and refuse to suffer for the good; but if we are servants of Christ, let us expose it to dangers for the sake of the truth, and we shall be entirely where Christ now is. I do not speak of divine dignities, for he is God by nature, but of those in which human nature can be adorned, so that while he is God by nature, we become gods by grace and adoption.

VERS. 27, 28. "Now my soul is troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But for this reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name. There came therefore a voice from heaven: I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." What is it that he says? For he seems to speak things contrary to himself. For he who above seemed to admonish that we be practiced and prepared for death, and to have the soul in hatred, this one now says he is troubled, as he is about to die; ^D which is not the act of one exhorting to death, but of one shrinking from it. But if you consider it rightly, you will find that his being troubled is also an exhortation to contempt for death. For in order that no one might have it to say that he, being outside human passions, easily philosophizes about death and warns others while being himself outside dangers, he shows that he too was tempted by human properties, and partook of our nature, even if without sin. Therefore, although he grieves and is troubled as a man, because he is by nature a lover of life, he does not shrink from death, since it was for the salvation of the world. "For for this reason," he says, "I came to this hour, that I might take upon myself the death for all." He teaches us plainly through this that even if we are troubled and even if we are anxious, we should not flee death for the sake of the truth. For even I, he says, am troubled (for I am truly man, and I permit nature

^A to demonstrate its own properties); nevertheless, I do not say to the Father, "save me from this hour," but what do I say? "Father, glorify thy name"; that is, grant me the grace to take up the cross and the danger for the salvation of all. Observe that he called dying for the sake of the truth the glory of God; therefore the Father also says, "And I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." For by the miracles before the cross, which thou didst perform in my name, I "have glorified it," and again by performing miracles through thee upon the cross itself, I "will glorify it," and after the burial, by raising thee up and by sending the Spirit, I will establish both my name and thee as even more glorious. ^B Some, however, have understood "Now is my soul troubled" not as if the Lord feared death in accordance with human nature, but saying that he foresees the casting-off of the exasperating generation of the Jews, and grieving for them and sparing them and caring for them, the lover of mankind is troubled and cast into sorrow for their sake. For they say he is not fearing death, since he was not ignorant of the reason why he made his arrival to us, as he himself says: "For this reason I came to this hour." Otherwise, how would he have exhorted others, saying: "Do not fear those who kill the body"? ^C

VERS. 29-33.

^A glorification. But who is this? It is the casting out of the ruler of the world and his defeat, and the judgment of the world, that is, that vengeance is taken for it. ^B What He says has this meaning: "Now the judgment and vengeance of this world is taking place." For since the devil subjected the world to death, having made all men liable to sin, when he comes to Me, he says, and finds no sin in Me, yet subjects Me to death in the same way as the others, he will be condemned by Me, and thus I will take vengeance for the world. For let it be that he brought death upon others because of sin; what did he see in Me like that which he saw in the rest, for him to kill Me as well? Therefore, the "judgment of the world," that is, its vengeance, is now taking place through Me. For by killing him who killed all, and then attacked Me, the innocent One, I shall be the avenger of all who have been killed by him, and the tyrant will be cast out, condemned by My death. For "he will be cast out" is a metaphor taken from those who are condemned in courts of law and driven ^C from the tribunal. Or you may understand "he will be cast out" as meaning "into the outer darkness." But he will also be outside of his dominion over men, and he will no longer reign over them, their souls, and their mortal body as he did before, but "I shall draw all to Myself, if I am lifted up" on the cross. For all, even those from the nations, will be drawn to faith in Me. Since they cannot come to Me, as they are held by the tyrant, I, having defeated him and cast him out, and having cut the sinews of his power against men, shall draw them even if he does not wish it. This He called elsewhere "plunder," saying, "For no one can plunder the vessels of a strong man unless he first binds the strong man." ^D He was saying this, "And if I am lifted up," signifying by what death He was about to die, that is, that He is to be crucified; for this is what the height of the cross signifies.

VER. 34-36. *The crowd answered Him, "We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever; and how do you say, 'The Son of man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of man?" Jesus therefore said to them, "Yet a little while the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. He who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."* Thinking they would rebuke the Lord and refute Him, as though He were not the true Christ, they say: "If the Christ is immortal, and You say about Yourself that You are going to die, how then shall we believe You are the Christ?" But they said this wickedly. For the Scripture, which they call the law, mentions not only the resurrection but also the passion. For Isaiah sets forth both: the passion and death, saying thus: "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter"; and the resurrection, in saying: "And the Lord willed to cleanse Him of the wound, and"

^A show Him to be light. And David also makes mention of both the death and the resurrection: "For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell," he says. And the patriarch, too, blessing Judah, prophesies concerning Christ: "He lay down and slept as a lion, and as a lion’s whelp: who shall rouse him?" Thus, those who here denied the passion, and yet testified to the immortality of Christ, were doing so with a malicious intent. "We have learned out of the law," that is, from the Scripture (for, as we have often said, the whole Scripture is called the law), "that Christ abides forever." You have learned this rightly; for He does indeed abide forever, and as God He abides even after the resurrection; but you have not learned of His passion, and how is it that, while the same Scriptures, as we have shown, teach both at once? "How then," they say, "do you say that the Son of man must be lifted up?" You see that they understood many things even of what was being said enigmatically by the Lord; just as they understood that "to be lifted up" was said concerning the cross. Thus, therefore, they understood many things, yet by a willful malice they feigned ignorance. Consider ^B further what they say: "How do you say that the Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of man?" For their speech is full of malice, as if they were saying: "Behold, we do not even know of whom you speak, and who this Son of man is; yet we declare the truth, that whosoever it is that is to be lifted up, he is not the Christ. For how, since the Scriptures say that Christ is immortal?" What then does the Lord do? He closes their mouths, and shows that the passion does not hinder Him from abiding forever. "Yet a little while," He says, "is the light with you"; for He called Himself the light. Just as, therefore, the light of the sun is not entirely taken away, but when it sets, it rises again; so too is My death not corruption, but a setting and a removal, and I shall rise again through the resurrection. Since, therefore, nothing hinders the passion from being consistent with My being eternal, and the Scriptures testify concerning Christ that He is eternal, therefore I am the Christ, even if I should suffer the passion; for I am light; even if I set, I shall rise again. "Walk therefore ^C whilst you have the light," that is, Believe in Me. What time does He speak of here? That before the cross, or that after the cross, or both? Both; for "Walk," He says, "and believe in Me, both before I am crucified, and after the cross." For this is what He signifies by saying: "Whilst you have the light," that is, While you are able to believe in Me. And you are able to believe in Me, who am the light, both before the cross and after these things. "And he that walketh in darkness," he says, "knoweth not whither he goeth." For how many things the Jews do now, and they do not know what they ^D are doing! [index: entries preserved]

^A They observe the Sabbath and circumcision, but they are like those walking in darkness; they think they are traveling the straight path, but they suffer the very opposite. But not so those who have believed; they walk in the light, doing all things that provide salvation. For they have escaped the shadow of the law and the darkness of its riddles, and have drawn near to the light that was hidden but has now shone forth, and they have become "children of light," that is, of Christ. "For," he says, "that you may become children of light," which is to say, children to me. Although in the beginning the Evangelist says that some are born of God, here he calls them children of light, that is, of Christ. Let Arius and Eunomius, therefore, be put to shame. For one operation of the Father and the Son is indicated even in this passage.

VERS. 37-40. "These things Jesus spoke, and departing, he hid himself from them. But though he had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in him; that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he said, Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes and understand with their heart and turn, and I should heal them."

Why was he "hidden from them"? ^B For they had not now "taken up stones" against him, nor did they blaspheme in the way they had before. Why, then, was he hidden? Entering into their hearts, he saw the indignation of their savage hearts, even though they said nothing. He therefore "hid himself," mitigating their envy. For the fact that they envied and did not believe out of a voluntary malice, the Evangelist implies, saying: "But though he had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in him." It is truly a work of no small malice not to believe in the presence of such signs. "And such signs," he says, which the Evangelist has omitted. Jesus, therefore, hid himself, mitigating their envy, and at the same time giving them time and leisure, so that in quiet they might consider his words and actions. ^C For in this way, if they had wished, they could have arrived at a perception of the dignity of his divinity. For although he foreknew their unbelief, he nevertheless did all things that pertained to himself, and he withdrew, as has been said, giving them time for discernment.

Now, the phrase "they did not believe in him; that the word of Isaiah might be fulfilled," refers not to a cause, but to an outcome, as we have often said. For they were not destined to disbelieve in Christ *because* Isaiah foretold this, but because they were about to disbelieve, for this reason the prophet foretold it. And the statement, "They could not believe, because Isaiah said again," concerning them, holds the same meaning. For through all these things he wishes to assert that Scripture is not false, and that the things Isaiah foretold did not come to pass otherwise than as he said. ^D In order that no one might be able to say and doubt why Christ came, if he knew that the Jews were not about to believe in him, he introduces the prophets who had foretold this, demonstrating that he was not unaware of their unbelief, and that he came nonetheless, so that they might not have any

pretext ^A regarding their sin, nor be able to say, "If he had come, we would have believed." But understand the phrase, "They could not believe," as meaning, "they would not." For a bad and wicked person cannot believe as long as he remains such, namely, choosing and desiring wicked things. And when you hear that "God has blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart," do not think that he simply makes some people good and others evil—far be it!—but understand "blinding" to mean total abandonment by God. What I mean is this: let there be someone who is moderately evil; it seems that God is still with him, for there is hope that he will turn back. But when a man is filled to the brim with wickedness, then God abandons him because of his evil choice, and the man is said to live as a blind person, deprived of the divine light and walking in the darkness of sin. Henceforth, his blindness is thought to be the absence of divine light, and the hardening of his heart, the loss of the divine Word which softens the hearts of those who receive it. Therefore, he who does not admit even a ray of the divine Word is blinded, and he who does not wish to give ear to the Word that softens hearts is hardened, and the absence of God generally blinds and darkens. When, therefore, you hear that "God blinds," understand it in this way: that he blinds by not being present. For if God were present, the person would not have been blinded. If there were a sun, there would not be darkness; but now, the sun causes the night—but how? By setting. So too, God makes people blind by not being present with them. He is not present because of their wickedness, and from that point on, they sin as blind people ^B irrevocably, and they fall into errors without correction.

Let us also look at what Isaiah says: "Lord, who has believed our report?"—that is, no one has believed. For the word "who" is often used in Scripture in place of "no one." The prophet speaks this as if from the person of Christ, with Christ saying to the Father: "Lord, who has believed our report?"—that is, "No one has believed our word and our preaching," which he called "report." For, he says, "Whatever I have heard from my Father, those things ^C I speak." And to whom has the arm been revealed? That is, the powerful efficacy of the signs, which he calls the "arm," has been revealed to none of the ungrateful Jews, but they even slander me while I do so many signs.

"These things Isaiah said, when he saw his glory, and spoke about him. Nevertheless, even among the rulers many believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they might not be put out of the synagogue. For they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God." ^D "These things Isaiah said, when he saw his glory." Whose? The Son's, even though, according to the sequence of the prophecy, the prophet appears to behold the glory of the Father.

And yet, Paul says it is of the Spirit. Therefore, the glory of the holy Trinity is one; that which is the Father's is also the Son's, and the same is the Spirit's. ^A He says that Isaiah saw that glory—the smoke that appeared, the Seraphim, the coals, the altar, the throne. Isaiah, therefore, saw this glory and spoke about him, namely, the Son. And what did he speak about him? The things previously mentioned: "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts." The evangelist notes, "Nevertheless, even among the rulers many believed in him," demonstrating that in this too the Pharisees lied when they said, "Has any of the rulers believed in him?" ^B For behold, many even of the rulers believed, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing it, for they loved the glory of men. This is what Christ had foretold to them: "How can you believe, who receive glory from men, and do not seek the glory that comes from God alone?" The evangelist therefore shows that they were suffering this which Christ had foretold to them. Thus they were not rulers, but slaves, serving the most extreme and base slavery. From this, therefore, we learn that someone who is a lover of glory is a slave and ignominious.

VERS. 44, 45. Jesus, however, cried out and said: "He who believes in me, does not believe in me, but in him who sent me. And he who sees me, sees him who sent me." Jesus had indeed hidden himself for a time, yielding ^C for a little while to the anger of the Jews; but now he appears again and cries out freely and publicly. Showing himself to be equal to the Father, and not contrary to God, he says, "He who believes in me, does not believe in me, but in him who sent me," as if saying this: Why have you feared to believe in me? The faith that is in me passes on to my Father. Observe also the precision of the language. He did not say, "He who believes me," but "He who believes in me," which signifies faith in God. For it is one thing to believe someone, and another to believe in someone. For he who believes someone can be understood as believing that he speaks the truth; but he who believes in someone believes in him entirely as God. Therefore, one might say that one believes the apostles, but not that one believes in the apostles. ^D For this reason, the Lord did not say, "He who believes me" (since Paul and Peter might perhaps have been able to say, "He who believes me"—and indeed, it is held against the Hebrews that they did not believe Moses), but he said the greater thing, "He who believes in me," through which he shows himself to be God; just as he says to his disciples, "You believe in God, believe also in me." And so, since he who believes in him transmits his faith to the Father, he who disbelieves him also disbelieves the Father. "And he who sees me, sees him who sent me." Does he see the features of his body? No; for the Father does not have a bod-

body, so that one who sees Christ ^A bodily could be said to see the Father as well; rather, understand here a vision according to the mind—as if he were saying: "He who has grasped my essence, as far as is possible for man, through the contemplation of the mind, has grasped also the essence of the Father." He who has known me as God, has fully known the Father as well; for I am the image of the Father. And by all these things, the consubstantiality of the Father and the Son is revealed. Let those who labor under the disease of Arius hear: that he who believes in the Son does not believe in him as another, but in the Father; so that either the Father is also a creature, or neither is the Son. Just as one might say that he who draws ^B water from a river does not take the water of the river, but that of the fountain; so also, he who believes in the Son does not believe in the Son as if he were a river—for the Son is not of a different substance, nor does he possess anything extrinsic to the Father—but he believes in the fountain of goodness, I mean the Father.

"I have come as a light into the world, that everyone who believes in me may not remain in darkness. And if anyone hears my words, and does not believe, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world." And again, by this, he demonstrates his consubstantiality. For because the Father is also called "light" everywhere in Scripture, on that account he says of himself: "I have come as a light into the world." Whence also Paul ^C calls him the "radiance," showing from this that there is nothing between the Father and the Son; but where there is the Father, there is the Son, just as where there is light, there is the radiance. The Son, therefore, is light, both because he delivers from error and because he dispels mental darkness. And just as light, when it appears, makes both itself and other visible things manifest, so also the Son, having come and appeared to us, made known himself and the Father, and enlightened the hearts of those who received him with all knowledge. "If anyone hears me," he says, "and does not believe, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world." The meaning of what he says is this: To the man who disbelieves, I am not the cause of condemnation; for I did not come for this primarily, but this happened as a byproduct. For I indeed came "to save," and for this reason I taught. But if anyone disbelieves, I am not the ^D cause of condemnation for him, but he has brought this upon himself. And by what follows, what is being said will become more evident; but hear what comes next.

"He who rejects me, and does not receive my words, has one who judges him. The word that I have spoken, that will judge him in the last day; for I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me, he himself gave me commandment what I should say and what I should speak; and I know that his commandment is eternal life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told me, so I speak." "I," he says, "judge no one, but he who does not believe has one who judges him; just as we are also accustomed to say often, when we are about to [punish] an unruly child...

we are to strike him, because it is not we who strike him, but his own negligence and disorder; and we do not condemn him, but our admonitions, which he did not obey, these condemn him as disobedient. Thus, therefore, did the Lord also: "I do not judge, but the word which I have spoken, that shall judge him." For why did they disbelieve? Was it as if He were an adversary of God, and seeking His own glory? But surely, "I have not spoken of myself," but having said everything from My Father, nowhere did I proclaim Myself to be thinking anything else. ^B "For the Father who sent Me has given Me a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak." Oh, the humility of these words! For tell me, O Lord, even before the Father sent You and gave You the commandment, did You not know what You ought to speak, but were ignorant of this commandment, which is eternal life, and did You not know this eternal life? And how did You say, "I am the life"? You see what absurdity arises if we do not listen with good understanding. Recognize, therefore, why He speaks so humbly: it is on account of the hearers, who were so weak. And what does He wish to signify by these things? Clearly, to say or think nothing other than the Father. For just as, He says, those who deliver a commandment say nothing beyond what is enjoined, so indeed even I myself think or teach nothing other than what has seemed good to the Father. Wishing, therefore, to show this—the unanimity, I say, with the Father—He made mention of this example, of the commandment, I say. Therefore He also adds: "What I speak, therefore, just as the Father has said to Me, so I speak." So then, since I have said nothing from Myself, what pretext will those who have disbelieved put forward? For they will be condemned without question, as having disbelieved the Father. Let the orthodox person, therefore, understand nothing lowly from those lowly words, such as, "I have received a commandment," and similar ones; but let him interpret these candidly, as also this: "I have received a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak." For the Son, being the Word, and manifesting all things that are in the mind—in the Father, I say—says that He received a commandment from Him as to what He should say and what He should speak. Just as our own word, if we are to speak the truth, says those things which the mind suggests to it, and by no means is the word of a different substance from the mind, but is entirely of the same substance. ^C

CAPUT XIII. Concerning the basin or washing of feet. How Judas went out that he might betray Christ. Concerning the commandment to love one another. Concerning the one who asked Peter whither Jesus was going.

VERS. 1. "Before the feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come, that He should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them unto the end." The Lord indeed knew even before all ages the ^D

hour of His death; ^A but when it was now at hand, He performed an act full of great mercy and condescension, and manifesting great love toward the disciples. For being about to leave them, He showed a more intense charity. For the words, "Having loved His own, He loved them unto the end," mean this: that He omitted nothing of those things which it was fit for one who loves greatly to do. Therefore, He also does this last of all, washing the feet of the disciples, so as to increase their affection for Him, and to store up for them great consolation against the evils that were about to come upon them, when they reflected that He who had so loved them as to wash even their feet, would not despise them in more serious trials. He calls the death of Christ a "transition," on account of the assumption following from the resurrection. Since, therefore, He was to depart ^B from this world, He showed His charity toward "His own." He calls the disciples "His own" according to the principle of familiarity. For, regarding the principle of creation, all men are His own, as it is written: "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not." But the saints are "His own" also in that they are familiar to Him, just as in this place He called the disciples "His own." He added to these, "who are in the world," because there were other "own" of His, such as Abraham and the patriarchs, but not in the world—for they had departed from that place. "These, therefore, His own who were in this world, He loved unto the end," that is, He declared a perfect charity toward them.

Verses 2-5

by washing the disciples' feet. For He had not snatched at glory, such that He might fear to fall from it and therefore refuse to perform any humble task—as those of lowly birth suffer, who, once they have snatched at glory, are unwilling in any way to humble themselves, lest they lose what they have snatched for themselves, which is not rightfully theirs. But He was the King of all and the Son of God. For the words, "He came forth from God"—that is, from the substance of the Father—and "He goeth to God again," signify these things. Thus, the glory of One who is so great was not destined to be diminished by His washing the disciples. Consider also, for my sake, that if to be humbled is the work of Him who comes forth from God and goes to God, then to be arrogant must be the work of him who comes forth from demons and goes to demons. When, however, you hear that "the Father delivered all things unto Him," do not think that any impotence of the Son is indicated here, but rather learn of His reverence toward the Father and the concord of their will. For if the Son seems to you impotent because the Father is said to have delivered these things to Him, then understand the Father to be impotent as well, because the Son delivers the kingdom to Him, as the Apostle says. But it is not so; rather, the delivery signifies concord, and cooperation, if I may so say, and the good pleasure of the Father. Observe also the superabundance of His humility. For He does not wash them before the supper, but after all had reclined, He alone rises while they are resting; and He ^B puts aside His garments—teaching us to be ready and unencumbered for ministry—and girds Himself with a towel, Himself doing everything, washing and wiping. He also pours the water, and this too He does Himself, not entrusting it to another. All these things are signs and precepts for us on how we ought to minister with all alacrity, and that we should perform all things ourselves, not using other servants. ^C VERS. 6, 7. "Then cometh He to Simon Peter; and he saith unto Him, Lord, dost Thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do, thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter." He does not wash Peter first, although he held the primacy among the disciples, but perhaps the traitor, being impudent and shameless, reclined before Peter and had his feet washed. Whence is this evident? From the text: "He began," it says, "to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them; then cometh He to Simon Peter." Thus it indicates that He did not wash Peter first. For He would not have said "He cometh to Simon Peter," had He not washed some other person before Peter. From among the other disciples, no one would have endured to be washed before Peter. However, the traitor might have dared to do so. For if He had begun to wash any one of the other disciples, that person, whoever he might have been, would surely have restrained the Lord, and would have said exactly what Peter said: "Lord, dost Thou wash my feet?" and he would not have permitted it. Therefore, He did not wash any other before the traitor, and then Peter. From Peter, however, it is likely that the rest were instructed...

^A not to resist, but to accept such an honor offered to them by Jesus. Observe also the words of Peter, how much emphasis they possess: "Do you wash my feet with those hands with which you cleansed lepers, with which you raised the dead, with which you opened the eyes of the blind? You, who have done these things and greater, to me, the servant, the ignorant one—and not my hands, nor any other more honorable part, but my feet, the lowest of all, the member most deemed ignoble?" What then does the Lord say? "What I am doing, you do not understand now," because it contains great humility, and I am teaching this to you also. "But afterward," when you drive out demons in my name, when you see me being taken up into heaven, when you learn from the Spirit that I sit at the right hand of the Father, then ^B you will know that He who has so humbled Himself as to wash even your feet, He it is who gives you such power against demons, and was taken up, and glorified with the Father, in no wise diminished by being humbled; and thus you will then also embrace within your breast the humility which will exalt you more than it will humble you.

"Peter says to Him, 'You shall never wash my feet.' Jesus answered him, 'If I do not wash you, you have no part with me.' Simon Peter says to Him, 'Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.'" Great is the reverence of Peter toward the Master, whence he religiously rejects this service from Him. Although he had been rebuked by Christ in another place ^C—and indeed he certainly ought, even on account of the former rebuke, to have permitted the Lord to wash him—yet because that which was being performed by Christ was so great, he refuses; and he does not consider that the Lord might again rebuke him more vehemently as being disobedient. What then does Christ do? He does not say to him, "I am teaching you humility, O Peter, and for this reason I wash your feet." For Peter would have said to Him, and would have sworn, that he would practice humility even without the washing of his feet. But what does He say to him? He brandishes against him that which He knew most of all would prick his heart, like some kind of scare-crow: "If I do not wash you," He says, "you have no part with me." For since he was the one ^D who more than all the other disciples desired to be with Christ (whence he asked, "Where are you going?" and promised out of love, "I will lay down my soul for you"), He shakes his soul by means of this threat: "For if I do not wash you," He says, "you have no part with me." As soon, then, as Peter heard this fearful threat, as vehement as he was in refusing, so much so—or rather, even more vehement—was he in admitting, so that he gave even his head to be washed. Both were from love: for the refusal was from his greatly honoring the Lord, and the admission was from his not wishing to be separated from Him. But you, when you see someone vehemently insisting out of rashness, and saying, and with an oath, "I will never do it,"

then, out of reverence for the oath, persisting in what was wrongly decided, and from this being in danger, either regarding his soul or body, you might wisely use the example of Peter, who, being insistent, when he saw that his insistence was leading to a separation from Christ, broke off from it.

VERS. 10. *Dicit ei Jesus: Qui lotus est, non opus habet nisi ut pedes lavet, sed est mundus totus: et vos mundi estis, sed non omnes.* For He knew who it was that would betray Him; for this reason He said, "You are not all clean." ^B Taking the occasion, the Lord rebukes ^A the traitor, so as to lead him away from his unclean intent and turn him to another way of thinking, as he was in need of washing away his wickedness. "You, therefore," He says, "being washed, have no further need of another bath; but there is one who is unclean and in need of washing." Many, however, ask how the Lord said to the apostles, "You are clean," for, as they had not yet been freed from sins, they had not yet been deemed worthy of the Spirit. For sin still prevailed, and the curse was still active. For "the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world" was not yet slain, nor had He yet been hung on the tree to redeem us from the curse. How, then, were the apostles clean? It is possible, therefore, to say that even though they had not been completely freed from sins, yet, "because of the word," He says, "which I have spoken to you, you are clean": that is, according to this you are clean for now. You have already received the light, you have already been freed from the Jewish error. Since even Isaiah, hear, teaches us how to be washed: "Wash yourselves, and be clean; put away your wickednesses from your souls." Thus, they themselves, because they dwelt with Christ with all innocence and guilelessness, are deservedly called washed and clean by the Lord. ^C Some, however, understood "supper" as the knowledge of the mystery according to Christ at the end of the ages, which Christ, teaching His own disciples, washes their feet also, not as having stain, but as making them ready for the Gospel, according to that which was said by Isaiah: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach peace." — "For you, indeed," He says, "are clean," but it is regarding yourselves; but it is necessary that you also be sent for the purification of others: which is signified by the washing of the feet. The basin, therefore, does not make us understand a purification of the sins of the apostles (for they are declared to be clean), but is a symbol that they are to be sent out for preaching, and are to convey also to other men the purity which was given to them by the Lordly Word. Therefore also Peter says, "Do not wash my feet only, but also my head,"—that is, "Do not send me out for preaching only, but also purify my head through martyrdom." Understand, however, that these things are being fulfilled even now. For even now a supper takes place in the divine sacred operation, when His divine body and blood are set forth. ^D What, then, is required of each

of us to do? Hear: ^A We all who have believed in Christ possess within ourselves the Word of God and the evangelical proclamation. For we have all received Christ into our hearts, but we ought in this divine supper to rouse the Word so that He may arise, and to put off His garments which cover Him. The garment is avarice, the garment is vainglory, the garment is envy, and each of the other passions which, lying upon the divine Word in us, weigh Him down. These, then, must be put off as the Word rises, so that, being unburdened, He may be able to work our purification through repentance. For when the Word has arisen, having laid aside every burden and worldly care, He will wash our thoughts, as we are His disciples and followers; and He will wash our feet, that is, our active movements and our steps. But if anyone requires further purification, and desires to be approved in both the doctrinal and contemplative life, let him say to the Lord: ^B "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head," which is to say: Do not purify only my walk, but also my hands, so that I may be able to guide others and to take them along toward the good; and my head, so that in the contemplative and theological part I may have a pure and undefiled thought concerning the Divine. Thus, therefore, through confession we can be washed, so that we may not partake of the supper unworthily, and eat and drink judgment unto ourselves.

^C "So after He had washed their feet, and had taken His garments, and was set down again, He said to them: Know you what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord: and you say well, for so I am. If then I, being your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so you do also. Amen, amen I say to you: The servant is not greater than his lord: neither is the apostle greater than he that sent him." He no longer speaks to Peter alone, but to all, and sets forth the reason for such humility toward Himself, which is that we should become imitators of Him. And what if this which He had said before to Peter, ^D "But thou shalt know hereafter," is said to pertain to this present time? For "thou shalt know," He said, "Peter, after these things," when, having taken My garments and sat down, I shall begin to teach you and to say, "Know you what I have done to you?" For if I, whom you testify to be "Lord and Master," and you testify well (for I am), have washed your feet (and He did not say "of the servants, the unlettered and the ignorant," but left this to their consideration), it is most necessary for you that one should wash the feet of another; [D cont] that is, that you should serve one another in every ministry. For by the washing, which seems to be the lowest service, He wishes us not to refuse even other far more honorable ones; for I have given you an example, that as I did to you, so you also should do.

That is to say, with the same eagerness. For even if what I did is greater, in that I, being Lord, washed the feet of slaves, and you yourselves shall wash the feet of your fellow-slaves, yet we see even teachers handing down letters to children with great beauty, so that they may arrive, even if from afar, at imitation. He admonishes the apostles of these things out of necessity. For since they were to enjoy honor, some greater and some lesser, so that they might not exalt themselves against one another, He humbles and casts down the spirits of all of them ^A. "For the slave is not greater than his lord," as long as he is a slave; nor the apostle or envoy greater than Him who sent him, as long as he is an envoy. But when he becomes greater, he is neither a slave nor an envoy.

"If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. I do not speak concerning all of you; I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled: He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me. Now I tell you before it comes to pass, that when it happens, you may believe that I am He." Lest they say, "Why do You tell us these things as if we were ignorant? We ourselves know the good of humility,"—that is why He says, "If you know,"—it does not suffice for you alone, but then truly "are you blessed, if" also "you do them." For the Jews also knew the commandments, but were not blessed; rather, they were most miserable, as not doing them. ^B "I do not speak concerning all of you; I know whom I have chosen." He reproves, and yet does not reprove, the traitor, by using a shrouded way of speaking. For He wished to lead him to repentance; and therefore, having set aside all other benefits which He had bestowed upon him, He put forward this one, which was of all things most capable of putting him to shame. "He who eats My bread," that is, he who is fed by Me, who enjoys My table, through which He might even appease His enemies. And He did not say, "This man is betraying Me," but, "He has lifted up his heel against Me," that is, he has composed guile and deceit against Me; a metaphor taken from those who wrestle, who, by tripping up their opponents while treading on their heels, cast them down. ^C But by saying, "I do not speak concerning all of you," that He might not strike fear into the many, He separates him clearly and shows that there is one meditating this against Him; therefore He says, "He who eats bread with Me." But when Jesus had said, "I know whom I have chosen," what shall we say about Judas? Did He not choose him too? He did choose him while he was good, just as Saul ^D; but he was changed, being possessed of free will. He permits each one to act as he wishes; for He does not take away free will. But having changed, Judas was repelled, although He had chosen him before. But as for the words, "that the Scripture might be fulfilled," so understand them as in other similar cases about which we have often spoken. For Judas was not forced to betray because of this, so that the words of the Scripture might appear true—for this is full of all blasphemy—but so that we might know

^A that the Scripture spoke concerning this person, whom we now see has accomplished the deed. All these things, He says, I foretell concerning the traitor, "in order that when it happens, you may believe that I am He," that is to say, that I am telling the truth.

VER. 20. "Amen, amen, I say to you, he who receives whomsoever I send, receives Me; and he who receives Me, receives Him who sent Me." What connection do these things now said have with the preceding? For while He was speaking about the traitor, He adds: "He who receives whomsoever I send, receives Me." This is indeed a very great connection. For since He had spoken about being betrayed, and had discussed that He was about to leave them, and they were henceforth about to go out, and to be scattered, and to suffer many terrible things, He consoles them in two ways: one way is from His own example. For He pointed out to them both what He Himself was about to suffer, and what He did toward the traitor, by washing his feet and choosing him as a sharer in the table. For if they should ponder these things, they will surely bear all terrible things easily. This, then, is one way—by those things which He did, ^B healing His enemy unto the end, and by those things which the Lord was about to suffer, He consoles them. The other way is from the fact that He promises that the houses of all men will be open to them, and that they will be welcomed by all who have heard their word. Do you see the connection of the current words to those before them? He was about to leave them; they were about to suffer myriad evil and terrible things; He consoled them by the example of Himself—being about to be betrayed by a disciple whose feet He had washed—and He consoles them also by foretelling to them that although they will suffer many terrible things, yet all men will welcome them. And He says, "He who receives you," for he says, "receives Me," and through Me, God and the Father. ^C Observe the kind of consolation. Just as they will hold God Himself in honor, He says, so will men do to you, so that you might not be sorrowful because of the malice of persecutors.

VER. 21, 22. "When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and He testified, and said: Amen, amen, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me." The disciples, therefore, were looking at one another, being in doubt about whom He spoke. The ^D Lord, considering that the traitor is deprived of both of these—both the patience in labors and the comfort from those who receive them—is troubled in spirit, that is to say, his soul is cast into sadness. "And He testified," he says, instead of: He foretold, He bore witness, He declared. The disciples, therefore, being in doubt, were looking at one another; for although each of them was well aware of himself, and no evil at all was accusing them in their conscience, they nevertheless judged the word of the Lord to be more trustworthy than their own thoughts. For this reason they are both sorrowful and in doubt. For the pronouncement was of Him who did not know how to lie, which they believed would by all means come to pass. But some understood "one of you" in this way: "One," he says, "who has fallen out from your choir, and has gone out from you, will betray Me"; just as also the passage, "Behold, Adam has become like one of us." And indeed, in that place too, they interpreted the saying rather curiously: "He has become," he says, "like the devil. Like one who fell from among us, that is,"

^A he fell away from us by reason of disobedience.

*And there was reclining one of his disciples in the bosom of Jesus, whom Jesus loved.* Simon Peter therefore signals to him to ask who it might be of whom he speaks. And he, having fallen upon the breast of Jesus, says to him: "Lord, who is it?" Jesus answers: "It is he to whom I shall give the bread when I have dipped it."

Why, while all were anxious, and Peter himself, the chief, was trembling ^B, does John recline as if luxuriating in the bosom of the Lord? And furthermore, why does he say about himself that he is the one *whom Jesus loved*? He reclined, then, for these two reasons: first, because he was loved by Him more than all the others, and to recline with the Lord is a sign of love. The other reason is that he wished to show himself to be alien to the crime by the fact of his familiarity and confidence with Christ. But he testifies about himself that Jesus loved him in order to resolve a problem. For in order that you, hearing that Peter signaled to him to ask, might not suppose that he signaled to him as to his superior, the evangelist says of himself that Peter signaled to him not as to a superior, but as to one who had been loved ^C more by the Lord; and thus it is a word of humility rather than of ostentation. For he does not say, "I loved Jesus"—which would be a claim about Peter—but what? "He," he says, "loved me, having taken me up for the sake of mercy and compassion," which is what the Apostle also says: "I follow after, if I may apprehend that for which I also was apprehended by God," and again, "Those who have known God, or rather have been known by God." Thus, therefore, even the phrase "whom Jesus loved" is not a boast, but an indication of humility.

But why does Peter not ask the Lord, but signal to John? Because, from his great zeal, he had often ^D been found rushing forward, only to be rebuked; for that reason, he is afraid to ask now, lest the Lord rebuke him again as one who acts rashly. And for what reason does John fall upon the breast of Jesus so irreverently and without restraint? Because he still did not conceive anything great about Christ, nor were they yet instructed to offer the honor worthy of reverence; for the men were fishermen and unskilled in proper behavior. The Lord, however, permits him to fall upon his breast, dissolving his despondency, calming the agitation of his mind, and simply lulling his grief to sleep. For it is probable that much gloom appeared upon their faces, too. And even when asked in this way, the Lord does not reveal the traitor by name, but through the morsel he signifies him, so to speak, shaming the traitor and bringing him to an awareness of the table and the bread—of which he ought not to have partaken, only to then betray and rage against the one who feeds him. "Receive," he says, "the bread of which you have partaken with me; come to an awareness of our common table." But he did not understand, his soul being numbed by his passion. If you wish to also recline near Jesus, and to fall upon his breast, and to learn the mystical ab

things from him, strive to be loved by him through a simple and good disposition. For indeed, John was the most innocent, and most simple, and most gentle of all; therefore he was loved. And you, therefore, if you be such an innocent person, shall also be deemed worthy to recline upon the breast of Jesus (which is a symbol of theological dignity. For the Scripture knows that the sayings of the Lord are hidden in the heart), and so shall be revealed to you both the whole mystery and the betrayer of the Word. For to him who has been entrusted with the grace of theology, the betrayer of the Word—I mean, he who glorifies it contrary to the right faith—becomes manifest. For the heretic who adulterates the word of the truth, which is bread, is shown to have it not pure, but tinctured.

"And having dipped the morsel, he gives it to Judas of Simon Iscariot; and after the morsel, then entered into him Satan. The Jesus says to him: What you do, do quickly. And no one of those reclining knew for what he said this to him." For some thought, since Judas held the money-box, that Jesus says to him: "Buy what we have need of for the feast, or that he should give something to the poor." Having then taken the morsel, that man immediately went out. And it was night when he went out. ^B Since the Lord indeed gave the morsel to Judas, if perhaps by coming to his senses at the table and the bread, he might abstain from the betrayal, but Judas was not improved even so; then indeed, then he became completely Satan's, and was handed over to him as irreclaimable. For as long as he was thought to be of the disciples, and a part of the holy choir, Satan had not so great an entry into him; but when the Lord severed him, and separated him from the other disciples, having made him a pattern through the bread, from that time he seized him as having been abandoned by the Lord and separated from the divine choir. For behold also this, "Satan entered into him," that is, entered into the innermost parts of his heart, and seized his soul. For previously he troubled him from the outside through the passion of avarice; now, however, he took complete hold of him, suggesting the betrayal to him.

"Jesus says therefore to him: What you do, do quickly." This, however, is not the act of one urging him to betrayal, but rather of one reproaching him and permitting him to come to the betrayal. For by saying, "Do it," it is as if he were saying: "Behold, I leave you to do what you wish; I do not impede your will, I do not hold you back any longer." For prior to this, he himself held in check his malice, keeping the time of his death for himself, just as he also said: "No one takes my soul from me, but I lay it down of myself."* ^C

"And no one of those reclining knew this." This is worthy of inquiry, how no one knew, although the Lord, having been asked who is the betrayer, said: "To whom I shall give the morsel." It appears, therefore, that he said this secretly to John alone, so that none of the others heard. Since John also, having fallen upon his breast, was asking, as it were, into his ear, and thus the betrayer was not made manifest—otherwise Peter might perhaps have torn him to pieces and killed him. Did John, then, not know

^A him? Neither did he. For he would not have expected that a disciple would proceed to such a depth of lawlessness. Far indeed was that holy soul from such wickedness, nor would it have easily suspected this of another. "No one therefore knew," but they thought that by "Do it quickly," he was speaking "of buying something for the feast," or that he might "give something to the poor." For he did indeed have great care for the poor, and—how is it that he who admonishes others not to carry a wallet or money was himself carrying a money box? He shows that even one who is destitute and crucified to the world must take great care of that portion. "And it was night," he says, "when he went out." The evangelist did not note this for no reason, but to teach us that not even the time ^B restrained him, but that even when it was night he wove his plot. Judas went out, therefore, on the fifth day, it seems to me, in the evening, when "Satan entered into him." For on the fourth day he had approached him, when, that is, the woman in Matthew poured out the ointment; but he went away and spoke with the Jews concerning the betrayal. But on the fifth day in the evening he entered into him, which is to say, he took possession of his heart; just as it is one thing for one to strike someone on the outside with a hand, and another to pierce the vitals with a sword. Judas went out, therefore, both sensibly and intellectually, from the Savior. "And it was night," perhaps also an intellectual night, the darkness of avarice having taken hold of him.

VERSES 31, 32.

^A again he will glorify me; and he will not delay, but immediately, when I suffer degrading passions, when I seem to be removed from the midst through death, then he will honor me the more, then he will make me manifest through the resurrection.

"Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me; and as I said to the Jews, 'Where I am going, you cannot come,' so now I say to you. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

Since they were to suffer grievous things after a little while, he now foretells these things to them, so that they might have them in memory and be prepared for them beforehand. ^B This also contributes to his glory. For it was no small glory of his that those things which were about to befall the disciples were foretold by him, the disciples later reminding themselves that the Lord had foretold these things to them. And showing that it was not then for the first time, but that he knew long before that they would seek him when they were in tribulations, he says that he also said this same thing to the Jews, as one who knew long before.

The statement, "Where I am going," by saying this, he indicates his death as being a transition and a displacement to a better place, one that does not receive corruptible bodies. To the Jews he said, "You will seek me, and where I am going you cannot come," striking them with fear; but for the disciples, he was kindling longing. For we are accustomed, when we see some of our dearest ones departing, to be more ^C kindled, and especially if they go to a place to which it is not possible for us to go. Kindling their longing, therefore, he says these things. And for this reason he added, "Little children," so that they might not think that he spoke these things to them with such a disposition as he did to the Jews, but out of love.

The Jews did indeed seek him when their city was captured, and the heaven-sent wrath came upon them from all sides, just as Josephus also testifies that these things happened to them on account of the death of Jesus. But the disciples, when they fled and were afflicted in other ways; for which reason in another place he says, "The bridegroom will be taken away, and the friends of the bridegroom will fast." He foretells, therefore, the future to both these and those: to the former because of their unbelief, to the latter because of love, so that they might not fall into unexpected evils. And since it was likely that, hearing such things, they would be troubled in spirit at the prospect of being left alone, he comforts them, saying, "Do not grieve; for I give you a strong guardian, love itself. For if you have this, you will be invincible, strengthened by one another."

Then, since someone might have been puzzled: "How, O Lord, do you give a new commandment, love, which we know was commanded even in the Old [Law]?" he adds, "As I have loved you, that you also love one another." For just as I, he says, loved you freely, ^D without any good works of yours preceding, but even though human nature was an enemy, I took it up and sanctified it: so too do you freely "love one another"; even if a brother has offended you, do not hold it against him. You see that

this is the new commandment: that a man, owing nothing to his neighbor, should love him gratuitously? The Law, however, said, "You shall love your friend," [Levit. xix, 18] as a debt, commanding a return of love to the neighbor who had first begun to show it. But by showing that they ^A would not be extinguished after his departure, but would be conspicuous, he says: "By this shall all men know." Do you see how he asserts that they will be recognized by all, comforting them not a little by this? Leaving aside the sign and character derived from miracles, he now makes them recognizable by charity. For there are many who will have worked miracles who are to hear, "I do not know you" [Matth. xxv, 12]. But if the whole world was brought to the faith by miracles, what is there to marvel at? For indeed, because charity was present, therefore the power to work miracles was also in them. But if they had been divided and separated, everything would have perished for them, and no one would have believed them while they were so raging against one another;—just as, therefore, it also made them subject to much wonder, that the heart and soul of the believers was one [Act. IV, 32].

"Simon Peter says to him, Lord, where are you going? Jesus answered him: Where I go, you cannot follow me now; but you shall follow me later. Peter says to him, Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my soul for you. Jesus answered him: Will you lay down your soul for me? Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock shall not crow, until you have denied me three times." [Joan. xiii, 36-38]

Peter, having become rather impetuous from great fervor, because he heard the Lord saying, "Where I go, you cannot come," ^B asks: "Where are you going?" as if saying this to Christ: "What is this way that I cannot travel?" For he does not ask this with the intention of learning, but secretly indicates this: "Even if you are about to go by the most difficult way of all, I will follow you." Thus he always loved to be with Christ. Therefore, he [Christ] also replies to his intention: "You cannot follow me now, but you shall follow me later." But he [Peter] acts so rashly that he contradicts Christ, and not content with the good hope offered that he would follow later, he urges pertinaciously: "Why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my soul for you." Do you see the vehemence of his desire? Because he had heard the Lord saying: "Greater charity than this no man has, than that one should lay down his soul for his friends" [Joan. xv, 13], he desires now this degree and pinnacle of charity; and therefore he promises to lay down his own soul for the Lord. ^C The Savior, therefore, showing that it is for him alone, and not for any man, to promise such things with authority, says: "Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times"—that is, now. For the interval was not great. For he was speaking in the dead of the night, and the first and second watch of the night had passed. Because, therefore, great charity made Peter contradict him, he indeed approves of the charity,

for even if he discoursed during the night, both the first and second watch of the night had passed. Since, therefore, great love made Peter argumentative, he accepts the love but cuts off the counter-argument. Wherefore he also strips him of help from above, and instructs him to recognize his own infirmity. For if you love, you ought to obey the one whom you love. I said, "You cannot," and you contradict. Through the denial you shall know clearly that it is impossible that what I say should not come to pass. So, caring for him, he allowed him to fall, so that even in the things that followed, when he should take up the administration of the world, he might not suffer this, but might recognize himself. And see how he fell, not once, but three times. Thus the abandonment by God proves our infirmity, and he who pays attention finds this to be a very great benefit. ^A A contradiction, however, he cuts off: therefore he strips him of help from above, and teaches him so that he may recognize his own imbecility. For if you love, you ought to obey him whom you love. I said that "You cannot," and you contradict: through denial you will learn clearly that it is impossible for what I say not to happen. And thus showing care for him, he permitted him to fall, so that later, when he had taken up the administration of the world, he might experience nothing of the sort, but might recognize himself. And see how he fell not once, but three times. Thus the abandonment by God shows our infirmity; and he who attends to this finds it to be a greatest benefit.

CAPUT XIV.

VERS. 1. "Non turbetur cor vestrum; creditis in Deum, et in me credite." Since it was likely that they would fall into turmoil when they heard concerning the leader Peter that he would deny him, for this reason he consoles them and calms the turmoil of their hearts. For if the leader, and one so fervent, was about to deny him three times before the cock crowed, it was likely that they expected some great tribulation. Then as if the disciples were saying: And how shall we not be troubled when we are about to fall into such difficulties? he says: "Believe in God, and believe in me," and all your difficult problems will be solved, and the turmoil will be calmed through faith in God and in me. ^C For this reason, also, he said to them, "Let not your heart be troubled," so that they might believe he is God, since he was looking into their hearts and recognized their hidden turmoil.

VERS. 2, 3. "In my Father's house there are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you: I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am, you also may be." The Lord indeed said to Peter, "You shall follow me later"; but so that the others might not think that this was given to Peter alone, and not also to them, he says that that region which is about to receive Peter will receive you also, so that there is no need to be troubled about a place: "For there are many mansions in my Father's house," that is, under the power of my Father. For by house, understand power and authority. And if there were no houses, I would have gone and prepared them for you. So that from both sides you ought not to be troubled, whether they are ready or not. ^D For even if they were not ready, I would have prepared them for you with all diligence. And if I went to prepare a place for you, I would not even so have left you, but would have taken you, so that where I am, you also may be. Do you see the words of consolation and encouragement? "Where I am, you also will be." There is therefore no reason for you to be troubled, if you are to be with me.

^A VERS. 4-6. "And where I go you know, and the way you know." Thomas says to him: "Lord, we do not know where you are going, and how can we know the way?" Jesus says to him: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me." Because he knew their intention as they were seeking to learn where he was going, he gives them an occasion to ask, and says: "Where I go you know, and the way you know," inciting them to inquire. Thus also Thomas: "Lord, we do not know," he says, "where you are going, and how can we know the way?" Thomas says this out of great fear, not like Peter who desired to follow. Therefore, Christ, showing that following him will be easy and light for them, declares both where he is going and what the way is. For he is indeed going to the Father, but Christ himself is the way. Since, therefore, he says, "I am the way," you will certainly ascend to the Father through me; and not only are you the way, but also "the truth," so it is ^B reasonable for you to be confident, because you will not be deceived by me. But I am also "the life," so that even if you die, death will not prevent you from coming to the Father. Be confident, therefore, for everyone comes to the Father through me. And since I am the Lord who leads to the Father, you will certainly arrive there. For it is not possible to arrive there by any other way than through me. You, however, should understand from this that the Son is equal to the One who begat him. For in another place he says that the Father brings them to him: "No one," he says, "can come to me, unless the Father draws him." But here it is said that they are brought to the Father through him. The power of the Father and of the Son is therefore equal, for the activity is also one. When, therefore, you practice the active life, Christ becomes for you the way; but when you are engaged in contemplation, he becomes for you the truth. Since, however, many who practice the active life and are occupied with contemplation did not fully attain to life (either because they pursued virtue for the sake of empty glory, and received their reward here, or because they were led astray from the straight path by a wrong opinion in matters of dogma), for this reason there is added to the way and the truth—that is, to the practical and the contemplative—"the life." For we must, both in virtues and in discoursing rightly about divine things, look to him who lives forever, and not to the dead praise of men. ^{C D} VERS. 7. "If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. And from now on you know him, and have seen him." How did he say above, "Where I go you know, and the way you know," that is, me, and here he says: "If you had known me, you would have known my Father also"? He is not saying anything contradictory. For they indeed knew the Father, but not as they ought to have known him. For they knew him as God, but not yet as Father; but when the Spirit came later, he imparted all knowledge to them. What he says, therefore, has this meaning: If you had known my substance and dignity, you would also have known those of the Father. From this time, however, you have begun to know him through me, and have seen him.

^A

VERSE 8, 9

deity of the Father. Let Sabellius also be confounded, ^A who says that there is one hypostasis and one person of the Father and the Son. For behold, the Lord distinguishes the hypostases; and He shows one person of the Father, and another of the Son. For having said, "He who has seen me," He showed His own person; then, "has seen the Father," behold, another person. And if there were one person, He would have said nothing of the kind; but when Philip said, "Show us the Father," He would have answered that I have no Father, but I am Father and Son. And altogether, it is of extreme folly to hear the Son saying, "I am going to my Father," and "I am in the Father," and all such things, and yet not to understand that the person of the Son is one thing and that of the Father another, but to confound them. Therefore, the Lord rebukes the disciple because, while he had followed Him for so long ^B and had seen signs and works of deity, he had not yet known Him as God, so that through Him he might also know the Father. But now He says: "Since you seek to see the Father corporally, it is manifest that you do not believe either Me or Him to be God."

^B VERS. 10-12. "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak to you, I do not speak from myself: but the Father who dwells in me, he does the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake." The Son is in the Father, inasmuch as He appears in His substance; and the Father, in turn, is in the Son, just as a king appears in his image, and the image in the king. For the character of the image and the king is one. But that my substance and the Father’s is one, is manifest. "For the words that I speak, I do not speak from myself," that is, I do not say these things otherwise, but just as the Father would say them, so I speak. For I have nothing of my own that is separate from the Father, but all things are common. There is one substance ^C with separate subsistences. And not only the words that I speak are the Father’s, but also the works. For because the works are divine, and the Father is God, and I am, the works are of one substance; and thus even if I do them, the Father does them; and if the Father, I do them. "Believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me," that is, it is necessary when you hear of Father and Son, to seek nothing else toward establishing the substantial kinship. But if this is not sufficient for you to show the equal substance and honor, because the Father appears in my substance, and I in that of the Father, "or else believe me for the works' sake." For the works are of God.

VERS. 12-14. "Amen, amen I say to you: He who believes in me, the works that I do, he also shall do, and greater than these shall he do: because I go to my Father. And whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you shall ask anything in my name, I will do it." Christ, showing that He is able to do not only these works, but also others much greater than these, sets them forth with excellence. For He does not say that ^D

it was more ^A wonderful than these, but, "I am able to give even to others," He says, "to do things even greater than these." You see the power of the Only-Begotten, how it is so great that He is able to grant even to others the capacity to perform works greater than those which He Himself performed? "Because I go to my Father," this signifies: "For you it remains henceforth to work miracles; for I am already departing." Explaining to us how he who believes in Him shall be able to perform great and wondrous things, He says: "Whatever you might ask in my name." For He shows us here the method of performing miracles. For through asking, and prayer, and the invocation of His name, one is able to perform miracles. Thus did the apostles also: "In the name of Jesus Christ, arise and walk." Wherefore He did not say, "Whatever you ask, I will beseech the Father, and He will do it," but, "I will do it," declaring His own authority. "That the Father may be glorified in the Son." For when the Son is shown to be able to do great things, then the Father who begat such a Son is glorified. For observe ^B the consequence of the Father's glory: In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ the signs were done; from the signs they believed the word of the apostles, and finally, coming to the knowledge of God, they recognized the Father, and thus He was glorified in the Son. Let those who share the mind of Arius tell us: the things done through the apostles, was it He Himself who did them, and the things done through Himself, was it not He Himself, but as one receiving the power of operation from the Father, did He give to others the power to perform them while He Himself did not possess it? But for what reason did He say these same things a second time? For having said, "Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do," and then having added, "That the Father may be glorified in the Son," He says again for a second time that "Whatever you ask in my name, I will do." He says this for a second time, confirming His own word, and showing that He Himself does it, and does not stand in need of an extraneous power. ^C And He says all these things to the disciples, comforting them, and showing that He will not pass away, nor will He be obscured after dying, but He will remain again in His own dignity, and will be in the heavens. "For I go to my Father," He says. For I am not disappearing, but I am going there where the way of life is more blessed. And I shall not appear so weak, even if I die, that I will not strengthen others to perform greater works; and whatever you might wish, I will give to you. Let not your hearts, therefore, be discouraged because of my death, which is of such a kind as I have demonstrated.

"If you love me, keep my commandments: and I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Paraclete, that He may abide with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him, nor know Him: but you know Him, for He abides with you, and shall be in you." Having said above that "Whatever you ask, I will do," He shows now that one ought not to ask ^D simply, but with love towards Him and the keeping of the commandments. For then I will do it, when you ask in such a way. And otherwise, since it was likely that they, upon hearing that they would be deprived of Him, would be downcast and their souls would be troubled: "This is not," He says, "what it is to love me, to be downcast, and..."

to be troubled, but to obey those things which are spoken by me. For I gave you a commandment not to fear ^A those who kill the body. So if you love me, you will keep this, and you will no longer be grieved at my death. For to be grieved is not the action of one keeping this commandment. How then, not keeping my commandment but fearing death, can you say that you love me?" Then, since it was likely that they would say to these things: "And how shall we not be grieved, being about to be deprived of such comfort and refreshment from you?", He says: "This shall not be; you shall not be deprived of consolation. For 'I will ask,' which is to say, 'I will entreat the Father, and He will send you another Comforter,'—another, as I am." Let Sabellius be put to shame here, who says there is one person of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. For behold, he hears that He will send another Comforter, so that the Spirit is a different person. Let Macedonius also be put to shame, who says that the Spirit is of a different substance, and inferior to the Son. For he hears that He also is a Comforter, just as the Son is. The Spirit, therefore, is consubstantial with the Son; and by all means with the Father also; for the Father and the Son are of the same substance. And do not be surprised if He says, "I will ask the Father," for He does not entreat as a servant, but because of His desire to assure the disciples that the Comforter Spirit will surely come upon them, for this reason He condescends to them and says, "I will ask the Father." For if He had said, "I will send," they might not have believed as firmly; but now, making the word more credible, He says: "I will ask the Father." For even if there is need, He says, of patronage and petition, I will by every means strive that the Spirit may come upon you; just as we also are accustomed to say frequently: "I will lay down my soul so that this may happen," even though the matter often requires little effort; yet, wishing to show that we will not refuse the effort, we speak in this way. ^B Otherwise: Since the Lord offered Himself as a sacrifice to the Father for us, having appeased Him through His own death as High Priest, only then did the Spirit come upon us, as sin had been dissolved and enmity removed; for this reason He says, "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter," that is to say: I will appease the Father for you, and I will reconcile this One to you who were enemies because of sin, and He will send you the Spirit, having been appeased and reconciled to you through my death for you. But what He says, "That He may abide with you for ever," He said to comfort them. For He says, His companionship will not be temporary, as mine is, but will endure unto eternity; nor will He depart when you have died, but He will remain with you and will make you more glorious; and He is with all the saints always, and even more so when they have died, in that they are then much higher than bodily affections. "But the Spirit of truth," He says, that is, the Spirit not of the Old Testament (for that was a figure and a shadow) but of the New, which is the truth. Therefore, those who were under the Law also had the Spirit, but in a figure and a shadow; now, the Truth itself comes substantially with

^A the disciples, if one may so speak. But lest anyone should think that the Spirit is like Himself to be incarnate, he says: "Whom the world cannot receive." He does not mean, he says, that He will teach you as I do; for the world cannot receive Him bodily. That is to say, He will dwell in your very souls. Or otherwise: "The world cannot receive Him," that is, the common, promiscuous crowd who think the things of the world, "because it seeth Him not," ^B that is, because His substance is incomprehensible. For here he speaks of contemplation and vision by the mind. Whence he adds: "Neither knoweth Him." Do you see that by saying "He seeth Him not," he also signified "He knoweth Him not"? Therefore, he consoles the apostles by saying: "The world cannot receive Him; but to you this excellent gift is given, and He abides with you," and then what is greater, "And shall be in you." For "with you" signifies outward assistance and nearness, but "in you" signifies inward habitation and strengthening; and it is a demonstration that He is God. For Scripture says: "I will dwell in them, and walk among them." ^C Since, therefore, the world cannot receive the Spirit because it knows Him not, but you know Him. Why? "Because you are not of the world," and for this reason you are capable of Him. "And He abides" now "with you," but also "He shall be" forever "in you."

Verses 18-20. "I will not leave you orphans: I come to you. Yet a little while and the world seeth Me no more; but you see Me, because I live, and you shall live. In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you." ^D Do not fear, he says, because I told you, "I will send another Comforter," thinking that you shall no longer see Me; for I shall not depart from you to the end. "For I come, and I will not leave you orphans." Since at the beginning he called them "little children," now consistently he says: "I will not leave you orphans." But in order that they might not think that He was about to be manifested to them and to all in the body as He had been before, he says: "The world seeth Me no more." For you alone, he says, will see Me even after the resurrection. "For I live," even though I shall undergo death, and I rise again. "And you also shall live," that is, when you see Me you shall rejoice, and like those who were dead, you shall revive at My manifestation. Or even so: Just as, he says, My death has become a path to life, so even if you die, "you shall live." Do not, therefore, be sad either for Me, who am dying, or for yourselves. For even if you die, you shall live the life hereafter. "In that day you shall know that I am in My Father," that is, when I rise again, you shall know that I am not separated from the Father, but have the same power. "And you are in Me," whom I protect, "and I in you," that is, I am with you, rescuing you from dangers, performing miracles through you, glorifying

^A you in all things. And in another way: "I am in you," as the head is in the members (for the apostles are the members of Christ); "and you in Me," as members are in the head. When, therefore, He arose, then He made the knowledge concerning all these things clear to them. For the grace of the Spirit after the resurrection instructed them in everything. But when you hear, "I am in the Father, and you in Me, and I in you," do not understand these in the same way. For the Son is in the Father as consubstantial; but [He is] in the apostles as a helper and co-worker, and the apostles are in Him as those who are helped and worked with and cherished by Him. Since many other titles are applied to both God and men, but they are not understood in the same way. For example, we too are called gods, but not in an equal sense; the Son is called the image and glory of the Father, and man is as well, but not in the same way. So then, these things also must be understood similarly to that which says, "As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." Are we therefore to understand this simply? Certainly not. The Father indeed sent His Son, who was incorporeal, and then He was incarnate and was born of a virgin; so are the apostles also born from heaven, and incorporeal, and then incarnate, and each born of a virgin? But to interpret the Scriptures in such a way is manifest madness.

Vers. 21, 22. "He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." Judas, not the Iscariot, says to Him: "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?"

^A that He appears to them because they keep His commandments. So let them strive always to keep these, that He might also always appear to them. For great indeed is the mystery of the resurrection, which would have been difficult for them to accept. For this reason He smooths the way by saying that He will reveal Himself to them. Since, even after rising ^B, He ate for this very reason, so that they might not think Him a phantom; and this is what this Judas experiences even now. For the Judas who is now mentioned thought that just as we see the dead in a dream, so also would He appear to them. Hence he says: "Lord, what has happened that You are about to reveal Yourself to us, and not to the world?" He says this out of great astonishment and amazement, as if he were saying: "Woe to us, that You are dying, and that, like the departed, You are going to appear to us in a dream!" For the phrase "What has happened?" he spoke with a shocked and bewildered mind. What, then, does the Lord say to this? How does He dissolve this suspicion of his as false?

"Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him; and We will come to him, and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words. And the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.'" Judas, out of great fear, was imagining that when the Lord had died, He would reveal Himself to them in a dream; hence he asks, as has been said. But the Lord, dissolving his suspicion, says that "Just as the Father reveals Himself, so also I will reveal Myself to you." ^C "For I," He says, "and the Father will come to those who keep My words. I will not appear to you in sleep, but since I am about to come with the Father, just as it is fitting for the Father to be revealed, so shall My manifestation to you take place." And by saying that "We will make Our home with him," He overturns Judas's suspicion. For dreams, He says, do not remain; but I, when I manifest Myself, remain with the Father; therefore, My visitation will not be dream-like. He foretells to them, as I said, that He will appear, so that they might not think He is a phantom, and at the same time He urges them to keep His commandments, knowing that He Himself and the Father will be revealed to those who keep them. Likewise, from him who does not keep the commandments, both He and the Father depart, as from one who does not love. "For he who does not love Me," He says, "does not keep My words; and so he does not love the Father, for he who does not love the Son does not love Him; for the word of the Son is also of the Father. He, therefore, who does not keep the word of the Son, or of the Father, hates the Son, and thus also the Father. You, therefore, O disciples, keep My words; for thus you will show your love ^D both toward Me and toward the Father."

Others say that the disciple Judas did not ask out of fear, but out of a philanthropic intention when he said, "Why are You about to reveal Yourself to us, and not to the world?" For he wished that the benefit from the manifestation might belong not to the disciples alone, but to the whole world. But the Savior shows that not all receive such things, but those of us only who keep His commandments shall be seen worthy

of His manifestation and of the Father's love. For in him who keeps the commandments, God and Father exists; yet not as He is in the Son, so also in this man; for in the Son ^A He exists by nature, but in man by a certain relationship. VERS. 25, 26. « These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you: but the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said to you. » Since the things said by the Lord were obscure to the disciples, and they neither understood some things, and about others they greatly doubted, in order that they might not ask Him again and say: "What commandments must we keep?" He frees them from perturbation and ^B trouble, saying that the Comforter will make the obscure and difficult things easy for you to understand. « These things, » which seem obscure to you, « I have spoken while I remained and was with you. » But if I go away, you will be taught concerning all things. Therefore, you ought not to be sad at my departure, which will bring so many good things and so much wisdom to you. For as long as I myself remain with you, and the Spirit does not come, you will be able to understand nothing great or sublime. He calls Him the Comforter continuously because of their constant afflictions, making them of good ^C courage, that they might be refreshed by Him. But what He says, « in my name » the « Comforter » will come, this suggests that He will teach you nothing foreign to me, nor will He claim glory for Himself; but He will come in my name, that is, for the glory of my name, not His own; which is what those who teach contrary things do, commending their own name to their hearers, and drawing the followers to themselves. But some understand « In my name » thus: the name of Christ is Paraclete. For we have, He says, the Paraclete Jesus Christ. Since therefore the Spirit who came to the disciples also became a Paraclete, ^D comforting their sorrows, He came in the name of Christ; for He is also a Paraclete, just as Christ is. But Paul also named the Spirit Christ, when he says: « But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. But if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. » Then he adds: « But if Christ be in you. » You see how, having said above that the Spirit of God dwells in them, he then added: « Christ is in you, » for he clearly named the Spirit Christ. Since therefore the Spirit is named Christ, thus you ought to understand: « The Father will send Him in my name, » that is, that He Himself will be named Christ. Therefore the Holy Spirit both taught and brought to remembrance; He taught, indeed, whatever Christ had not told them, as they were unable to bear it; He brought to remembrance, however, whatever the Lord had said, but obscurely, or those things which, because of the weakness of their reason, the apostles were unable to hold in their memory.

VERS. 27. « Peace I leave with you, my peace I give

unto you: not as the world giveth, do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. » Again the apostles were in sorrow, hearing the Lord saying that, I indeed am departing, but the Spirit will come. Therefore, seeing their heart in troubles, and especially because of the afflictions and the wars ^A that were about to come upon them, he says: « My peace I leave with you, » as if saying: "What do the world's troubles harm you, so long as you have peace with me?" For my peace is not of that sort which the world's is, which is often done for evil and is of no benefit. But I give such a peace, so that you may be at peace with one another and be one body. This will make you stronger than all; even if many rise up against you, you will suffer nothing, protected by concord and the peace you have with one another. Then, since he had again said, « I leave, » which was the mark of one departing and sufficient to trouble them, he adds: « Let your heart not be troubled, neither let it be afraid. » Now, as for being troubled, they suffered this from the affection and love they had for him, as they were about to be deprived of him; but as for being afraid, this was due to the evils that were going to befall them after his death. Therefore, he does not leave them without a remedy for either the trouble arising from affection or the fear arising from the coming afflictions; but he calms both, saying: « Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. » ^B Indeed, he quiets both, saying, « Let not it be troubled, » and, « nor let it be afraid. »

VERS. 28, 29. « You have heard that I said to you: I go away, and I come unto you. If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I said: I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that when it cometh to pass, you may believe. » Since the Lord saw that the apostles had no hope at all concerning his resurrection, and did not even know what it simply was, and because of this were greatly grieving and troubled as though they were about to be deprived of him, he accommodates himself to their weakness and says: « Because I said to you, I go away, and I will come, » and yet you are still grieving, for you do not trust in me, that even if I die, yet in your afflictions I will not leave you. Now therefore, when you have heard that « I go unto my Father, » whom you think great and greater than I, you ought to rejoice that I am going to him, who is greater than I, and is able to resolve all hardships. You see the sequence ^C of the thought, how he said, « For my Father is greater than I, » in order to console the disciples? For since they were grieving, as though Christ could not defend them, he implies: "If I am not able, surely my Father, whom you think greater than I, is he not sufficient to help you?" As he also says in another place: « Think you that I cannot ask my Father, and he will provide me twelve legions of angels? » For he does not say this here as one who is unable (for how could he be, he who by a mere question cast all the collected Jews backward?), but because they had an opinion of him as a mere man, for that reason he says these things. Thus, therefore, also this: « My Father is greater than I. » For he said this according to their opinion, as they believed him to be weak, but that the Father could be sufficient in a time of affliction. ^D

^A « And now I have told you before it comes to pass, that when it has come to pass, you may believe, » that is, "Thus I am confident, and I do not fear death, nor am I sorrowful, so that I even foretell it, and I bid you to rejoice, that when it has come to pass, you may believe me." For just as I knew the afflictions that would happen to you, and in foretelling them I did not lie, so neither will I be shown to be false in having foretold the things regarding your Paraclete and your consolation, but all joyful things will meet you. Some, however, understand the Father to be greater in that he is the cause of the Son. "For the Father," he says, "is greater, in that he is my cause and origin; for from him I have been begotten." But the Father being greater does not cause him to be of another substance. For even among men, to speak by way of example, a father is greater than a son, but he is not on that account of another nature. Furthermore, let the heretics say: in what respect was Christ going to the Father? As God, or as man? By all means, as man; for as God, he was always in the heavens and inseparable from the Father. According to his human nature, therefore, the Father is said to be greater than he.

^B VERSE 30, 31. « I will no longer speak many things with you. For the ruler of this world is coming, and in me he has nothing. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave me commandment, so I do. » Having comforted the disciples through the things said above, he again speaks regarding his own death. « For the ruler, » he says, « of this world is coming, » that is to say, the devil. By this ruler of the world, understand for me not the creation, but the vulgar populace, and those who cherish the things of the world. For he does not rule heaven and earth, since he would have overturned and disturbed all things, but he rules those who voluntarily deliver themselves to him. Therefore he is also called the ruler of darkness; and by darkness, understand wicked deeds. And since it was likely that some would suspect, "Is Christ also delivered to death on account of sins?" he adds for this reason, ^C « In me he has nothing. » "For I am not liable to death, nor do I owe anything to the devil, but on account of my love toward the Father, I willingly undergo the passion." He continually iterates the words concerning his death, mixing in with them things that bring consolation, so that he might make it more acceptable to them. For those hearing that he will die also learn that he voluntarily scorns the devil, and that he dies on account of the love which he has toward the Father. If, therefore, the passion were destructive and not saving, how would the Father, who loved him, have approved it? And how would the Son, who was loved, have accepted it? And how are we to understand the statement that he dies on account of the love toward the Father? "The Father," he says, « loves the world, » and delivers me to death on its behalf. "I, therefore, loving the Father, and consenting to his good pleasure and will, show that I love the Father, by accepting and fulfilling what was commanded by him, that is, what was well-pleasing and decreed by him." Tell me, you Arianizers, if ^D the Son were a slave, he would not have said, "I die on account of my love toward the Father." For a slave does not die because he loves his master

his own, does his will, not because he is a servant and fears punishments. But the Lord Jesus, because He does the will of God in the manner of one who loves, is not a servant, nor a creature, but is in truth the Son, fulfilling the will of the Father. Whenever, therefore, you hear, "The Father gave me a commandment," do not, because of the word "commandment," reduce the Lord to the status of a subordinate; but because of the word "Father," recognize Him as the Son consubstantial with the Father. And by "commandment," understand instead: He willed, He spoke, He approved, He decreed.

CHAPTER XV. On the true vine, and the husbandman, and the branch.

^A that they will become more fruitful through afflictions, just as the branches are through pruning; for temptations showed them to be even stronger. Then, lest they say, "Of whom do you speak these things?" he says, "You are clean through the word which I have spoken to you." See, above he said that the Father was the one who prunes; now, on the other hand, he introduces himself as the one who provides care. Therefore, the operation of the Father and the Son is one. "I," he says, "have pruned you through my teaching; you must therefore henceforth show what is yours"; and for this reason he adds:

CAPUT XV.

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine; so neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He that abides in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit: for without me you can do nothing. Unless a man abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they shall gather him up, and cast him into the fire, and he burns." I indeed, he says, have pruned you through my word and teaching, and nothing that I ought to have done has been left undone. But it is necessary now that those things which are of you should also begin. "Abide," he says, "in me." For lest they be separated from him by fear, he braces their slackened souls and joins them to himself, and he extends to them better hopes henceforth, saying: Whatsoever you shall ask, you shall receive, if you abide in me. And by the example of the branch, he clearly sets forth to us the quality and life bestowed by him upon those who please him. For just as that one bears fruit by abiding in the vine, and by receiving from it the operation of living: so also you, "if you abide in me" through the observance of the commandments, will then bring forth more fruit. But he who does not abide withers; that is to say, if he had anything from the root, he casts it off; if he was receiving any spiritual grace, he is stripped of it, and is deprived of the help and life which is given by him. And what is the end? "He is cast into the fire, and burns." From this he also gives them no small consolation, showing that those who plot against him, as Judas did, ^D will be burned; but they themselves, remaining in him, will bear fruit. For without the sap and the vivification which proceeds from him, they will be able to do nothing.

"If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you. In this is my Father glorified, that you bring forth very much fruit, and become my disciples." In this place the Lord interprets to us what he meant when he said, "If you abide in me," that is to say, if you keep my commandments: for this is what "If my words abide in you" signifies. For he wishes that they be attached to him through works. For each of those who live in a manner pleasing to God remains in the vine by his own will, being united to it through love and the observance of the commandments, and being attached in spirit; just as, on the contrary, he who is absent from the observance of the commandments is voluntarily alienated from the Lord. "In this," he says, "is my Father glorified,"

in that you bear much fruit. For the approval of the disciples of the Son is the glory of God and the Father. ^A For when the light of the apostles shone before men, the heavenly Father was glorified. The fruit of the apostles is also the nations, who through their teaching were brought to the faith and came to be for the glory of God. If, therefore, the Father is glorified in this, in your bearing fruit, He will not then neglect His own glory, but will also work with you so that you may bear more fruit, so that He may be glorified even more. "In this," he says, "my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and become my disciples." You see how he who bears fruit is the one who is truly a disciple, and that the Father is glorified in this, that is to say, He rejoices and considers this to be His own glory.

^B Ver. 9, 10. "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love." He encourages them to have good confidence, for he says, "I have loved you." And, "I have loved you in such a way, as the Father loves me." He said this more humanly: "Abide, therefore, in my love." For you are masters of this. Do not, because you have heard that "I have loved you," despise it, but strive to abide in my love. Then he teaches them how they will be able to abide: if they keep his commandments. For, as it has often been said, he is the one who loves him who keeps his commandments. By all these things he shows that they will then be in security, when they demonstrate a pure life. "As I have kept the commandments of my Father, and abide in his love." And he says this condescendingly ^C because of the weakness of those listening. For indeed the Lawgiver of all did not lie under commandments, nor was he unable to live his own life without the Father's commandments; for to think this would be most absurd. But he says this, wishing to console them greatly. For since he was telling them, "I love you," and they were soon to struggle with afflictions, lest they be scandalized, as if his love profited them nothing: "Do not be troubled," he says, "since even though the Father loves me, He nevertheless allows me to suffer for the world. Just as, therefore, the love of the Father is not diminished by the fact that I suffer, so neither will you be loved less by me, even if you are to fall into various afflictions."

Ver. 11-13. "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be fulfilled. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love than this no one has, that someone should lay down his soul for his friends." ^D "These things," he says, "I have spoken to you, that I may not interrupt your joy." For they were indeed rejoicing while being with him when he was working miracles and being glorified; and indeed they themselves also rejoiced when casting out demons, as he himself also says: "Do not rejoice that you cast out demons."

^A Since however the passion was encroaching, and the gloomy things were interrupting their joy, he says, "These" consoling words "have I spoken to you," that your joy may remain unbroken and full and complete to the very end. For present things are not worthy of sorrow, but of joy, even if the cross, and shame, and dishonor be present. And since he said above, "If you keep my commandments," then "you will abide in me," he now shows which commandments they ought to keep, and points out to them the love. "For that you may love one another," he says, "as I have loved you." For he does not wish us to love one another simply, and as it happens, but as he himself has loved us. Observe, moreover, how above he spoke in the plural of "commandments," but here he says, "This is my commandment," in the singular number. And I think that since love is the container and head of all commandments, it is called both commandments and a commandment. At the same time, he also shows us a way how we shall keep the commandments: namely, by keeping the one commandment regarding love. But since he said, "As I have loved you, so you also love one another," he shows the measure of love and its peak. "For greater love than this has no one, that someone should lay down his life for his friends." So that you also should lay down your lives for one another, since I also am dying for you. Do not therefore think that this departure, which I am now making from you, comes from hatred toward you; for it happens rather out of love and a more perfect love. ^B

"You are my friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, because the servant does not know what his lord is doing; but I have called you friends, because all things that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you may ask the Father in my name, he may give to you." He turns the doctrine of love up and down, showing us by these many steps ^C that this commandment is more worthy than the others and more to be sought after. And he presents the greatest sign of his love. For, he says, I love you to such a degree that I have even revealed the secret things to you. For the servant does not know the mysteries of the master; but you, since you are now my friends, have been deemed worthy of the mysteries. "For all things that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you." How then does he say in another place, "I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now"? He made known to them all things that they were able to hear, and whatever they were immediately capable of grasping. But when he says, "Whatever I heard from my Father," do not suspect that the Son needs instruction; but he shows this, that he speaks nothing alien to the Father, but the things of the Father, and whatever he may say, they are His. But having said that "I make it a sign of my love toward you that I make known to you the mysteries," he adds also another sign of love: "For I," he says, "chose you"; that is to say, you did not approach my friendship, but I approached yours, and I first loved you...

How then ^A should I abandon you hereafter? But also, "I have placed you," that is, I have planted you, "that you should go," that is, that you should grow and expand and spread yourselves out, "and bear fruit." Here, however, He clearly introduces Himself as the husbandman. And although above, when He said, "You are clean because of the word which I have spoken to you," He showed Himself to be the one who cleanses; now He does so more clearly by saying, "I chose you, and placed you." For the husbandman, of course, chooses and places the cuttings in the ground. Do you see the equality of the Father and the Son? The Father is the husbandman, and the Son is now shown to be the husbandman. Put on shame, O Arian, along with those who with you have plunged into impiety. Observe also something else: "That whatever you ask the Father in my name, I may give you"; that is to say, I shall give it to you. Although it was necessary, according to the sequence, to say thus: "Whatever you ask the Father, He will give you"; yet He said, "I shall give you," because of the entirely equal power. Since also the Father, when He gives, gives ^B through His right hand; and His right hand is the Son. Consider this also with me, that when we are planted and bear fruit, then whatever we ask, He will give to us; but if we do not bear fruit, we shall not receive. For he who does not bear fruit does not ask for useful and soul-profiting things, but entirely worldly and unprofitable things; therefore he does not receive: "For you ask," He says, "and do not receive, because you ask amiss."

"These things I command you, that you love one another. If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before you. If you were of the world, the world would love what is its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." Lest the apostles should think that the Lord was putting these things before them as a reproach—that He laid down His life for them and that they were chosen—for this reason He says, "These things I command you," not that I might reproach, nor that I might boast of some achievement, but that I might make your souls more secure ^C in love for one another; for this reason I enumerate the achievements of my love toward you. "For these things I command you, that you love one another." And since it is a heavy thing, and very grievous, to be persecuted and hated, He comforts them, saying that if they also hate you, it is nothing new; for they have hated me before you. So you ought to use the communion of being hated as a great consolation. He also adds another method of consolation that is more compelling. For, He says, you ought to have been grieved if the world—that is, wicked men—did not hate you. For you would have shown, by not being hated, that you yourselves were partakers of that same malice and wickedness as they. But now, since wicked men hate you, rejoice. For they hate you because of your virtue; for if you did not have virtue, the world would have loved what was its own. But since "I chose you out of the world ^D and...

[because of] the world's wickedness, for this reason the world hates you, as not participating in its deeds." ^A

Vers. 20, 21. "Remember the word that I spoke to you; a servant is not greater than his lord. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours. But all these things they will do to you for my name's sake, because they do not know him who sent me." ^B What he said above, "He hated me before you," he now expands, offering them greater consolation. For he says: "Remember my word, that a servant is not greater than his lord; therefore, neither are you greater than I. See, then, how they treated me. If they persecuted the Master, they will much more persecute you who are servants; if they had not persecuted me, but had kept my word, they would have kept yours also. But this cannot be; for they will keep neither mine nor yours. But all these things they will do to you for my sake." So, if you love me, bear what you suffer for the sake of me who am loved, as you say; but here is another [source of] consolation, that they are insulting the one who sent me along with you. If nothing else, let this be for your consolation, that they are the same enemies both of you, and of me, and of my Father.

Vers. 22-25. "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me, hates my Father also. If I had not done among them works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father; but that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated me without a cause.'" ^C But does he mean that they do these things justly—that they hate both me and my Father and you? Was it for the sake of what was said or what was done that they displayed such a mindset? No, he says; for their sin is inexcusable. For did I not come and teach? If I had not come, if I had not spoken, they might have been able to say, "We did not hear." But now their malice is without excuse. Then, because they kept putting forth no other pretext in everything than that they were avenging the Father (for they say, "This man is not from God," and such like), for this reason he adds: "He who hates me, hates my Father also"; ^D so that not even this is left to them as an excuse. For I not only offered teaching, but I added works as well, such as no one else has—like the miracle of the blind man, that of Lazarus, and others similarly. What excuse, then, will they have? I provided the teaching of words; I added the [teaching] from works; just as Moses also commands, directing [people] to obey him who both performs signs and teaches things pertaining to piety. "But now they have seen" such works, and yet "they have hated both me and my Father." Then he adds the prophet also as a witness: "They hated me without a cause." For, he says, it is because of malice alone, and no other cause, that this hatred was born. But the law not only...

refers to the Mosaic books, but also as I have often said, to the books of the prophets; just as here also he calls the book of David the law. David, then, by the Holy Spirit foretold what their malice would do; and they, being wicked, entirely fulfilled what had been foretold by the prophet and showed the prophecy to be true.

^B Vers. 26, 27. "But when the Paraclete comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning." He had told the disciples, "They will persecute you," and "They will not keep your word." So, therefore, that they might not be able to say, "And now, O Lord, to whom do you send us? How shall we be trustworthy? Who will attend to us? Who will be persuaded?"—for this reason he adds, "But when the Paraclete comes, he will bear witness about me." A trustworthy witness, he says, is that one. Thus, being refuted by the Spirit ^C that they sinned without excuse, they will accept the preaching. "And you also bear witness, being with me from the beginning," because I have made them without excuse by both words and deeds. Be of good courage, therefore; the preaching will not lack witnesses, but the Spirit also will bear witness together with signs and wonders, and he will be a trustworthy witness; for he is the Spirit of truth. As the Spirit of truth, therefore, he will testify to the truth; and as proceeding from the Father, he knows all things accurately; for he is from Him from whom is the knowledge of all things.

Now, the statement, "Whom I will send," signifies equality with Him. For in another place he said the Father sends the Spirit; but here, by saying that he himself sends him, he signifies nothing else but equality. And that he might not seem to be resisting or competing with the Father, as if sending the Spirit from another authority, he added, "from the Father." For while he himself says, "I will send," he also says, "from the Father," that is to say, with the Father approving and sending at the same time. For I do not send forth the Spirit from my own bosom alone, but he is supplied from the Father through me. And when you hear that he "proceeds," do not understand "proceeding" as a mission, such as that by which ministering spirits are sent, but "proceeding" is the natural subsistence ^D of the Spirit. For if we do not understand "proceeding" in this way, but as some external mission, it will be unclear of which spirit he is speaking; for there are countless ones who are sent into service for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation. But here he speaks of a certain singular and separate property, "to proceed," which is attributed to the one, proper Spirit. Therefore, let us not understand by "proceeding" a simple emission, but a natural subsistence from the Father. This Spirit, therefore, will be the witness of the preaching; "and you also bear witness," because you have not heard from others, but you yourselves have been with me from the beginning.

This testimony, coming from those who have been with him from the beginning, is not small; and the apostles themselves also proclaim, saying, we who ate together, and drank together with him. There is, therefore, a twofold testimony, from you and from the Spirit. For although you [are sent] to...

testify, but not likewise to grace. And the Spirit also shall testify. For if you should seem to testify for the sake of grace, yet the Spirit will not testify for the sake of grace. ^A

CHAPTER XVI.

How Jesus predicted the things that were to happen to the disciples. Concerning the text, "A little while and you shall see me." Concerning how the Father will grant whatever things men may ask of Him.

VERS. 1-4. "These things have I spoken unto you, that you should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, you may remember that I told you of them." ^B I have spoken these things unto you, He says, before they come to pass, "that you should not be offended" later, when you see many disbelieving and you yourselves suffering terrible things; but reflecting that I told you even before these things happened, you may then expect the consolation from Me, as One who has not deceived you even in this, just as I did not in My prediction of the Passion. For indeed "they shall put you out of the synagogues," and shall cast you off from their councils and honorable assemblies, and in short from their communion. For they had already agreed that if any man should confess Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. But they will not only make you strangers to the synagogue, but will punish you with death—and a most ignominious death at that—treating you as pests and enemies of God. And everyone who kills you will be so zealous ^C about your slaughter that "he will think that he doeth God service"—that is, he will think that he has performed a pious and holy work.

He adds, however, a consolation which should suffice: "And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me." For it is for My sake, He says, and for the Father’s, that you are about to suffer these things; therefore, endure. "Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake." Let this beatitude be a consolation to you, as you call it to mind. "But these things have I told you," that when you see those gloomy things come to pass, you may believe also concerning the rest. For you will not be able to say that I foretold the joyful things to you, wishing to deceive you; but just as in announcing the sorrowful things I did not lie, so neither, in speaking ^D of the joyful things, have I been unworthy of belief. And at the same time, this is so that you might not be unprepared, but ready, remembering that I told you these things, and therefore standing bravely against the sorrowful.

VERS. 5-7. "But these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you. But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you," of the good pleasure of the Son, and thus to speak, and of the agreement. For going...

"I will send him unto you." ^A The apostles were weighed down with great sadness, hearing such things were to befall them. Thus also the Lord says, "These things," ^B—such sorrowful things—"I did not tell you from the beginning," not as one ignorant, but "because I was with you," and you had a sufficient refuge in me, and every struggle was cast upon me, while you were in all security. Therefore, there was no need at that time for such words, which prepare, as it were, and fortify you; but now, going to my Father, and being about to leave you, I foretell these things so that you may fortify yourselves. "And none of you asks me, Whither goest thou?" but you have been confused by sadness and suffer a mental ecstasy, your hearts shaken by the expectation of calamities. "But I tell you the truth." See how he consoles them. Even if you are saddened in a thousand ways, he says, I tell you what is expedient for you. For you indeed wish that I were always present with you, but this is not expedient. "For if I do not go away, the Paraclete will not come to you." So even if you wish for my presence, I will not obey you, but will choose that which is useful for you rather than your own harmful will. Thus we too ought to act, always looking to what is useful both for ourselves and for our brethren, and not what is pleasant. For if I do not die for the world and go to the Father, having given myself as a sacrifice and propitiation for the sins of the world, "the Paraclete will not come." For how could he come if the enmity is not dissolved, the sin having been put to death, and the Father not reconciled to human nature? But what have those around Macedonius to say here, who disparage the glory of the Spirit and call him a servant of the Son? How is it expedient for the Lord to depart and a servant to arrive? Therefore, even if you are saddened, O disciples, because of my absence, ^C yet rejoice because of the coming of the Spirit, who will treat you with more and greater benefits. But how did the Lord say, "These things I did not tell you from the beginning?" And yet it is written that, having called the twelve, he said to them, "You will be led before governors and kings." He did indeed say, "You will be led before governors," but not that "They will kill you as impious and destructive men and enemies of God." And otherwise: There he spoke of what would be inflicted upon them by the Gentiles, but now of what would be by the Jews. For "They will make you outcasts from the synagogue," refers to the Jews, of course. See also in this both that the Spirit is free and that the Son approves. For the fact that he says, "The Paraclete will come," pertains to the power of the Spirit; but the fact that he adds, "I will send him," pertains to the approval and will of the Son, whom it pleases that the Paraclete should come, and he gives his consent, if it is permitted so to speak. ^D

"And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin, and concerning righteousness, and concerning judgment; concerning sin, indeed, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to my Father, and...

^A you see me no longer; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. The Paraclete will come, and what is the benefit? "He will convict," he says, "the world concerning sin," and he will show them to be sinners because they do not believe. For when they see excellent signs and wonders being performed through the hands of the disciples in the Spirit, and they do not believe even then, how are they not worthy of condemnation and guilty of the greatest sin? For now they can say that I am a carpenter's son, and from a humble mother, even though I do perform miracles; but then their unbelief will be without excuse, when the Spirit performs such things in my name. "Concerning sin," therefore, he will convict them; that is, he will show that they have sinned without forgiveness. "And concerning righteousness," he will also convict them, "because I go to my Father"; ^B that is, he will show them that, being righteous and having lived an irreproachable life, I was unjustly put to death by them; and a proof of this is my going to the Father; for I would not have ascended to the Father if I had not been righteous. For since they killed him as an adversary to God and a lawbreaker, the Spirit, he says, will show them that I am not such a one. For if I had been an adversary of God, I would not have attained this honor before God and the Lawgiver, and that not a temporary honor, but an eternal one. For the expression, "You see me no longer," manifests his eternal life with the Father. "And concerning judgment," he will convict them, "because the ruler of this world has been judged"; that is, by this also, the Spirit will again prove me to be righteous and sinless, ^C from the fact that the prince of this world has been judged and overthrown by me. For since they said that "He has a demon," and that "In Beelzebub he does miracles," and "He is a deceiver," all these things, he says, will be shown to be vain, when the devil is seen to be condemned, and it has been shown to all that he has been conquered by me; which I could not have done if I were not stronger than he and alien to all sin. How was this demonstrated? By the coming of the Spirit, all who believe in Christ trample upon and despise the ruler of the world. Therefore it was shown from these things that he had been condemned by Christ long before. The Spirit therefore convicted those who did not believe as sinners. For faith ^D in baptism removes sins through the remission. But the operations of the Spirit which appear in those who have believed were not seen in those who did not believe. Whence they were convicted as evil, polluted vessels, unworthy of the reception of the Spirit. And in another way: The Spirit convicts the world that has not believed concerning righteousness, that is, that he who does not believe in the righteous Jesus, who was taken up into the heavens because of his righteousness, is deprived of righteousness. He also convicts and condemns them as slothful, because although Satan was wounded, they still did not wish to master him.

VERS. 12-14. "I still have many things to say to you, but you are not able to bear them now: but when he comes, the Spirit

of truth, he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you." Having said above that ^A "It is expedient for you that I go away," he now expands on this, and says, "Now you are not able to bear it; but when he comes," then, truly enjoying his gifts, you shall be guided into all truth.

But what truth does he speak of, if not the knowledge concerning all things? For the Lord himself spoke nothing great about himself: partly giving us models of humility, and partly because of the weakness of his hearers and the ingratitude of the Jews. ^B Indeed, he did not even openly introduce the dissolution of legal observances, so that he might not seem to all to be opposed to God. But when the Paraclete came, both the dignity of the Son was clarified, and true knowledge about all things was brought to light; and with the legal types being removed from the midst and abolished, we were led into true and spiritual worship, through the signs performed in the Spirit, the faith having been confirmed.

Then, since he had said some great things about the Spirit, so that some might not think that the Spirit is greater than him, if indeed he is to guide them into truth and make them capable and receptive of the many and great things which, while Christ was present, they could not bear: in order, therefore, that this might not be thought, he adds: "For he will not speak on his own authority," that is to say, he will say nothing of his own apart from mine. For the phrase, "Whatever he hears," signifies this, that he will teach nothing outside of that which Christ has taught. Just as, therefore, the Lord himself, speaking about himself, says, "Whatever I have heard from my Father I speak," he does not introduce himself as a student or a child, but means that he neither knows nor teaches anything outside of that which belongs to the Father; so also it is to be understood regarding the Spirit.

But that the Spirit has no need of a teacher, hear Paul saying: "For as no one knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him; so also no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God." ^C Do you see that the Holy Spirit is his own teacher, just as our own spirit is? And from the things that follow, the intelligent man will learn the divinity of the Spirit. "For he will declare to you the things that are to come," he says; that is, the future things—which is especially proper to God, the knowledge of future things. For because there is nothing else so desirable to human nature as the knowledge of future things, he consoles the apostles also through this. For so much, he says, will he benefit you, that he will also grant you that which seems the greatest of all things: the foreknowledge of what is to come.

At the same time, because they were also about to be readied for trials, he says, "He will prepare you [for the things that will] happen to you in the future, so that you do not fall into them unguardedly out of ignorance. ^D And he will glorify me": for in my name he will both speak and do all things, and he will say nothing contrary; so that through

^A the abundance of the grace poured out upon you, my disciples, even after my death, my name will shine all the more brightly. It is a great and undisputed glory when one who has been put to death and dishonored shines all the more brightly after these things. Then, because they had heard the Lord saying, "One is your teacher, Christ," lest they should think: "Since you yourself are the one teacher, why do you tell us that the Spirit will also be a teacher?" he adds, "He will take of mine," that is, of those things which I myself know, from my own knowledge. Or otherwise: "Of mine," that is, of my treasury, which is also the Father's. For since "all things that the Father has are mine," and are my riches, and the Paraclete also will speak from the Father; it is reasonable for me to say, "He will take of mine," that is, of my treasury, and riches, and knowledge. Why, then, did the Spirit give us such great good things, and not the Son? First ^B of all, we say this: that the Son prepared the way for the gifts of the Spirit, and he himself is the cause of such great blessings. For if he himself had not dissolved sin, how could we have been counted worthy of the Spirit? For the Spirit will not dwell in a body subject to sins. Thus, if the Spirit has given any great thing, he had the incentives from Christ. Then, because the heretics were about to detract from the dignity of the Spirit, on the ground that he came later, for this reason he concedes to him to work greater things through the apostles, so that through the greatness of the gifts they might be compelled, even against their will, to recognize the dignity of the Spirit, and not judge him to be inferior to the Son just because he appeared later.

VERS. 16-18. "A little while, and you will not see me; and again a little while, and you will see me; because I go to the Father." Some of his disciples therefore said to one another: "What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me; and again a little while, and you will see me,’ and ‘Because I go to the Father’?" They were saying, therefore: "What is this that he says, ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is saying." Why does Christ again bring to their memory the things concerning his departure and his death, even though these things seemed to be better kept hidden? He was exercising their mind and making it more approved; for this reason, by always mentioning sorrowful things, he accustoms them, ^C and brings them to the expectation of them, so that they might not be terrified by their suddenness; at the same time, however, he also joins pleasant things with the sorrowful. Therefore, in this place as well, having said the sorrowful thing, "A little while, and you will not see me," he immediately added something joyful: "And again a little while, and you will see me," and, "I go to God," who is able to help you: and I do not perish, but I pass over; and the separation will be only for a short time, but afterward I will dwell with you perpetually. They, however, did not understand; wherefore one might wonder how they did not recognize what he was saying. It seems, therefore, ^D that either sorrow had so invaded their mind that they cast away the memory of what was said, or it happened because of the obscurity of the words that they did not understand. Therefore, Jesus seems to them...

^A to be speaking things contrary to one another. For if we shall see you, where are you going? And if you are going away, how shall we see you? For these things seemed to be riddles.

VERS. 19-22. *Cognovit autem Jesus quod vellent interrogare se, et dixit eis: De hoc quæritis inter vos, quod dixi: Pusillum, et non videtis me: et iterum pusillum, et videbitis me. Amen, amen dico vobis: Plorabitis et lamentabimini vos, mundus contra gaudebit: vos autem mœrore afficiemini, sed mœror vester vertetur in gaudium. Mulier cum parit, dolorem habet, quia venit hora ejus: cum autem peperit puerum, jam non meminit anxietatis, propterea quod gaudeat hominem natum esse in mundo. Et vos igitur nunc quidem mœrorem habetis, sed iterum videbo vos, et gaudebit cor vestrum, et gaudium vestrum nemo tollet a vobis.* ^B After He saw that the disciples did not understand the things said at all because of the lethargy arising from grief, He implants the teaching about His death more clearly to them, so that having been accustomed to the words, they might bear the things themselves bravely. And He says, *“You shall weep and lament,”* because of the death and the cross; *“but the world shall rejoice,”* that is, the Jews, minding the things of the world, will rejoice as though they had destroyed me, their enemy. *“But your grief will be turned into joy,”* just as the joy of the Jews will also result in grief for them when, after the resurrection, my name is glorified. But you can also understand the joy of the world, not the joy which the Jews had when the Lord was put to death, but the salvation of the world, ^C so that the meaning of the words may be as follows: “You will indeed be afflicted with grief, but this Passion of mine, on account of which you are sad, will be the joy and salvation of the whole world.” Furthermore, He adds a common example of a woman and her labor pains. The prophets also made use of this parable, signifying the greatness of grief by the sharpness of labor pains. He says something of this sort: “Anguish of distress shall seize you, but that pain becomes the cause of birth.” At the same time, He also confirms the saying concerning the resurrection, and shows that dying is similar to one going forth from the womb into the light. For do not marvel that you are about to walk into joy ^D through such great grief, since the mother also comes to be a mother through the grief that is in the labor pangs. But something mystical is also hinted at here, that He himself loosed the pains of death, and caused a new man to be born, no longer to be destroyed, no longer to die, who is the Lord himself. See, for example, how He did not say that she no longer remembers the distress “because a child was born to her,” but, *“Because a man was born into the world.”* For He did not say this in vain, but wishing with emphasis and secretly to hint that He himself is the man who was born, not to Hades which labored over Him, but to the world. For to us, by the resurrection, a new and incorruptible man was born, Jesus Christ our God. Therefore, do not seek to adapt the example of the woman giving birth in every way to the things that happened around Jesus, but only so that it is shown that the pain is temporary, and great gain...

^A of the pangs, and that the birth of the resurrection is for life and rebirth. All other things in the example do not match, and with good reason. For it is a parable; and a parable, if it were kept in every detail, would not be a parable, but that very thing which is signified by the parable. And here, therefore, we take the pangs of the woman in labor to represent the sorrow of the apostles, and the joy to represent the consolation after the resurrection; and again, the release from the birth pangs to represent the destruction of Hades, and the birth itself to represent the resurrection of the Firstborn from the dead; however, the womb is no longer signified by the mother. For Hades did not rejoice, but the apostles rejoiced, with a joy which no one took from them. For when they were insulted, then they rejoiced, because they were being disgraced for the name of Christ. At the same time, also, by saying, "No one takes your joy ^B from you," he shows that he will not die any more, but, living forever, he will be the author of incorruptible joy for them.

VERS. 23, 24. "And in that day you will ask me nothing. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." When I rise, he says, then the Paraclete will surely come upon you and guide you into all truth, "and you will ask me nothing," such as you did before, "Where are you going?" and "Show us the Father." For you will know all things in the Spirit, that is, you will ask, or rather, you will implore, you will seek. When, therefore, I have risen from the dead ^C and I send the Paraclete to you, then "you will no longer ask me," that is, you will not ask in such a way that I must be a mediator, but my name will suffice for you to receive petitions from the Father. He shows, therefore, in this place the power of his name, since even when it is not implored, but only named, it does such things. Up to now, he says, you have asked nothing in my name. From now on, however, "Ask, and you will" surely "receive." So it is profitable for you that I die, if you are about to attain greater boldness before my Father from now on. For do not think that because I am separated from you ^D you are abandoned by me, but my name will give you greater boldness, and your joy will then be fullest when you receive all petitions. Consider, however, that he receives, who asks in the name of Christ. None, therefore, of those who ask for worldly things that are harmful to the soul, asks in the name of Christ; therefore, neither do they receive. For the name of Christ is divine and saving. But when someone asks for things that lead to the perdition of the soul, how shall we say that this person is asking in the saving name?

VERS. 25-28. "These things I have spoken to you in proverbs, but the hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in proverbs, but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my name; and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you:

for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father. ^A A "proverb" is a discourse that shows the whole underlying subject matter obliquely, secretly, and parabolically. Since, therefore, the Lord had spoken many things to them in secret, and that which concerned the woman and her delivery was indeed parabolic, He says: "I have spoken these things to you in proverbs, but the hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in proverbs, but shall tell you plainly about the Father." For after the resurrection, having presented Himself alive for forty days, He spoke to them about the Father in more mystical and accurate terms. For before this, they thought that God was His Father in the same way that He is ours—by grace. But He gives them confidence again that in their temptations they will receive help from above. ^B "In my name," He says, "you will ask," and I assure you that the Father is such a friend to you that henceforth you will not even have need of my mediation. "For the Father himself," He said, "loves you." Then, so that they might not fall away from Christ, thinking they had no further need of Him but were being loved directly by the Father, He says: "For this reason the Father loves you, because you have loved me." So, when you fall from my friendship, you will immediately fall from the Father's as well. And because He had comforted them greatly, since they heard that He had come forth from God and was again going to the Father, He returns to this point repeatedly; hence, even they, having been helped and having recovered their breath by hearing these things, what do they say? ^C His disciples say to Him, "Lo, now you are speaking plainly, and you are saying no proverb; now we know that you know all things, and have no need for anyone to question you. By this we believe that you came from God." Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, and has now come, when you will be scattered, every man to his own, and will leave me alone; yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me." When the disciples heard that God and the Father would be their friend, and that they did not need His mediation, as though they were very familiar with the Father, and that He had come forth from God, they say, "Now we know that you know all things," that is, you know the things that cause each man's heart to stumble, "and have no need" that anyone should teach them to you; "and by this we believe that you came forth from God." For it is a property of God to know the hidden things of the heart. ^D See, however, how imperfect they were in saying "Now we know." For they, having heard such great teachings, say, "Now we know." But Christ, showing them that they are still imperfect and have not yet conceived anything great concerning Him, but are still turning downwards and about the earth, says, "Do you now believe?" For He is in a way rebuking them and reproaching the slowness of their faith. But so that they might not seem to be doing Him a favor by thinking such things about Him, He says, "The hour has come that you will be scattered, every man." For you, He says, seem to have some great...

^A cowardice will take hold of you, so that you will be unable even to withdraw with one another, but you will be scattered from one another, and each one will provide for his own safety and escape. But I shall suffer no harm from this, for "I am not alone, because the Father is with me." So it is not out of weakness that I suffer, but willingly I yield to those who crucify Me. When, therefore, you hear the cry, "Why have you forsaken me?" do not understand it simply as meaning that the Savior was forsaken by the Father (for how could He bear witness here that "the Father is with me?"), but understand this as being spoken from the human nature, which had been forsaken on account of sin, and cast away, but in Christ was reconciled and assumed by the Father.

VERS. 33. "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." These things, He says, I have spoken to you so that you do not cast Me out of your mind, nor be moved and troubled away from the stability of your love for Me, but have peace in Me; that is, remain unbroken, accepting as certain whatever I have said to you. Let Arius also hear that all these things which seem humble and unworthy of the glory of the Son were said for the sake of the hearers, ^B not so that we might use these things as dogmas. For they were spoken to the apostles for consolation, as evidence of His love for them. "In the world you will have tribulation." I will not, He says, stop your temptations at these things already mentioned, but as long as you are in the world, "you will have tribulation," not now only, when I am betrayed, but also afterwards; yet withstand your agitation and "be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world." And since I have overcome, you, My disciples, ought not to lose heart, but to despise the world as one that has been overcome. And how has He overcome the world? By overthrowing the prince of the affections of the world; but this is also manifest from what follows. For all things were subjected to Him, and they gave way. Just as, therefore, with Adam overcome, all nature was condemned; so, with Christ having conquered, the victory has passed into all nature, and our power has been graced in Christ Jesus to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. For through man came death, and through man life, ^C and the power over the devil. For if He had conquered merely as God, it would have amounted to nothing for us.

CHAPTER XVII

VERS. 1-3. "These things Jesus spoke, and lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: Father, the hour has come. Glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee, as Thou hast given Him authority over all flesh, that whatever Thou hast given Him, He may give them eternal life."

^A vita aeterna, ut cognoscant te solum Deum verum, et quem misisti Jesum Christum. » Having said to the disciples, « Affliction shall you have, » and having exhorted them to be of good cheer, He raises them up again through prayer, teaching us in temptations to forsake all things and take refuge in God. Or otherwise: The matter here is not prayer, but a colloquy with the Father. And if in another place He prays and bends His knees, do not marvel. For Christ came not only to manifest Himself, but also to teach all virtue; and it is fitting that one who teaches, should teach not only by words but also by deeds. Wishing to show that He does not go to His Passion unwillingly, but of His own accord, He says: « Pater, venit hora. » Behold, for as something desirable He covets this and calls it glory, not His own only, but the Father's also: which indeed came to pass. For not the Son alone, but the Father also was glorified. For before the Cross, not even the Jews knew Him (« Israel, » He says, « ^B has not known me »); but after the Cross, the whole world flocked to Him. And He shows what this glory of His and the Father's is. To believe, He says, for all humanity, and to experience benefits, this is the glory of God. For the grace is not restricted to the Jews alone, but shall be extended to the whole world. He said this because He was about to send them to the nations. Lest, therefore, they should think this to be a novelty, and contrary to the will of the Father, He indicates that power over all flesh was given to Him by the Father. Before this, He was saying to them: « Into the way of the Gentiles go not. » What then is, « over all flesh »? For not all believed. And yet Christ, for His part, was eager to bring all to faith; but if those did not attend, it is not the fault of the Teacher, but of those who did not receive it. But when you hear, « Thou hast given, » and « I have received, » and such like, understand them to be spoken by way of condescension, as we have said a myriad of times. For while always guarding ^C against saying anything great about Himself, He adapts Himself to the weakness of His hearers; and because they were offended hearing great things concerning Him, He speaks what for the time being they could grasp; just as we, when conversing with children, name bread as they do, and water, and, in sum, all things. For when the Evangelist says concerning the Lord, hear what he says: « All things were made by Him, » and, « As many as received Him, He gave them power to become the sons of God. » He who gives to others, how could He Himself not possess this, but receive it from the Father? Furthermore, even here in these words which appear lowly, something sublime is asserted. For, as He says, « that all which Thou hast given Him, » this is of the condescension; « may give them life eternal, » this indicates the power of the Only-begotten and of His divinity. For it is of God to give life, and this, eternal life. And He called the Father « the only true God, » in contrast to the false gods among the Gentiles, not indeed separating Himself from the Father—far from it! For even He the Son ^D is the true God, and not a false god, but true, just as this same Evangelist says concerning the Lord in his Catholic Epistle: « Jesus Christ, this is the true God, and eternal life. » If, however, [someone] urges...

that the Son is a false God because the Father is called the only true God, let them learn that the same Evangelist says this concerning the Son: « The light was the true light. » Therefore, according to them, the Father is a false light? But away with that! ^A Thus, even when He calls Him the true God, He says this by way of distinguishing Him; just as the [implication follows] as the heretics suppose, since [they say] there is only one God, [it makes] these things ^B utterly foolish, just as this same Evangelist himself says concerning the Lord in his Catholic Epistle, that « Jesus Christ, this is the true God, and eternal life. » If, however, the heretics object that the Son is a false God, since the Father is called the only true God, let them learn that the same Evangelist says this concerning the Son: « The light was the true light. » Therefore, according to them, the Father is a false light? But away with that! So that even when He calls Him the true God, He says this by way of distinguishing Him, just as [it is] also in the case of the [passage], « Do you not seek the glory which is from God alone? » [for them to claim] the Father [is God], but the Son is not God at all, is truly absurd, just as when He says to the false gods among the Greeks: « Do you not seek the glory which is from God alone? »

Vers. 4-6. « I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto men. » Learn at this place how the Father glorifies the Son, surely just as the Son glorifies the Father: « I, » He says, « have glorified thee on the earth. » Worthily did He add, « on the earth. » For in the heavens He had been glorified, being worshipped by the angels; but the earth was ignorant of Him. ^C Since, therefore, the Son announced Him to all, He says: « I have glorified thee upon all the earth, » by having sown the knowledge of God, and having finished « the work which thou gavest me [to do]. » For this is the work of the incarnation of the Only-Begotten: to sanctify our nature, to cast down the ruler of the world who previously made himself out to be God, and to implant the knowledge of God in the creation. But how did He finish it, when He had not yet [even] begun? As far as concerns me, He says, I have finished it. Or [it is] because He did that which is the greatest of all, and laid down for us the root of all good things, having conquered the devil, and having cast himself to the all-devouring beast, death; and to this root the fruits of divine knowledge were of necessity about to follow: for this reason He says, « I have finished the work. » I have sown, He says, I have planted the root; the fruits will follow. « Glorify thou me, O Father, with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world existed. » The nature of the flesh had not yet been glorified, neither enjoying incorruptibility, nor having received the royal throne; ^D and for this reason, therefore, He says: « Glorify thou me, » that is, my human nature, this which is now being disgraced, which is to be crucified, and lift it up into the glory « which I had with thee, » I, the Word and thy Son, « before the world was. » For He seated the human nature on the royal throne, and it is now worshipped by all creation. « I have manifested thy name unto men. » Now He interprets what it is, « I have glorified thee on the earth, » [namely] to manifest thy name. How, then, did the Son manifest [it]? For indeed even Isaiah says: « [Ye shall] swear by the true God. » But, as we have often said, although it was manifest, [it was] only to the Jews, and not...

to all of them; but now He says concerning all the nations that the name of God will be manifest ^A to them, since Christ has already given the seeds of the knowledge of God, so that the worship of idols, which the devil had suggested, might be destroyed.

Otherwise: Although they knew God, they did not know Him as Father, but as Creator only. But the Son revealed Him as Father, making Himself known by both words and works. For having demonstrated Himself to be the Son of God, it is clear that He was simultaneously demonstrating Him to be the Father.

VERS. 6-8. « Whom thou hast given me out of the world, they were thine; and thou hast given them to me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee; because the words which thou hast given me, I have given to them; and they have received them, and have known truly that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. » He wishes to establish two things: first, that he is not opposed to God the Father; and second, that it is ^B His will that they should believe in the Son. Therefore He says, « Whom thou hast given me, they were thine. » For both of these things are shown by the expression, « Thou hast given me. » For I did not snatch them, but you approved that they should come to me. So that you have, Father, not opposition, but concord and love towards me. « And they have kept thy word, » by believing me, and not attending to the Jews. For he who believes in Christ keeps the word of God, that is, the Scripture and the Law; for Christ is announced by the Scripture.

But also in another way: All things whatsoever the Lord said to the disciples were of the Father. « For I, » He says, « do not speak from myself. » He said therefore, along with other things to them, also this, that « Abide in me »; and behold they have kept [it]. « Now they have known that all things whatsoever ^C thou hast given me are of thee. » Some read without the N: « Nunc cognovi ego » (Now I have known). But this does not make sense; for it ought to be read with the N: « Nunc cognoverunt (Now they have known) my disciples, » He says, « that I have nothing of my own, nor am I alien to thee, but all things whatsoever thou hast given me, thou hast not given to me as to a creature, showing me favor. For these things are not acquired by me, but are from thee, » that is, they belong to me naturally, as to the Son, who has power over the Father’s things. Whence, however, did my disciples know this? « Because the words which thou hast given me, I have given to them, » that is, from my words and doctrines. For I was always teaching them that all things whatsoever I have are the Father's. And not this alone, but also that « I came out from thee, » and that « thou hast sent me. » For through the ^D whole Gospel He wished to establish this, that He is not an adversary of God, but fulfills the Father’s will.

« I pray for them, I pray not for the world, but for them whom thou hast given me, because they are thine; and all my things are thine, and thine are mine, and I have been glorified. »

^A He shows that he says these things to the Father for no other reason than for their sake, that they may learn that he loves them and cares for them. He says: «I pray for them,» and I entreat, «not for the world.» For I show completely by this that I love them; for I not only give what is mine, but I also entreat thee to guard them. Therefore, I do not entreat thee for the vulgar masses and those who mind the things of the world, but for those whom thou hast given me, for they are thine. And lest, continually hearing him say, «Thou hast given me,» anyone should think that this authority and power were recently given to him, and that the Father had them when the Son did not, or again, now that he himself has them, the Father has been deprived of authority over them—for this reason he says: «And all my things are thine, and thine are mine.» For I did not receive the power now, but when they were thine, they were also mine; for «all thy things are mine.» And when I myself have them, thou also hast them, and thou art not deprived; for «all my things are thine.» «And I have been glorified in them,» that is, having their power as Lord, I am glorified in them, just as the king’s son, having equal power with the father and the kingdom, is glorified in having as much as the father. If, therefore, the Son were inferior to the Father, how would he have dared to say: «All thy things are mine»? For indeed, the master has all the things that belong to the servant, but the servant does not have all the things that belong to the master. In this place, however, it is permitted to speak conversely, so that the things of the Father are also the Son’s, and conversely. Therefore, the Son is glorified in the things of the Father. For he has as much power over all things as the Father has. ^B

^C VERS. 11, 12. «And I am no longer in the world, and these are in the world, and I am coming to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name, whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. When I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name.» Why does he continuously say this, «I am no longer in the world,» and «When I was with them in the world»? For these seem contradictory to one who does not examine them. For in another place he promised them, «I will be with you,» and «Ye shall see me»; but now he seems to say other things. It is possible, therefore, to say the truth, that he speaks these things according to their frame of mind. For since it was likely that they would be distressed, as if they were being left behind bereft of a helper, he shows them that he commends them to the Father, and appoints him as their guardian, and speaks to the Father, saying: Since thou callest me toward thyself, «do thou keep them in thy name,» that is, through thy help and power which thou hast given me. And what is this guarding? «That they may be one.» For if they have love toward one another, and do not fall into dissension, they will be invincible, and nothing will prevail against them. But he does not say «That they may be one» simply, ^D but «As I and thou,» being of one mind, willing the same thing. For this is their protection, concord. In order, therefore, that he may comfort them, he prays to the Father for their guarding. For if he had said, «I will guard you,» they would not have believed it as much; but now, while he prays to the Father for them,

^A he leads them into good hopes. And the words, «I was guarding them in your name,» he says, not as though he himself were unable to do so otherwise, except by the name of the Father, but, as we have often said, because of the weakness of the hearers, who as yet did not imagine anything great concerning him, for this reason he says, «In your help I was guarding them.» At the same time he also makes them full of hope, that, «Just as when I was present with you, you were guarded in the name of my Father and by his help; so also now believe that you shall be guarded by the same;» for it is habitual for him to guard you.

«Those whom you gave me, I guarded, and none of them perished, except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I come to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy filled in themselves.» Great is the humility of these words, if anyone should receive them worthily. For see what appears here: «Those whom you gave me, I guarded.» For he seems to be ^B giving orders to the Father, that the Father also should guard them; just as if someone, having handed over money to someone for safekeeping, were to say, «See, I have lost nothing, do not you lose anything either.» But he says all these things for the consolation of the disciples. «For these things,» he says, «I speak in the world» for the sake of the disciples' rest, and consolation, and joy, that they might take heart and be free from care, as though you were receiving them safe and were about to guard them, just as I guarded them and lost no one. How then, O Lord, did you lose no one? For both Judas perished, and many others went away into the things behind. As for my part, he says, I lost no one; for as far as it depended on me, I lacked nothing, but I guarded them, that is, I strove in every way towards their guarding; but if they leap away from themselves, this is nothing to me. And the words, «That the Scripture might be fulfilled,» mean, all that which predicts concerning the son of perdition. For indeed it was said concerning him in various Psalms, and in the other books of the prophets. And concerning the ^C word «that,» we have often said that Scripture is accustomed to make use of it as signifying an event, not a cause.

«I have given them your word; and the world hated them, because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you guard them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.» Praying to the Father for the help of the apostles, he states also the cause for which they are worthy to receive much care from the Father. For «because of your word,» he says, «which I gave to them, they were hated.» So that they would be worthy of being helped by you, those who have been hated because of you by those who think the things of the world. For they are hated by the common crowd, he says. «For they are not of the world,» that is, they do not have a mind inclined toward the world, nor one expending all its zeal upon it. How then does he say in another place, «Those

whom you have given me from the world, they were yours»? ^A There, he was speaking regarding their nature, that they are human and a part of the world; but here, he declares their mind and their choice when he says, «They are not of the world.»

But let not the saying, «As I am not of the world,» disturb you. For the holy apostles were not in such a state, being void of the world’s passions, as the Lord. For He indeed did not commit sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth, whereas they did not surpass the weakness of human nature. Do not, therefore, upon hearing, «As I am not of the world,» understand an exact and absolute correspondence of the apostles to the Lord; but when the word «as» is used regarding the Father and Himself, then alone understand equality.

Moreover, when He says, «I do not ask that you take them out of the world,» He speaks wanting to demonstrate His love for them, and that He greatly cares for them, interceding for them with such earnestness. For He is not instructing the Father as to whom He should pray for (for this is absurd), but, as I said, by showing that He loves His disciples exceedingly and cares for them, He says these things to the Father: «I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that, while they are in the world, you preserve them from the evil one.»

He repeats again: «They are not of the world.» They require, He says, much support. For they have nothing in common with the earth; they have become citizens of the heavens. Since, therefore, the whole world is going to treat them as strangers, do you, O heavenly One, henceforth preserve them as citizens of heaven. He says such things in the hearing of the disciples, that, hearing these things, they might hate the world and not sully or lose their great praises.

The phrase, «Preserve them from the evil one,» speaks not only of deliverance from dangers, but also of remaining firm and steadfast in the faith; wherefore ^B He adds, «Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I also sent them into the world; and for their sake I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.»

Make them holy, He says, through the giving of the Spirit, and guard them in the uprightness of speech and of dogmas, and instruct them, and teach them the truth; for this is holiness: the keeping of right dogmas.

That He speaks concerning dogmas is manifest; for He interprets, saying, «Your word is truth,» having no falsehood in it. So that if you cause them also to keep your word and be preserved from the evil one, they will be sanctified in the truth.

He signifies another thing, too, by «Sanctify them in your truth,» that is: Set them apart for the word and the preaching, and make them a sacrifice; let them minister to this your truth, and let them consecrate their own life to this. For He adds: «As you sent me into the world, and for their sake I sanctify myself,» that is, I offer myself as a sacrifice; «so also sanctify them,» that is, set them apart as a sacrifice for the sake of the preaching, and as witnesses of the truth. For all things that are laid up for God ^C are called holy. «That they also»—

as I do—«may be sanctified» and dedicated to Thee, O God, not as those things which under the law were sacrificed in a figure, but in truth. For the sacrifices of old were figural, and all the holy things were dedicated to God in a figure, foreshadowing some other spiritual reality; for example, the lamb, the doves, the turtledoves, and the rest. But the souls that are dedicated to God are in truth sanctified, set apart, and consecrated to God; even as Paul says: «Present your members as a living sacrifice, holy.» ^A Sanctify, therefore, and consecrate the souls of the disciples, and make them true offerings, or strengthen them to be sacrificed for the sake of the truth.

«I do not pray for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, that they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me.» He had said: «For their sake I sanctify Myself.» Therefore, that no one might think that He died for the apostles alone, He adds: «I do not pray for these only, but also for all those who will believe in Me through their word.» In this place, ^B He again lifts up the spirits of the apostles, in that they are to have many disciples. For because He said, «I do not pray for these only,» lest the apostles should be scandalized, as if He were giving them nothing special beyond the rest, He consoles them by signifying that they would be the authors of faith and salvation to many. And because He had sufficiently commended them to the Father, as if sanctifying them by faith, and perfecting them as a sacrifice holy to the truth, He speaks thereafter again concerning concord; and He concludes His discourse upon that principle from which He began—I mean charity—and says: «That all may be one,» that is, that they may have peace and concord; «and in Us,» that is, that they may keep an undivided faith toward us. For nothing so scan- ^C dalizes the disciples as teachers being torn apart and not thinking the same thing. For how will those who do not think the same thing persuade others? For this reason He says: «That they also may be one» in the faith toward us, «as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee.» Again, «as» is not of an exact equality. For it is not possible for us to be united to one another as the Father is united to the Son; just as when He says: «Be ye merciful, as your Father is.» «That the world may believe that Thou didst send Me.» For by the concord of the disciples, I, the teacher, shall appear to have come from God. But if they struggle with one another, they shall not be called disciples of the Peacemaker; and if I am not peaceful, they will not confess me to have been sent by Thee. Do you see how He maintains ^D concord toward the Father unto the end?

«And the glory which Thou hast given Me, I have given to them, that they may be one, as We are one. I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected into one, and» He establishes this unto the end, the [subject] toward the Father…

^A that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me. What glory does He say has been given? That which comes through signs, that which comes through dogmas and teachings; and another glory as well, that of concord, namely, "that they may be one." For this glory is greater than that which comes from signs. For just as we admire God because there is neither sedition nor strife in that nature—and this is a most excellent glory—so too, He says, may these men become illustrious from this source, namely, from concord. "I in them, and Thou in Me." Here He shows that the apostles also received the Father into themselves. "For I," He says, "am in them, and Thee again I have in Myself; so that Thou also art in them." In another place, He says that both the Father and He will come and make a dwelling, silencing the mouth of Sabellius and manifesting the two ^B hypostases. Here, however, restraining the madness of Arius, He says that the Father comes to be in the disciples through Him, "that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me." He says this continuously, showing that peace is able to reconcile more effectively than any sign. For just as strife is a dissolving force, so likewise is concord a binding one.

VER. 23, 24. "And Thou hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me. Father, I will that where I am, they also may be with Me; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me: for Thou hast loved Me before the foundation of the world." Again in this place, interpret "as" to mean as much as it is possible for a human to be loved. Having said, therefore, that they will be in safety, that they will be holy, that many will believe through them, and that they will enjoy much glory, He speaks finally also of the rewards and crowns laid up for them after their departure from this life. "For I will," He says, "that where I am, they also may be." And lest, upon hearing this, you imagine that they are about to attain the same dignity, He adds: "that they may behold My glory." For He did not say, "that they may enjoy My glory," but, "that they may behold." For the greatest ^C rest for man is to behold the Son of God; for this is glory for all who are worthy. This is what Paul also says: "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord." He shows from this that He will not be seen then in a lowly state, as He is presently seen by them, but in the glory which He had "before the foundation of the world." "I had," He says, "this glory, because Thou hast loved Me." For "Because Thou hast loved Me" is inserted. Therefore, just as He said above: "Glorify Me with the glory which I had before the world was," so also now, He says that the glory of the Godhead was given to Him "before the foundation of the world." For the Father truly gave Him the Godhead, as Father to Son naturally. For since He begat Him, necessarily the One who is the Author of His substance is also said to be the author and provider ^D of His glory.

VERS. 25, 26. "O righteous Father, and the world hath not known Thee, but I have known Thee; and these have known that Thou hast sent Me. And I have made known unto them Thy name,"

and that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” Since he had prayed such things for those who believe, and had secured such great blessings for them, he adds something that is full of great mercy and kindness. “For, O righteous Father,” he says, “I indeed wished that all men might obtain such blessings as I have prayed for for the faithful; but they did not know you, and therefore they shall be deprived of the glory and the prizes. But I have known you.” ^A Here he also hints at the Jews, who claimed to know God, and he shows that they do not truly know the Father; for he often calls the Jews “the world.” And the Jews indeed say that you did not send me, but I have [made your name known] to these my disciples; and I will make it known.” But how will I make it known? By sending them the Spirit, ^B who “shall lead them into all the truth.” And if they learn who you are, then the “love with which you have loved me will be in them, and I in them.” For they shall know that I am not separated [from you], but am a dearly beloved and genuine Son, and united with you. When they have known this, they will keep both their faith in me and their love; and thereafter I will abide in them, as they are such people who have known you, and who honor me as God, and who keep their faith toward me unshaken.

CHAPTER XVIII.

“When Jesus had said these things, he went out with his disciples across the Cedron ravine, where there was a garden, into which he himself and his disciples entered. ^C Now Judas, who was betraying him, also knew the place, because Jesus had often gathered there with his disciples.” He did not say, “When Jesus had prayed these things,” but, “When he had said these things.” For the matter was not a prayer, but a discourse meant for the consolation of the disciples. In the middle of the night he makes the journey, and crosses the river, and hastens to come to the place known to the traitor, delivering himself to the murderers: that he might show that he comes to the passion of his own free will, and that he might reduce the labor for the Jews who were seeking him. For, that they might not be worn out wandering here and there searching for him, he himself goes to them ^D and puts himself into the hands of his enemies. For he is found in the garden, as if in a prison. And lest you suppose that he had withdrawn to the garden for the sake of hiding, the evangelist adds that “Judas also knew the place,” and thus he wished rather to manifest himself than to be hidden by coming to that place. “Now Judas also knew the place, because Jesus had often gathered there with his disciples.” For the Lord used to seek out solitary places and workshops of silence, especially whenever he was imparting something more mystical. But whence did Judas know that Jesus was in the garden at this hour, and not sleeping in the house? He knew that the Lord often spent the night outside the city, and on that account he knew that even then he had gone out.

^A Furthermore, he knew that it was during a feast that the Lord most had the custom of teaching his disciples something higher; for as we said, in such places he was accustomed to teach the mystical truths. Since, therefore, it was then a feast, he conjectured that he would be there, instructing his disciples in the things of the feast according to his custom.

^B “Judas then, having received the band of soldiers, and ministers from the chief priests and Pharisees, comes there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that were to come upon him, went forth and said to them: Whom seek you? They answered him: Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus says to them: I am he. And Judas also, who betrayed him, stood with them. As soon therefore as he had said to them, I am he, they went backward and fell to the ground.” They persuaded the cohort to assist them with money, for such is the military order: a slave to gold. ^C Many come, fearing those who followed Jesus and depended on him because of his teaching and miracles. They carry lanterns and torches, so that he might not escape them by hiding in the darkness. But he was so far from fleeing that he even went out toward them, delivering himself up. And he asks the question, not as one needing to learn or with a necessity to inquire—for, he says, “he knew all things that were to come upon him.” And thus, because he knew that they were coming for him, he asks, not that he needs to be taught, but wanting to show that even while present he was neither seen nor recognized by them. Even then, he asks as if he were a stranger; and they do not recognize him by his voice, neither the others, nor Judas himself. ^D That they did not fail to recognize him because of the darkness, the evangelist foretold by saying that they “came with torches.” But if they had not recognized him because of the darkness (suppose we allow this), they surely ought to have recognized him by his voice. He asks, therefore, to demonstrate, as we have said, that they recognized him neither by his form nor by his voice. So ineffable was his power that they could not even crucify him had he not voluntarily yielded himself. And it was a mark of this that not only did he blind their eyes, but they also fell on their backs, prostrated by the mere sound of a question. The falling of those who came against Jesus would be a sign of the universal ruin of that nation, which came upon them later after the death of Christ, as Jeremiah also prophesied: “The house of Israel has fallen, there is none to raise it up.” Therefore, all who are adversaries to the divine word fall. The garden, moreover, from which our salvation took its beginning, would represent paradise. For we who fell in the garden of paradise have seen in the garden the salutary passion take its beginning, and all things which were previously corrupt have been repaired.

“Again therefore he asked them, Whom seek you? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered and said: I told you that I am he. If”

^A therefore you seek me, let these go away, that the word might be fulfilled which he spoke: Of those whom you gave me I have lost no one.” He cast them down on their backs, at once declaring his own power, and that he came to his passion of his own will; and in addition to these things, he also provided for another matter. For in order that someone might not say that the Jews committed no sin—since he himself delivered himself into their hands and made it manifest—because of this he shows them this miracle, which was sufficient to drive them back. But since they remained in their malice even after this miracle, then indeed he delivered himself into their hands. And see how, even until the last hour, he does not slacken in his love toward his disciples. “For if you seek me,” he says, “let these go away, that the word might be fulfilled which he spoke, that Of those whom you gave me I have lost no one.” The Lord spoke of the perishing of the soul, which none of those who had been taught by him suffered; but the evangelist applied this also to bodily perishing. And it is a miracle how they did not seize the apostles and cut them to pieces, especially when Peter had provoked them. Whence it is clear that the power of the one who was seized brought this about, as did the judgment which he had foretold, that ^B “None of them was lost.” This, then, the evangelist also teaches us—that it was because of the Lord’s judgment that the disciples were not cut to pieces—when he says, “That the word might be fulfilled which he spoke, that Of those whom you gave me I have lost no one,” for on account of their weakness he makes them secure from temptations. Thus he also governs us now, even if we are unaware of it. So when a temptation comes upon you, believe that if he had not known that you were able to escape it, he would not have allowed it to come upon you, just as he did not then to the disciples.

^C *Simon Peter therefore having a sword, drew it, and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. And the name of the servant was Malchus. Jesus therefore said to Peter: Put your sword into the scabbard. The cup which the Father has given me, shall I not drink it?* When Peter saw the Lord cast them down on their backs, and had been filled with confidence through the voice of the Lord, saying, “Let these go away,” he thought that now, finally, it was the time for vengeance, and so he drew his sword and struck the servant. But if you ask how he who was commanded not to carry a wallet, nor two tunics, had a sword, learn that he carried it for the use of the paschal lamb, even after the supper, or that, fearing an ambush, he had long ago prepared for this. And if you are puzzled how he who was forbidden to strike even with a slap was preparing himself for bloodshed, hear how he was not taking vengeance so much for himself, but for his master; furthermore, that they were not yet perfect at that time. For see how later he rejoices to endure ^D extreme things, whereas now he is indignant on behalf of his master, and attacks his very head, and since he missed, he cut off only the ear; but Jesus…

restores it ^A, and by this miracle again restrains the senseless Jews from their urge to murder. And since the miracle on the ear was great, for this reason the evangelist also adds the name of the servant; so that it may be possible for those who read, if they should be unbelieving, to inquire and investigate whether it indeed happened so. But the Lord holds Peter back, and threatening him ("Put," he says, "thy sword into the sheath"), he also consoles him by saying: "The cup which the Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" He shows, in fact, that it was not by their power, but by his own permission that he suffered, and that he was not an adversary of God, but was doing the will of the Father even unto death. And by saying "cup," he signifies a death sweet and desirable for the salvation of men. But observe here that the cutting off of the right ear of the servant of the high priest was a sign of their disobedience. For blindness has come upon Israel, so that, hearing, they do not hear, because of their impiety toward the Savior, which was especially that of the high priests; hence the sign of the removal of the ear occurred specifically to the servant of the high priest. But that the ear was restored signifies the prudence once held by the Israelites, which is now taken away, but which will be restored later. For when Elias comes, he will lead them back to Christ, and will unite the fathers to us as children, as Malachias also said. ^B

Vers. 12-14. "The cohort therefore and the tribune and the ministers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him, and led him away to Annas first." For he was the father-in-law of Caiphas, who was the high priest of that year. Now Caiphas was he who had given counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. After he had done all things that seemed capable of restraining their fury, and they did not understand, then at last he permitted himself to be led away. But they bind him and lead him off to Annas, glorying in the deed, and desiring as it were to celebrate it as if they had erected a great trophy. And he makes mention of the prophecy of Caiphas, wishing to show that these things took place for the salvation of the world, and that the truth is so excellent that even the enemies foretold these things. For that you be not troubled upon hearing of bonds, he calls the prophecy to mind, so that you understand that both the death and the bonds were salutary, and for this reason he submitted to them. ^C

Vers. 15, 16. "And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and the other disciple." That disciple, however, was known to the high priest, and he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter stood at the door outside. The other disciple, therefore, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the porteress, and brought in Peter. "Who was that other disciple?" He himself who wrote these things. But he hides himself out of humility, because he was about to narrate an honorable deed, that he followed when the others had fled; for this reason he hides himself, and sets Peter before himself: "For he followed," he says,

Simon Peter, and then adds, "and the other disciple." ^A He hides himself out of humility, and yet he mentions himself for this very reason, that we might learn that he narrates what happened in the courtyard more accurately than the others, inasmuch as he was inside. Behold also how he cuts off his own praise; for lest, when you hear that John entered with Jesus, you should think something great of him, he says that he was known to the high priest. For I did not enter, he says, as one braver than the others, but as one known to the high priest. He proclaims Peter, however, as having followed out of love, but standing outside because, forsooth, he was not known. For it is manifest that Peter would also have entered, had he been permitted. For when John went out and ordered the doorkeeper to bring him in, Peter entered immediately. But why did John not bring him in himself, but entrusted this to the woman? Because he was so strongly attached to Christ, and followed Him, and did not wish to be separated from Him.

^B "The doorkeeper then says to Peter, 'Are you also one of this man’s disciples?' He says, 'I am not.' Now the servants and the ministers were standing there, having made a fire of coals, because it was cold, and they were warming themselves; and Peter was standing with them, and warming himself." The maid questions Peter, not insolently, not harshly, but very gently. For she did not say, "Are you also one of the disciples of the impostor?" but, "of this man," which is more the mark of one feeling pity and showing kindness. And she said "Are you also?" because John was inside. But the woman spoke so gently; he, however, perceived nothing of this, nor did he take to heart the prediction of Christ; ^C so weak a thing is human nature, when it is abandoned by God. Some, however, foolishly wishing to do a favor to Peter, say that Peter did not deny through fear, but because he wished to be always with Christ and follow Him, and he knew that if he confessed himself a disciple of Jesus, he would be separated from Him, and would no longer have the opportunity to follow and see the One for whom he longed; for this reason he denied, saying, "I am not." For even his warming himself was done with such an intention. For he pretended to do what the ministers were doing, as one of them, lest by the sadness of his countenance he be detected, and excluded from seeing Christ, being driven away from the midst as His disciple. ^D

"The high priest then asked Jesus about His disciples and about His teaching. Jesus answered him, 'I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where all the Jews gather, and I have spoken nothing in secret. Why do you ask Me? Ask those who have heard what I have spoken to them; behold, these know what I have said.'" Now when He had said these things,

^B one of the attendants who was standing by gave Jesus a slap, saying, "Is this how You answer the high priest?" Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken wrongly, bear witness to the wrong; but if correctly, why do you strike Me?" The high priest asks Jesus about the disciples, perhaps in some such manner as this: Where are they, and who might they be, and with what purpose did He gather them, and what was His intent? For he wanted to convict Him as some kind of innovator or seditionist. He also asks about His teaching, what manner it was; whether it was something turning people away from the law and warring against Moses, so that by finding a pretext even in this, he might kill Him as a fighter against God. What, then, does the Lord do? He answers him in accordance with his suspicion. "I," He says, "have spoken nothing in secret." For you, indeed, suspect Me of being some kind of seditionist and one who secretly concocts certain plots; but I say to you, that "I have spoken nothing in secret," that is, I have spoken nothing seditious, and, as you suppose, nothing innovative, nor have I spoken anything of My own with a deceitful and secret intent. For if we do not understand that the Lord said this in relation to the high priest's suspicion, He will appear to be lying. For He said many things "in secret," in that they were beyond the capacity of the multitude. But that which He says, "Why do you ask Me? Ask those who have heard," is the language not of one who is being insolent, but of one who is confident in the truth of what has been said. "For ask," He says, "the enemies, the ones laying traps, these attendants who bound Me." For this is an undeniable demonstration of the truth, when someone has his enemies as witnesses of the things he says. For those very attendants, He says, are the ones who said before, "Never has a man spoken like this man."

Having answered in this way, he is not shown admiration, but is struck with a slap; what could be more shameless than this? And yet, being able to shake and destroy all things, He does none of these, but speaks words that could soothe the ferocity of all beasts. For He says: If indeed you have grounds to reprehend the things now spoken by Me, point out what I have said wrongly; but if you have none, why are you raging? Or also thus: "If I have spoken wrongly," that is, if I have taught wrongly when I was teaching in the synagogues, then come forward now and "bear witness" concerning this evil teaching of Mine, and fully inform the high priest who is now asking Me about My teaching; but if I have taught correctly, and I was being admired by you even, the attendants, "why do you strike Me" now, whom you previously admired? The attendant, therefore, struck the Lord, relieving himself of a grave accusation. For since Jesus was calling upon those standing by as witnesses, saying, "Behold, these know what I have said," the attendant, wishing to relieve himself of the suspicion that he was not among those who admired Jesus, struck Him. And Christ, by saying, "I have spoken nothing in secret," brings to mind the prophecy that says, "I have not spoken in secret, nor in a dark place of the earth."

Vers. 24-27. And Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said therefore to him, "Are you also one..."

of His disciples?" He denied it and said, "I am not." One of the servants of the high priest, being a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, "Did I not see you in the garden with Him?" ^A Peter therefore denied it again, and immediately the rooster crowed. They lead Him to Caiaphas, because they could find no fault in Him; perhaps suspecting that he was wiser and would find something worthy of death against Jesus, by tripping him up in a reply or catching him in some action. But Peter, the ardent lover, was held by such great stupor that, even when his Master was being led away, he was not moved, but was still warming himself, so that when questioned again, he denied it—and not only a second time, but even a third. Why then did all the evangelists write about Peter together? Not to accuse the disciple, but to instruct us how great an evil it is not to entrust everything to God, but to confide in oneself. ^B One ought to marvel at the Lord's philanthropy, for though He was bound and being led away, He did not neglect His disciple; but turning, He looked at Peter, as another evangelist says, and by His look reproached him for his weakness, and stirred him to repentance and tears. And what Peter suffered then, it is also permitted to see many of us suffering now. For the Word of God that is in us is bound and, as it were, led away captive, whether it be enslaved by pleasure or by grief. For in either way we are overcome and led away, forgetting God either by the prosperous things of the world or by the sorrowful. And indeed the Word is condemned, ^C but absurdity prevails, and the servant strikes his master; for such is the insurrection of the passions. And our mind, like some Peter, is often headstrong, as if it would not deny the Word, and therefore it stands and warms itself. It stands indeed, in that it is not bowed nor humbled, but remains stubbornly in its own self-will. And it is said to warm itself, in that it suffers from the fever and vanity of self-will. A maidservant, however, convicts it—a certain small and effeminating pleasure—and immediately it denies the Word and is carried off into absurdity. But it is also convicted by some sorrowful temptation, just as Peter was then by the servant, and thus his weakness is uncovered. But let us pray that Jesus, the Word of God, may look upon us ^D and stir us to repentance and tears, having gone forth outside the atrium of the high priest who crucifies the Lord, which is the world-ruler. For when we shall have gone out from the world, which is the atrium of the world-ruler, then indeed, then we shall arise to sincere repentance, just as Paul also says: "Let us go out to Him outside the gate, that is, the world, bearing His reproach."

Vers. 28-32. They lead Jesus therefore from Caiaphas to the praetorium. It was morning; and they themselves did not enter into the praetorium, that they might not be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover. Pilate therefore went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this man?"

^A They answered and said to him: "If this man were not a wrongdoer, we would not have delivered him up to you." Pilate therefore said to them: "Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law." The Jews therefore said to him: "It is not lawful for us to put any man to death," that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled, which He spoke, signifying by what death He was about to die. They lead the Lord into many tribunals, thinking themselves to be insulting Him, but in reality they make Him illustrious through many tribunals. For the Lord went forth from all of them not convicted of a crime, maintaining a strength against which none could contend. They lead Him, therefore, into the praetorium. For they themselves did not have the authority to execute, as matters were controlled by the Romans; and at the same time they were afraid, lest later they should suffer penalties, being accused for having executed Him without a trial. "It was then morning," he says, *that you may learn* that for half the night He was being questioned by Caiaphas. For before the cock crowed, He was led away to Caiaphas. And what He was questioned concerning by him, this evangelist passed over in silence, but others have spoken of it. When they had spent the night in these things, in the morning they lead Him away to Pilate. "But they themselves did not enter into the praetorium, ^B that they might not be defiled." O the madness! While killing unjustly, they did not think they were being defiled; but entering into tribunals, they supposed they were defiling themselves. And what is it, *that they might eat the Passover*? For surely the Lord Himself had observed it on the first day of Unleavened Bread. We must either understand by the Passover the whole feast of seven days, or that they were going to eat it in the evening of the Preparation. But the Lord Himself anticipated it by one day, reserving His own slaughter for the Preparation, when the old Passover also took place. But Pilate, doing something more humanely, himself goes out; and because he saw the Lord bound, he did not think from this that he already had a charge against Christ, but he asks the cause of the bonds. But they, having nothing to say, say: "If this man were not a wrongdoer, we would not have delivered him up to you." Do you see them in every place declining ^C accusations? Annas questioned Him, and having found nothing, he sent Him to Caiaphas. This man, after having questioned Him again, sends Him to Pilate. Then Pilate again asks: "What accusation do you have against this man?" And not even in this place can they say anything. Wherefore, because they say nothing, "Take him yourselves," he says. For since you claim the judgment for yourselves, and speak arrogantly, as though you would never do anything unjust. "For if he were not a wrongdoer, they say, we would not have delivered him up to you,"—"take him yourselves, and judge him. But if you have brought him to me, and you attach the form of a tribunal to the matter, it is necessary to speak out the charges against the man. Judge him yourselves, then; for I would by no means be such a judge. If, therefore, your law punishes without a hearing, judge him yourselves." But they say: "It is not lawful for us ^D to put any man to death." But they say this knowing that the Romans condemn rebels to the cross. In order, therefore, that the Lord might be crucified, and His death be made public and proclaimed as accursed, for this reason they pretend that it is not lawful for them to kill; for otherwise, how did they stone Stephen? But, as I said, Act. VII, 58.

^A Since they wished the Lord to be crucified, they speak in this way: just as if they had said, "It is not lawful for us to kill anyone by crucifixion; but the crucifixion of this man is much desired by us." So that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he said concerning his death, clearly that he would be crucified, ^B or that he was about to be put to death not by the Jews, but by the Gentiles. Therefore, when the Jews had said, "It is not lawful for us to kill," the Gentiles then take him, and crucify him according to their custom, and thus the word of Jesus is fulfilled from both sides: both because he was delivered to the Gentiles, and because he was crucified. ^B

VERS. 33-36. "Pilate therefore went into the praetorium again, and called Jesus, and said to him: Art thou the king of the Jews? Jesus answered: Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or have others told it thee of me? Pilate answered: Am I a Jew? Thy own nation, and the chief priests, have delivered thee up to me: what hast thou done? Jesus answered: My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would certainly strive that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from hence." ^C Pilate called Jesus aside; and because there was a great opinion concerning him, he wished to know all things clearly, intending to free him from the tumult of the Jews. He asks him, therefore, if he is a king, which was being reported about him by everyone, bringing this into the middle. But Christ asks him if he says this of himself, or from others; not because he is ignorant, but wishing to uncover the evil mind of the Jews, so that they might be condemned by Pilate himself. For which reason also Pilate immediately says that he was delivered to him by the Jews, freeing himself from the crime. ^D And in another way: The Lord asks Pilate if he says this of himself, or persuaded by others. By this, he reproves him for being foolish, and for condemning without judgment, and speaks to Pilate in this manner: "If indeed you say this of yourself, show the signs of my rebellion. But if you have been taught by others, then make a diligent inquiry." But he does not say what he heard from others; he simply follows the sentence of the people, and says, "Thy own nation hath delivered thee to me." But the words, "What hast thou done?" seem to be the utterance of one brought to bitterness and exasperation. For he says, "What hast thou done?" But the Lord, by answering, "My kingdom is not of this world," corrects these two things. For first, he teaches Pilate to know that he is not a mere man, nor of these earthly things, but God and the Son of God. Then, he dissolves the suspicion of tyranny. "For my kingdom is not of this world," and so do not fear me as a tyrant and a seditious person. "For if my kingdom were of this world, my servants would certainly strive, that I should not be delivered to the Jews." But in this place he signifies the infirmity of the present kingdom, in that it has strength from its ministers. The heavenly one, however, is sufficient by itself, needing nothing. The Manichaeans, having taken a handle from this, say: This world is not from God; for the Son of God, they say, says: "My kingdom is not hence." But, you fools, learn first from the very phrasing. For he said: "My kingdom"

is not of this world"; and again: "It is not hence." For he did not say it is not in the world, nor that it is not here. For he truly reigns in the world, and takes thought for it, and as he wills, he directs all things. But his kingdom is not *of* the world, but from above and before the ages; and it is not "hence"—by which I mean, composed from below—but reigns and administers here, while not being from hence, nor having its subsistence from below, nor being perishable. Furthermore, how could one understand the words, "He came unto his own," if the world were not his own? ^B

Vers. 37-40. "Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." Pilate saith unto him, "What is truth?" And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, "I find in him no fault at all. But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews?"

When Pilate asked the Lord if he were a king, he said, "To this end was I born," that is, to be a king. For I possess this by nature, and from the very fact of being begotten of the Father. For this very thing—to be begotten of a King—bears witness that I am a King. Thus, even when you hear that "the Father hath given life to the Son, and judgment," and all other things, understand "hath given" in this way: that he hath begotten him so that he possesses life and judgment, and that these things all naturally belong to the Son from the Father. And for this reason have I come into the world, that I might state this very thing, and teach it, and persuade all men that I am King and Master and Lord. ^C Wishing, moreover, through this to win over Pilate, and urge him to accept what was said, he says: "Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." Thus thou also, O Pilate, if thou art indeed a child of truth, and desirest it, wilt hear my voice and believe me to be a King—not such as those of the world, having an acquired rule, but a natural one, and one that is mine from the very nativity of being begotten of God and King. In this place, he also hints at the Jews, who are not of the truth, since they do not wish to hear his voice. And since they are not of the truth, they have entirely fabricated falsehoods against him, and he is not truly worthy of death. Thus, in these few words, he captivated Pilate, so that Pilate asked about truth, "What is it?" For it had almost vanished from among men and was unknown by all who still remained in unbelief. ^D Because, however, this question required its own proper time, and the urgency lay in rescuing Jesus from the fury of the Jews, for this reason he goes out unto them and says: "I find in him no fault at all." And he says this wisely, too. For he did not say, "Although he has sinned and is worthy of death, yet by the privilege of the feast..."

I find no cause in him. ^A And this acts prudently. For he did not say, "Even if he has sinned, and is worthy of death, nevertheless grace him at the feast"; but first he absolved him of every charge, and then he asks them for his release. So that, if Jesus were released, no grace would be owed to them, for they would have released an innocent man. If they were to vote to condemn, their malice would be revealed, in that they condemned the innocent. Observe also what mind he has, in saying, "The king of the Jews." For clearly by this Pilate defends himself, as if Jesus had done no wrong, but is accused in vain by them, as desiring the kingdom. For the Roman lieutenant would not have released one making himself king and rising up against the power of the Romans. So that in saying, "I will release the king of the Jews," he declares Jesus entirely innocent, and mocks the Jews, as if saying such things as: "Whom you accuse falsely as invading the kingdom and calling him a rebel and seditious, him I ask you to release"; and it is manifest that it is not so. But some, regarding "For this I was born," did not understand it of that eternal birth from the Father, but of the later one from the Virgin. "For this reason I was made man, and was born of Mary, that I might destroy the lie and the devil," showing the divine nature reigning over all. Truth, therefore, is this, namely my knowledge, and the salvation which comes through it: for this reason, clearly, I came, that I might bestow true knowledge of God and salvation. It is worthy to inquire whence the Jews were moved to have the custom of releasing one prisoner. First, we may say that those who teach "doctrines, the commandments of men," ^B proposed very many things according to their own heads, and did not use divine laws. Whence also they held this in such an irrational custom, as having elsewhere been unbridled from legal ordinances. Then, also, such a law has been spoken of in Scripture, from which it is likely they were moved to have such releases of those condemned in custom. For it is written concerning one who kills involuntarily, if he did not seek to harm his neighbor out of enmity or intentionally, but throws a vessel or stone, and it falling strikes a bystander, and the man dies, such a one is an involuntary homicide; but the whole synagogue shall judge, and they shall release him from death (for he did not kill with malicious intent), but they shall set him in the city of refuge, that is, they shall punish him with exile. From this perhaps they were moved, as we may conjecture, to have such a custom of releasing one of those condemned for homicidal intent. Now the law indeed ordered this to be a work of the synagogue of the Jews; but since matters had come under the Romans, they make the Roman rulers the lords of releasing, just as now they do with Pilate. ^C

CAPUT XIX. Of the flagellation of Christ. Of the crucifixion of Christ. Of those who stood by the cross. Of the petition for the Lord's body. Of the burial of the same.

They cried out therefore again all saying, "Not this [man]

but Barabbas." Now Barabbas ^A was a robber. Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. And the soldiers, plaiting a crown of thorns, placed it upon his head, and put a purple garment around him, and they said, "Hail, King of the Jews," and they gave him blows. Pilate went out again and says to them, "Behold, I bring him out to you, that you may know that I find no cause in him." Jesus therefore went out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment. And he says to them, "Behold the man." When therefore the chief priests and the attendants saw him, they cried out, saying, "Crucify, crucify him." Pilate says to them, "Take him yourselves, and crucify him: for I find no cause in him." The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God." ^B Observe through how many things the malice of the Jews is demonstrated; for they ask for Barabbas, a self-confessed robber, while they deliver up the Lord. Pilate, therefore, scourges him, wishing to appease and placate their fury for the time being. For since he could not rescue him with words, he scourges him, striving even by this means to calm their madness, and permits the chlamys and the crown to be placed upon him, so that their anger might be exhausted. But the soldiers do everything to please the Jews; for since they had heard Pilate saying, "I will release that King of the Jews," they now mock him as a king. And they were not doing this at the instigation of Pilate, for they had even invaded Jesus by night contrary to the governor's opinion, gratifying the Jews for the sake of money. For Pilate was mild, and not of fierce character like the Jews. ^C Furthermore, he brings Jesus out, wishing to extinguish their wrath; but they were not even so softened. They cry out, however, "Crucify him." But when Pilate had seen that all these things were done in vain, he says, "Take him yourselves, and crucify him: for I find no cause in him." He does this, pushing them into a matter not permitted to them, so that Jesus might be released. For I, he says, who have the power to crucify, find no cause in him; but you, who do not have the power to crucify, say that he is guilty: "Take him therefore, and crucify him"; yet you do not have the power; let that man therefore be released. Such, then, was the intention of Pilate, mild, that is to say, yet not standing strictly for the truth. But ^D they, being confused even in this, say that "According to our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God." Observe how their malice does not agree with itself. Above, Pilate was saying to them, "Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law," and they did not accept that. Now again, they bring forward "According to our law he ought to die." Above, they were accusing him of having made himself a king; now, having been refuted concerning that lie, they accuse him that he made himself the Son of God. What kind of crime is this? If he does the works of God, what prevents him from being the Son of God? Observe, however, the divine dispensation, in how many ways they led the Lord to many judges, that they might defame and contaminate his glory, but the humiliation instead recoiled upon their own heads.

For from this he is shown the more blameless, as the matter was investigated more accurately. How often, then, did Pilate confess that he found no cause of death in him! ^A

Verses 8-11

From this time Pilate sought to release him. But the Jews cried out, saying, "If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar." Therefore Pilate...

^A having heard this saying, brought Jesus forth and sat down on the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour.

Since our Lord had struck Pilate with awe by His words and had provided a clear defense—by showing that "If I did not voluntarily yield Myself, and had My Father permitted it, you would have no power against Me," and that "You have a sin, and Judas, who delivered Me, has a greater one, and so does the people, because ^B ‘He added to the pain of My wounds, and thought not to show mercy,’ but found Me bereft of support and help, and delivered Me to the cross," and even after such judgments in which he declared Me innocent, he was not appeased but cried, "Crucify Him, crucify Him"—since, I say, the Lord had struck Pilate with awe by saying these things, "from then on he sought the more to release Him." But the Jews, since they were slandering Him as making Himself God, and by bringing forward the Law were being refuted (for Pilate was afraid of this more than the former, and wanted to release Him, lest he offend God), again flee to external laws and terrify Pilate, as one who is timid. For as they saw him being cautious, lest he sin by condemning Jesus—if He were the Son of God—they shake the fear of Caesar before him, and by slandering the Lord regarding tyranny, they terrorize Pilate, as if he were going to offend Caesar if he released one who rose up against him.

But where was He caught in tyranny? And whence will you demonstrate this? From the purple? From a diadem? From military standards? Were not all things which He had vile? Even His robe, and food, and house—or rather, He did not even have a house. ^C But oh, the unmanliness of Pilate! He thought he was in danger if he neglected such a matter without an examination. He goes out indeed as if to examine the case (for the sitting signified this), but having performed no examination, he delivers Him, thinking he would thereby appease them.

But how, when Mark says it was the third hour when Christ was crucified, does John say the sixth? Some solve this by saying that it is an error of the text. For the letter *gamma* signifies the third hour, and its character is like this: Γ; but what is called the *episemon*, the sixth, has a character like this: Ϛ. Therefore, it is likely that the letter *gamma*—due to the inattentiveness of the copyists, the part which was produced straight in length having become curved—shifted into the character of the *episemon*, by which the sixth number is signed, and thus this error arose.

That this is likely to have happened, and that the third hour was written also in John, and not the sixth, as it is now, is manifest from this. ^D For since the three evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, say consonantly that "from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour," it is manifest that our Lord was crucified before the sixth hour, before the darkness had occurred, namely around the third hour, as Mark recorded, and John likewise, although the error of the copyists shifted the *gamma*...

into the character of the episemon. Some say it is thus. Others, however, assert that Mark clearly and without ambiguity sets forth the hour of the sentence regarding the crucifixion of the Lord. Since, therefore, judges are said to crucify and punish from the time they pronounce the sentence, because the power of the punishment and death lies also in their words, for this reason Mark says He was crucified at the third hour, from which time Pilate pronounced the sentence. John, however, since Mark had already stated the time of the sentence, states the hour in which they crucified the Lord. But consider how much had transpired between the sentence of the cross by Pilate and the very hour in which the Lord ascended the cross. When he had released Barabbas, ^B he scourged Jesus and handed Him over to be crucified. For the release of Barabbas was the condemnation of the Lord. The soldiers mocked Him; and consider how much time could have been consumed by their excessive mockery. Pilate brought Him out and spoke with the Jews; he went inside again and examined Jesus; he went out again and spoke with the Jews. All of these things were enough to consume the time from the third hour until the sixth, which John, explaining diligently as one who was a constant, inseparable companion, mentions the sixth hour, when he finally handed Him over to be crucified, no longer speaking with the Jews or examining Jesus, but pronouncing the definitive sentence against Him.

If someone says, "And why, when at the third hour, as you say, he declared Him to be crucified, did he want again to release Him?" let him learn first that he gave the sentence under compulsion from the multitude; and thereafter he was also moved by the dream of his wife. For she had signaled to him, "Have nothing to do with this just man." And regarding all these things, consider also John, how he said: "It was about the sixth hour." For he did not say, "It was the sixth hour," as if making a definitive statement, but as one hesitating and in doubt, "It was about the sixth hour." So that it will make no difference to us if the evangelists do not appear to agree entirely regarding the hour, even if we were to grant that there is a discrepancy. ^C For observe, if all have not said that He was crucified; but if this is acknowledged by all, yet regarding the hour, if one says it was the third, and another says it was about the sixth, how does this damage the truth? Nevertheless, these things are shown from abundance, that there is no diversity.

"And he says to the Jews: Behold your king. But they cried out: Away, away, crucify Him. Pilate says to them: Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered: We have no king but Caesar. Then therefore he handed Him over to them, that He might be crucified. They took Jesus therefore, and led Him away to be crucified; and carrying His own cross, He went out to the place called the place of the Skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha, where they crucified Him, and with Him two others, on this side and on that, and Jesus in the midst." We have often said that Pilate was more spineless and fearful than harsh of character. See then, even now, he makes use of the appearance of an examination and judgment, but ^D

manages the whole affair feebly. ^A For he says, "Behold your king!" He neither condemns Jesus, nor does he openly silence the Jews; but rather, as if reproaching them obscurely as sycophants, he says, "See what kind of man you say is attempting to rule over you—a person of no account, obviously, and not one who would attempt such things!" Thus, the accusation is false. For what does this man possess that a tyrant has? Soldiers? Riches? Nobility? "Behold your king." What profit is there if you kill this man, who cannot harm anyone even in the slightest? This is what Pilate says, though not insistently or firmly, nor as one struggling for the truth. But they say, ^B "Away with him, away with him, crucify him." They press the point and seek the cross, because they wish to fasten a wicked reputation upon Christ. For this death was most ignominious and accursed, as it is written: "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree." But they did not know that just as through a tree came the fall, so through a tree came the restoration. And see how they acknowledge no other king for themselves but Caesar, voluntarily subjecting themselves to the Roman power and casting off the kingdom of God. Therefore, God delivered them to the Romans, whom they had invited to be their kings, having departed from the providence and direct care of God. ^C "Then therefore he delivered Him unto them" the senseless man. He ought to have inquired whether He truly had the power to seize tyrannical authority, but he gives in and yields, having managed the trial without boldness and in a cowardly manner. "And bearing His own cross He went forth." For they thought it entirely an abominable thing even to touch the wood, and therefore they impose the accursed wood upon the condemned man. See also this being fulfilled in an ancient type. For even there Isaac went along bearing the wood to be sacrificed; so here too the Lord goes forth holding the cross, as a soldier carries his weapon with which he strikes down his adversary. ^D That Isaac is a figure of God is clear. Isaac is interpreted as "laughter" or "joy." Who else, then, became our joy, if not He who in the conception of human nature shared through the angel that which is "Rejoice"? For what glad tidings the Virgin heard, the whole of nature received. The father of this Isaac is Abraham, the father of many nations, who is God over all, and who is Father of both the Jews and the Gentiles, by whose will and counsel His Son carries the cross. However, in the Old Testament, the matter rested solely in the will of the Father, for it was a figure, but in this place it is completed by the work, for it was the truth. Perhaps, just as there Isaac was released and the lamb was sacrificed, so here too the divine nature remained impassible, but the human nature—which is also called the Lamb, as the son of Adam, the wandering sheep—this is what was sacrificed. And how does another evangelist say that they compelled Simon to carry the cross? Both things happened: [next page begins ]

For at the beginning, the Lord himself went out carrying it, since everyone else was turning away from the wood and would not even touch it. But when they had gone out, they met, he says, Simon who was coming from the country, and thus they placed the wood upon him. And they called the place the place of a Skull [Cranion]. For a tradition held that Adam was buried there, so that where the beginning of death was, there also might be his fall. For it is an ecclesiastical tradition that Judea was the first land, after man was cast out of paradise, to have him as a dweller, as a consolation for the good things in paradise, being given to him because it was better and more fertile than all other lands; wherefore it also received the first dead man. The people of that time, therefore, regarding the skull of the dead man ^B as a marvel, since the skin had remained upon it, laying it in that place, named the place from it; and after the flood, this report was spread by Noah to all. Hence also the Lord dies where the fountain of death was, so that he might dry it up. And they crucify two others with him: they indeed wishing to cast an evil reputation upon him, as though he were also a robber, yet even in this, and even unwillingly, they fulfill the prophecy: «And he was numbered with the transgressors» (Isa. LIII, 12). But observe the wisdom of God, how even this, which they did to insult the Lord, turned to his glory. For even on the cross he saved the robber, which is no less a miracle than any other, and from this he appears all the more God, because he alone is glorified, although others were crucified with him; which would not have happened if he had been guilty, and not, so to speak, a transgressor of the law, but rather above all law, and the judge of transgressors. ^C «And Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the cross; and it was written: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. This title therefore many of the Jews read, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city. And it was written in Hebrew, in Greek, in Latin. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate: Write not, The King of the Jews, but that he said, I am King of the Jews. Pilate answered: What I have written, I have written» (Vers. 19-22).

Pilate writes a title also upon the cross, that is, a cause, and an inscription, and a declaration; for thus is "title" interpreted. The title signified whose the cross was. Pilate therefore writes the title, partly defending himself against the Jews as disobedient to him, and showing their malice in that they rose up against their own king; and partly also defending the glory of Christ. For since they crucified him with robbers, wishing to defile his name, Pilate demonstrates that he was not a robber, but their king, ^D and he manifests this not in one tongue, but in three. For it was likely that many Gentiles had mingled with the Jews for the feast, just as the evangelist taught above concerning certain Gentiles who wanted to see Jesus (John XII, 9). That all might recognize, therefore, he shamed the insanity of the Jews by the voices of all. But they were envious even of the crucified one. And what

do they say? ^A "Write that he himself said it." For now, it appears to be the common verdict of the Jews; but if it were added that he himself claimed to be king, the charge of his rashness and arrogance would be manifest. But Pilate was not swayed; rather, he stands by his former opinion. Therefore he says: "What I have written, I have written." ^B But indeed, another great thing is also being managed. Since the three crosses were to lie buried in the same place, and so that it might not be unknown which was the Cross of the Lord, for this reason it was arranged that it alone should have a title and inscription, so that it might be recognized by such a sign; for the crosses of the robbers had no title. The inscription, written in triple letters, implies something even more sublime. For it reveals that the Lord is King of practical, natural, and theological philosophy. For the practical is signified by the Roman characters; for the Roman empire was most courageous and most practical in matters of war. By the Greek characters, the natural; for the Greeks were occupied with natural philosophy. By the Hebrew, the theological; for the Hebrews were entrusted with the knowledge of divine things. Glory, therefore, to Him who, through the cross, appeared to have such a kingdom, and who conquered the world, and strengthened our practical virtue, and bestowed the knowledge of nature, and from that led us into the interior of the veil—into that knowledge I mean, and contemplation, that is to say, theology.

Vers. 23, 24. "Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, to every soldier a part, and also his coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves: Let us not rend it, but let us cast lots for it, whose it shall be; that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saying: They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture they did cast lots." ^C Through these very things whereby the devil plots, the prophecies are fulfilled. And consider the truth: there were three crucified, and yet in him alone are the prophetic words fulfilled. And consider the exactness of the prophecy. For the prophet said not only that they divided, but also that they did not divide. Therefore, they distributed the other garments indeed, but not the coat; rather, they entrusted the matter to a lot. Now that it was "woven from the top" was not added in vain. And some say that by this an allegory is signified, that he who was crucified was not merely man, but also had divinity from above. Others say that the evangelist is describing the kind of little tunic. For because the Palestinians weave garments by joining two cloths, or two pieces of linen, using the join instead of a seam, John, revealing that such was the little tunic, said that it was ^D "woven from the top throughout," that is, from the beginning and from above, down to the bottom. But from this he shows the poverty of Christ's garments. Others, however, say that in Palestine they weave webs not as we do; for with us the thread is above and the cloth is woven below, and thus a return is made; but in the opposite way, for below are the threads

and above the cloth is woven. Such, he says, was the tunic of the Lord; and a mystery is by all means signified through this. For the body of the Lord was woven from above—for the Holy Spirit came upon the Virgin, and the power of the Most High overshadowed her. For even though He took upon Himself human nature, which is lower and fallible, yet by the grace of the Holy Spirit from above, the divine flesh was constituted and knit together. Therefore, the holy body of Christ is indivisible, [even while] it is distributed and shared among the four parts of the world. For being broken into pieces among each one, and sanctifying the soul of each one together with the body, the Only-Begotten, through His own flesh, is in all things, complete and undivided, existing everywhere. For He is in no way divided, as Paul also cries out. And since the universe is composed of four elements, one must understand [by] the garments of Jesus this visible and set-before creation, which the demons divide when they kill the word of God within us and strive to make us their own portion through attachment to worldly things. But they cannot cut the tunic—the Word within things, through whom all things came into being. For even if I am deceived ten thousand times by fleeting things, yet again I recognize them as being fleeting, and I am not ignorant of the reason and substance of things that pass away and deceive. ^B

Vers. 24-27. And the soldiers indeed did these things. But there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son. Then he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour the disciple took her into his own. The soldiers indeed were acting according to their own folly. But He himself takes thought for his mother, teaching us to have every care for those who have begotten us, even unto the last breath. And observe how, though other women were present, He exercises care for his mother alone. For it is necessary not to obey parents when they hinder piety, but when they do not hinder it, to serve them with every care. Just as He himself, when he was departing from this life—and it was likely that his mother would grieve ^C and seek protection—entrusted her charge to the disciple. The evangelist hides his own name, out of modesty. For if he had wished to be boastful, he would have added the reason for which he was loved; for it is likely that it was something great and marvelous. But how does the Master honor the disciple, making him his own brother! So good is it to remain with Christ who is suffering; for He leads one into His own brotherhood. And marvel at how, on the cross, He does all things without disturbance, taking care of his Mother, fulfilling prophecy, opening paradise to the thief; but before the cross, laboring and sweating in anxiety: and these things indeed...

belong to human nature, but those to divine power. Let Marcion be confounded, and all others who have prattled that the Lord appeared to the world only in appearance; for if he were not born and did not have a mother, why does he show such concern for her? And how is Mary of Cleophas called the sister of his mother, ^A even though Joachim had no other child? Cleophas was the brother of Joseph; and since Cleophas died childless, as some say, Joseph took his wife and bore children for his brother, one of whom is the Mary now mentioned, who is called the sister of the Theotokos, meaning her kinswoman. For Scripture is accustomed to call kinsmen "brothers," just as Isaac said of Rebecca, "She is my sister," even though she was his wife. Thus, in this place too, the daughter of Cleophas is called the sister of the Theotokos because of their kinship. There are therefore four Marys noted in the Gospels: the first is the Theotokos, whom they also name the mother of James and Joseph. For these children were Joseph's, born to him from his former wife, perhaps the wife of Cleophas. The Theotokos is called their mother as a stepmother, for she was considered the wife of Joseph. The second is Mary Magdalene, out of whom Jesus cast seven demons; the third is the wife of Cleophas; and the fourth is the sister of Lazarus. The disciple therefore took Mary into his own home, for the pure was entrusted to the pure. See also how the female sex remains in ^B adversities, while all the men abandoned the Lord; thus did he come to strengthen the weak and to take up the things that are despised.

VERS. 28-30. "After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." — "Jesus, seeing," he says, "that all things were accomplished," that is to say, that nothing was lacking in the economy; in this way, his death was undergone. For death did not come upon his body before he himself willed it; and he willed it after he had fulfilled all things. For this reason also he said, "I have power to lay down my life." He says, therefore, "I thirst," ^C fulfilling a prophecy in this place. But they, manifesting the malignity of their customs, give him vinegar to drink, which they were accustomed to do to those condemned; and that is why hyssop was there, as it is poisonous. Some, however, say that the reed is called hyssop, for the top of the reed is of such a nature. They therefore put the sponge upon a reed, because the mouth of Jesus was in a high place, and thus the prophecy was fulfilled, saying, "And in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." Having drunk, he said, "It is finished"; that is, this prophecy also, with all the others, has been fulfilled; nothing is lacking, all things are accomplished. Tranquilly and with power he does all things; and what follows is that which ^D

^A makes clear. For just as all things were finished,

The bowing of the head

^B VERS. 31-34. The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath (for that day of the Sabbath was a great one), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. The soldiers therefore came, and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs; but one of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance, and immediately there came out blood and water.

The Lord commended his spirit to God and the Father, showing that the souls of the saints no longer linger in the tombs, but rather run to the hands of the Father of all, while the souls of sinners are dragged down to the place of punishment, that is to say, to Hades. But these men, swallowing the camel and straining out the gnat, having committed such a great crime, are scrupulous about the day. For it says: "That the bodies might not remain on the cross, they asked Pilate," that is, they besought him, "that they be taken away." But for what reason do they ask for the legs to be broken? So that if they were still surviving, they would be useless; for they were robbers. They did not wish, therefore, on the feast day, to be seen as executioners and murderers. Otherwise, the Law also commanded thus, that the sun should not set upon the punishment of a man. See, moreover, through the things the Jews contrive, how the prophecies are fulfilled, just as here two prophecies are fulfilled at once, as the evangelist says afterward. ^C They did not crush the legs of Jesus, then, yet favoring the Jews, they pierce him, and blood and water come out—and this is strange. For they attempted to heap insults even upon a dead body, but the insult turned into a miracle for them. And indeed, that blood should come out of a dead body is extraordinary; yet someone who is cavilling might have it to say that it is likely there was still some vital power in the body. But the water that came out removes every controversy with a miracle. These things do not happen simply, however, but because the life of the Church is formed and consists through these two; by water we are born, and by blood and body we are nourished. When, therefore, you approach the cup of the communion of the blood of Christ, be so affected as if you were drinking from his very side. Consider, moreover, how through the wounded side the wound of the side, that is to say, of Eve, is healed. There, Adam having fallen asleep, his rib was taken away; here, the Lord having fallen asleep, he gives his side to the soldier. And the soldier’s sword is a figure of the rotating sword ^D which bars us from paradise; and because every

rotating thing, if it does not strike something, does not cease from its own course, the Lord, showing that He will bring that sword to a stop, provides in a certain place the side to the soldier's sword. Thus it is shown to us that, just as the sword of the soldier, having been pressed against the side, came to a halt, so too will the flaming sword stop, and no longer, by rotating and terrifying those who approach, will it block the entrance to paradise. Let the Armenians be ashamed, who do not mingle water with the wine in the mysteries. For they do not believe, as it seems, that water also flowed from the side, which is the more paradoxical thing, but only blood, and from this they do away with the greater part of the miracle. Now the blood is the symbol that He who was crucified is man, but the water is the symbol that He is above man, that is, God. ^B

VERS. 35-37. “And he who has seen has borne witness, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he speaks the truth, that you also may believe. For these things happened that the Scripture might be fulfilled: ‘A bone shall not be broken of it.’ And again another Scripture says: ‘They shall look on Him whom they pierced.’” I did not hear this from others, he says, but I myself was present and saw, “and his testimony is true.” Rightly so. For he is narrating an injury that occurred, and not some great or honorable thing, so that you might be suspicious of the discourse; but for this reason, he says, I recount these things diligently, and bring into the midst those things which seem shameful, so that you may believe as being altogether true, and not told to curry favor. For he who speaks to curry favor rather puts forward glorious things. And since Moses appeared to him more worthy of belief, he brings him forward also as a witness. For what that man said regarding the lamb that was sacrificed at the Passover, “A bone shall not be broken,” the evangelist says this was fulfilled in Christ. For that lamb was a figure of Him, and there is much kinship between the figure and the truth. Another prophecy is also fulfilled, which says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.” For when He comes to judge, then they shall see Him in a better and more divine body, and those who pierced Him will recognize Him, and will mourn. But not only is this so, but what was attempted by the enemies was also a gate of faith and proof for those who were about to disbelieve, such as for Thomas. For through His side, he received faith in the resurrection. Now the bone of Jesus is not broken, but His side pours forth for us the springs of our subsistence and our life; the water indeed of our subsistence, for through it we come to be Christians; but the blood of our life, for through it we are nourished. For the Lamb is the Word of God, whom we eat from head to feet: the head being the divinity — for this is the head—and the feet being the flesh, for this is the extremity. Furthermore, we also reverently receive as food His inward parts, the mysteries and hidden things, but we do not break the bones, that is, the more difficult and weighty meanings. For what we cannot understand, these we will not break, that is, we will not endeavor to understand them wrongly

^A but rather, when we understand rightly, we do not break—for we preserve divine things intact. But when we force them and receive a heretical meaning, we break and shatter the solid and difficult meaning. Therefore, such things must be committed to the fire, that is, to the Spirit, by whom such difficult matters are worked through and refined, for He searches all things, even the depths of God. ^B

VERS. 38-42. "After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission." He came therefore and took away the body of Jesus. "And Nicodemus came also, who at the first came to Jesus by night, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight." They took therefore the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the custom is of the Jews to bury. "Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, wherein was never man yet laid." There therefore, because of the Jews' preparation, for the tomb was near at hand, they laid Jesus.

Why did not one of the twelve approach Pilate, but Joseph, who was perhaps one of the seventy, dare to do this? For if one were to say that the disciples were hiding because of the fear of the Jews, this man was also seized by the same fear. It is to be said, therefore, that this man was very distinguished, and known to Pilate because he was noble. ^C Whence, thinking that the anger of the Jews had been extinguished because the adversary to them had now been crucified, he approaches without fear and performs a costly burial with Nicodemus. Neither of them imagined anything divine about Him, but they felt toward Him as toward a mere man, since they fetched such spices as are most able to preserve bodies for a long time and prevent them from succumbing quickly to corruption; which shows that they had as yet imagined nothing great concerning Him. Nevertheless, they show their affection; for they do not bury Him as a condemned man, but costily, as is the custom among the Jews.

Since, however, they were pressed by time (for the death had occurred at the ninth hour, and then, in the interval of approaching Pilate and taking down the body, it is likely that evening had overtaken them, at which time it was not lawful to construct a tomb), they place Him in the nearby tomb. "For in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb." It is managed by divine dispensation that the tomb should be near, so that the disciples might be able to be present ^D and become spectators and witnesses of what was happening, and so that soldiers might be able to be sent for guard, and there might be no room for the argument concerning theft. All these things would not have proceeded in this way if He had been buried far away. "A new tomb, wherein was never man yet laid," so that the resurrection might not be slandered as though someone else had risen, and not Jesus. And in another way also: "A new tomb," by a certain symbol manifesting the future newness through

that burial of the Lord against death and corruption, and that we are all to be renewed in him. Observe also the riches of the Lord’s poverty for our sake. For he who had no house in life, has not even a tomb after death, but is laid in another’s; and being naked, is clothed by Joseph. Jesus is even now dead, when he is slain by the covetous and violent, or suffers this through famine: but he is also naked. For whatever the poor man suffers, Christ suffers. Do you now also imitate this Joseph; add something to the good (for Joseph is interpreted as "addition"), and cover the nakedness of Christ, that is, of the poor man. And do this not once, but place it in the tomb of the soul, and be always mindful of such deeds, considering and caring for them. Mix in also myrrh and aloes. For it is necessary to store in one’s mind the bitter and pungent judgments of that age, and that voice which summons the cursed and sends the unmerciful into the fire, than which I think nothing is more bitter. ^{A B}

Caput XX. Concerning the resurrection of Christ. Concerning the appearance of Christ, first to Mary Magdalene, then to the rest of the apostles when gathered together.

Vers. 1-4. "And on the first of the Sabbaths, Mary Magdalene came early, while it was still dark, unto the tomb, and sees the stone taken away from the tomb. She runs therefore and comes to Simon Peter, and to that other disciple whom Jesus loved, and says to them: They have taken away the Lord from the tomb, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went out, and that other disciple, and they came to the tomb. And they were running both together, and the other disciple ran forward faster than Peter, and came first to the tomb." ^C He calls "one of the Sabbaths" that which we now call the Lord’s Day. For they call the days of the week "Sabbaths"; and "one of the days of the Sabbath," the first. For in reality all days are one. But the "one," when taken and combined with others, creates the many. Thus, the first day is one; but if it is taken twice, it becomes the second; and if three times, the third; and so on. And this day is a type of the world to come, which world is one day, never interrupted or halved by night. For God is its sun, which never sets. Just as therefore the Lord rose on this day, receiving his corruptible body as incorruptible, so shall we also in the world to come receive incorruption. ^D Therefore, she comes on "this one," that is, the first "of the Sabbaths," which is to say, of the days of the Sabbath and the week, comes Mary Magdalene. For since the Sabbath had passed, and she was no longer hindered by the law, she departs from that place, wishing to find some consolation; and having "seen the stone taken away," "with great haste" she "comes to Peter" and John. For the Lord indeed had risen, with the stone placed over and the tomb sealed. But since it was necessary that there should also be some witnesses of the resurrection, and to enter into the tomb, the stone is removed by the angel. But Mary as yet knew nothing of the resurrection.

^A and calls the event a removal [of the body]. Therefore, the disciples also come to the tomb and behold the linen cloths lying alone, which was truly the sign of the resurrection. For if some had removed the body, they would not have stripped it; nor, if they had stolen it, would they have taken the care to roll up the face-cloth and place it in a separate place, but simply, as they could, they would have taken the body. And for this reason the evangelist had previously said that it was buried with much myrrh, which makes the linen cloths adhere to the body no less than bitumen, so that when we hear that the face-cloth was lying separately, we might not give credence to those who say that it was stolen. For the thief was not so foolish as to spend so much time on a superfluous matter, and to show such diligence, without fearful hesitation that, while he was occupied with this, he might perhaps be caught in the act. At what hour, therefore, the resurrection happened, no one knows, just as the time of the second coming is also uncertain. But if Matthew says that the earthquake happened late in the evening, while John says that Mary came in the morning when it was still dark and saw the stone removed, there is no disagreement. For first of all we say this: that with Matthew the women came late on the Sabbath, while with John women are not mentioned now (for it would have been superfluous, since Matthew had said this, for John to say the same thing), but Mary Magdalene comes early. ^C For the visits to the tomb were various; sometimes Mary came with the other women, and sometimes alone. Hence the evangelists, in mentioning the various visits, one speaking of one and another of another, seem to disagree. First, therefore, we say this: that Matthew speaks of one visit by the women, and John of another, namely of one woman, Magdalene. Next, "late in the evening" and "early when it was still dark," which another mentions as "at deep dawn," lead to the same thing, so that all these times were in the middle of the night. But if you ask how John and Peter and the women entered into the tomb while the guards were sitting by, the answer is simple: that after the Lord had risen, and along with the earthquake the angel had stood at the tomb, the guards went away to report to the Pharisees; and thus, the tomb being released from the guard of the soldiers, ^D the disciples had the freedom to approach.

VERS. 5-13.

^A monument; and she beholds two angels clothed in white, sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She says to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” See here how alien the evangelist is from arrogance, and how he attests to Peter’s diligence in searching. For though he himself had arrived first, and had seen the linen cloths lying there, he does not inquire further with curiosity, but waits for him. But Peter, who was most fervent, having gone in further, scrutinized everything carefully; and then the latter, having entered after him, saw the burial cloths lying separately, and believed—not that the Lord had risen, but that he had been stolen away. For he believed the word of Mary when she said, “Because they have taken away the Lord.” But why did he believe Mary, and not consider that he had risen? “For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead,” and for this reason they believed Mary, suspecting the theft and removal of the body. These, then, went away unto their own homes—that is, by themselves—inquiring nothing further with curiosity. ^B But Mary (for the female gender is more susceptible to affections and prone to tears) stands before the tomb and weeps. For because she did not have Jesus, seeing even the place where the desirable body had been laid provided her with some consolation; hence she is even deemed worthy of a greater vision than the disciples. For what they did not see, she beheld—the two angels, I mean. And the sight of the angels became for her a very great consolation. For their appearance was radiant, and their sitting, “one at the head and one at the feet,” indicates that they knew something more, and that if they were asked, they were able to teach. And the asking, “Why are you weeping?” is full of great compassion. For in order that the woman might not be disturbed by the interrogation, they repress her disturbance, saying gently and placidly, ^C “Woman, why are you weeping?” But she, with great affection and love, says, “Because they have taken away my Lord,” and therefore I weep; for I do not know where they have moved him, that I might go there, pour out [my devotion] upon the body, and find at least a moderate consolation from it. But do you learn here: Peter [represents] the practical and fervent life; John, however, the contemplative and that which is suited for the knowledge of divine things. Often, then, the contemplative precedes in knowledge and talent, and the practical [man] comes later; yet with fervor and zeal he overcomes the other’s keenness, and the practical man sees some divine mystery first. Or does not something similar happen in the sciences? For in these, when there are two boys, one sharper in intellect, the other slower, the latter anticipates the speed of the other’s nature by his own zeal. ^D Indeed, in spiritual matters, the practical man, even if a layman in speech, often perceives something more sublime in sense than the contemplative. But also every soul that masters the affections is called Mary. Being purified, therefore, through the laying aside of the affections, it sees Jesus, at once God and man. For of the angels, the one who sits “at the head” is a symbol of the divinity, while the other “at the feet” [is a symbol] of the extreme [humility of the] incarnation of the Word.

^A

ENARRATION ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN — CHAP. XX.

VERSES 14-18. “When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing, and she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus says to her: Woman, why do you weep? Whom do you seek? She, thinking that he was the gardener, says to him: Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus says to her: Mary! She, turning, says to him: Rabbouni, which is said, Teacher. Jesus says to her: Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brothers and say to them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, and my God and your God. Mary Magdalene comes, announcing to the disciples that she had seen the Lord and these things he said to her.”

Why did Mary turn round? For as she was speaking to the angels, what happened that she should turn round? It seems, therefore, that while she was speaking to the angels, Jesus stood behind her and terrified them; for since they had looked upon the Master, they immediately revealed, both by their carriage and by their movement and look, that they had seen the Lord, and it was this that caused the woman to turn round. To the angels, then, he perhaps appeared in a terrifying guise, but no longer so to Mary, but in a plain and common one. For this reason she thought him to be the gardener—of that garden, clearly, in which the tomb was. Hence also she says: “Sir, if you have carried him away”—that is, if you have stolen him—and she does not say “Jesus,” but “him,” as though addressing one who knew, she directs her speech to him. “If therefore you have carried,” or rather, “if you have lifted and stolen him from here, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away” and transfer him to another place where he will be buried with honor. For perhaps she feared lest the Jews should rage even against the dead body, and for this reason she wished to transfer it to another, unknown place. The mind of the woman was indeed full of affection, though not able to imagine anything sublime. And therefore the Lord, since she was not able to discern anything sublime of herself, makes himself known to her by his voice; for by calling only her name, he implanted in her [the power of] knowledge through this. Just as ^B to the Jews he was sometimes made known, while other times he was present but unknown, so also, when he wished to speak, he then made himself known; just as also now, when he wished, he then made himself known to Mary through his voice. For even before, he had spoken to her: “Woman, why do you weep?” But the woman did not know him, for Jesus did not wish it. But when he wished, then through the voice he was known. “She, turning, says to him.” What is this? She was conversing with him and saying: “Tell me where you have laid him?” And now the evangelist says that “she turned.” It seems, therefore, that after she said, “Where have you laid him?” she turned to the angels, perhaps to ask why they were terrified, and then, having been called by Christ and struck by his voice, she turned to him from them, and thus, having recognized him, said “Rabbouni,” and wished to approach him and be with him as ^C she had been before. ^D

^A And the One who was lifting up her mind so that she might think something better about him, and hold him in greater reverence, said, “Do not touch me.” That is to say, “Things are no longer as they were before, nor do I intend to associate with you in the same way.” For even if He did not say this in so many words, it is understood in this way: “For I am about to ascend to my Father, and I am hastening thither.” And one must pay heed with greater reverence to Him who is hastening thither, and who no longer possesses a body such as to associate with human beings, and as more excellent than common speech, touch, or social intercourse. Observe how much meaning the evangelist has concisely expressed. For He said, “Do not touch me.” Then, as if someone asked, “Why?” He says, “Because my body will no longer be such as is suitable for one living on earth, but rather for heaven and those things above.” Then again, as if one were to respond, “Why then do you still walk on earth if you have such a body?” He says, “For not yet have I ascended to my Father, but I am about to ascend.” For He makes this clear through what follows, saying: “Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father.’” Although He was not to ascend immediately, but after forty days. How then does He say this? He wished to lift up her mind and persuade her that He was departing to the heavens, and through these words to bring her comfort. ^B And having said “brothers,” He also adds, “and your Father.” For God is our Father, but by grace, whereas He is the Father of the Lord by nature. Just as, conversely, He is God to us by nature, but to the Lord according to his humanity. For God became his God inasmuch as He assumed human nature. Mary therefore departs, having been deemed worthy of such words, and announces these things to the disciples. Such a good thing is perseverance and assiduity. Be assiduous, therefore, and you too will perhaps learn something, and will become a teacher of the word for the disciples.

VERS. 19-23. “When, therefore, it was evening on that day, the first of the Sabbaths, and the doors were shut where the disciples were gathered for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and says to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ And having said this, He showed them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus therefore said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I also send you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain those of any, they are retained.’” Since Mary had announced these things to the disciples, it was likely that they either did not believe her, or if they did believe, they grieved because they had not been deemed worthy themselves to see Him. For this reason, on that very day, He appears to them while they were thirsting from hearing from the woman that He had risen, and while they were fearing the Jews—and for this reason they desired all the more to see their only consolation. He appears, therefore, in the evening. For He waited until all were gathered. The doors were also shut, ^C in order that He might show

that He had thus risen, even with the stone lying over the tomb. ^A And how they did not think Him to be a phantom is something one might marvel at. In the first place, the woman had preceded them and had wrought in them great faith; furthermore, He showed them a gentle countenance, and at the same time calmed their wavering minds with His voice, saying, "Peace be unto you," that is, "Do not be troubled." At the same time, He reminds them also of the word which He spoke to them before the cross: "Peace I give unto you." And they rejoiced when they saw the Lord. For this, too, He had predicted before the cross: "I will see you, and your heart shall rejoice." And because they were waging an implacable war with the Jews, He says to them again, "Peace." For just as He said to the women, "Rejoice," because their gender was in sorrows, so to these He gives peace because of the war which they had with the Jews and which they were all about to have. Congruously, therefore, to the women He said, "Rejoice"—for in sorrow they were cursed to bring forth—but to the men, He said "Peace," because of the wars that were to come on account of the preaching. ^B At the same time, He also reveals the achievements of the cross, and these were peace. Wherefore He says, "Since through the cross peace has been achieved, I send you forth for the preaching." And encouraging and emboldening them, He says, "As the Father hath sent me, so send I you." For, He says, "undertake My work, so take courage, because I will be with you." See also His authority; He did not say, "I will entreat My Father, and He will send you," but, "I send you." And He breathes upon them and gives them the Holy Spirit, not now bestowing the perfect gift of the Holy Spirit upon them (for this He was to give at Pentecost), but making them fit for the reception of the Spirit. For the words, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit," are equivalent to, "Be made fit to receive the Spirit." It is, however, possible to say that He gave them some authority and spiritual grace, not so that they might raise the dead and perform miracles, but so that they might forgive sins. Wherefore He also added, "Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them," showing that this is the kind of spiritual gift He gave them—that of the remission of sins. ^C But after the ascension, the Spirit Himself having descended bestowed upon them the power of signs and every other gift.

It is worthy to inquire why He does not appear to the disciples in Galilee, but in Jerusalem, even though Matthew and Mark say that He promised them that He would be seen in Galilee. How, then, does He appear in Jerusalem? Some, therefore, say, "What of this? For He did not say, 'Only in Galilee will I be seen by you, and in Jerusalem I will not be seen'; so this is a wealth of honor, not an accusation of falsehood." ^D Furthermore, He promises that He will be seen in Galilee by all the disciples, not only the twelve but also the seventy, whereas in Jerusalem He was seen by the twelve only. There is, therefore, no disagreement here. For He was seen by all in Galilee, but by the twelve in Jerusalem; for there were many visions, whence some wrote of these, and others of those. Perhaps, moreover, as the two evangelists were handing down the same matter, the later one completes what was spoken concisely by the former. See, furthermore, the priest...

's dignity, that it is divine; for it is God's to forgive sins. Thus they must be honored as God. For even if they be unworthy, what of that? They are ministers of divine gifts, and grace works through them, just as it spoke even through the ass of Balaam ^A; therefore, our unworthiness does not hinder grace; and thus, because grace is supplied through priests, they must be honored.

^B VERS. 24-29. *Thomas, however, one of the twelve, who is called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him: We have seen the Lord. But he said to them: Unless I see in his hands the impression of the nails, and put my finger into the impression of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days his disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them: Jesus comes, the doors being closed, and stood in the midst, and said: Peace be to you. Then he says to Thomas: Bring your finger here, and see my hands, and bring your hand, and put it into my side, and do not be unfaithful, but believing. Thomas answered and said: My Lord and my God. Jesus says to him: Because you have seen me, Thomas, you have believed: blessed are those who have not seen, and have believed.*

Thomas was not with the disciples: it is likely that he had not yet been gathered in from the dispersion. And what is, *Who is called Didymus?* This is an interpretation of the name Thomas. For just as we interpret Cephas as Peter, so also Thomas is said, that is, when interpreted, it signifies Didymus. He mentions the interpretation of this name with good reason ^C, in order to show us that he was a somewhat hesitant man, and that he had such a character from the very beginning, as the name also implies. And when he does not believe the other disciples speaking about the Lord, he does not do so as if thinking them liars, but because he thought the matter of the resurrection impossible; wherefore he is also rebuked, as being over-curious. For just as to believe easily is a mark of light-mindedness, so to struggle against it so strongly is a mark of boorish crassness. For see how he said he would not believe even his eyes, but added, *Unless I put my hand...* Whence, however, did he know that his side had impressions? He had heard it from the disciples. And why does he not appear to him immediately, but after eight days? So that, being instructed by his fellow-disciples, and hearing the same things, he might be kindled into a greater desire, and become more faithful for the future. Wishing, however, to show ^D that the Lord was present even then, when Thomas was uttering the words of unbelief to his fellow-disciples, he does not wait to hear such a thing from him, but himself taking the initiative, he fulfills what Thomas desired; for he used his very words. And see how he speaks first, rebuking him: *Bring your hand,* and then admonishing him: *Do not be, he says, incredulous, but faithful.* You see that it was a questioning born of unbelief, and that those who try to do a favor to Thomas, saying that he deliberately acted...

with precision and did not easily believe, are mistaken. For look, the Lord calls him incredulous. See, however, how he who was previously incredulous became demonstrated to be an excellent theologian by the touching of the side. For he taught the two natures and the one hypostasis of the one Christ. For by saying "Lord," he indicates the human nature (for "Lord" is said of men, as in, "Sir, if you have carried him away"), but by saying "My God," he indicates the divine essence, showing nonetheless that it is one and the same Lord and God. ^B And the Lord, showing us that it belongs to faith to receive things that are not seen, says, "Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed." Here He hints at the disciples, who believed without having touched the marks of the nails or the side; and not only those, but also those who believed afterwards. Yet He did not say this to deprive Thomas of the blessing, but to comfort those who have not seen. For since many say, "Blessed are the eyes that have seen the Lord," He comforts them, saying that it is far more blessed to have believed when one has not seen. But how was an incorruptible body shown to have the marks of the nails and become palpable to a human hand? Because all these things were an act of condescension. For that which had entered through locked doors, and was thus fine and light, was free from all density. In order, then, that the resurrection might be believed, He shows these things, and for this reason He rises having the marks of the cross and the wounds. For when He ate, He did not eat out of the necessity of the body, but for the confirmation of the resurrection. Just as, therefore, before the cross, when walking on the waves, He did not have a body of another nature; so now, too, He shows it as palpable and having marks; nevertheless, He also bears it about as incorruptible, even if it is palpable and visible. For these things are shown for the sake of faith, but not by the necessity and law of a body. For everything that is eaten goes into the stomach and is altered; this was not the case with Christ after the resurrection, but the food was consumed by some invisible and divine power, being taken only for the confirmation of the resurrection. See, moreover, how for the sake of one man, Thomas, the Lord did not disdain to condescend and show His side, that He might save one unbelieving soul; so we too ought not to despise even one of the least of people. ^D "Many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name." Of what signs does the evangelist speak here? Are they of those before the cross? No, but of those which He did after the resurrection! For he adds, "He did in the presence of his disciples." But the things before the cross He did not do only in the presence of the disciples, but before everyone. And thus these things of which he speaks...

done. For the evangelist says that these things which he now speaks of are those that happened after the resurrection. For while dwelling alone with the disciples for forty days, he showed signs of the resurrection. Just as he performed signs before the cross, showing himself to be the Son of God, so too after the resurrection he performed signs before the disciples, ^A showing himself to be the Son of man—that is, bearing a body, even if it were incorruptible, and more divine, and no longer subject to carnal laws. Therefore, although many signs of the resurrection occurred, only these were recorded; and not even these for the sake of vainglory or to add to the glory of the Only-begotten, but, as he says, "that you may believe." And what is the gain, and to whom does it accrue? Not to Christ (for what profit is there to him from our believing?), but it redounds to your own selves. For he says, "That believing, you may have life in his name." For by believing that he rose and lives, we procure life for ourselves. For he rose and lives for our sake. But he who thinks that he is dead and has neither risen nor lives, such a one confirms and adjudges death and corruption upon himself.

CHAPTER XXI

Vers. 1-8. "After this Jesus manifested himself again at the sea of Tiberias; and he manifested himself in this way: there were together Simon Peter, and Thomas who is called Didymus, and Nathanael who was from Cana of Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter says to them, 'I am going fishing.' They say to him, 'We are coming also with you.' ^B They went out and immediately climbed into the boat; and that night they caught nothing. But when morning had already come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus therefore says to them, 'Children, do you have any fish?' They answered him, 'No.' And he said to them, 'Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find [some].' They cast it therefore, and were no longer able to haul it in because of the multitude of the fish."

The disciple whom Jesus loved therefore says to Peter, "It is the Lord." Simon Peter, therefore, when he heard that it is the Lord, girded himself with his tunic (for he was naked) and threw himself into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from the land, ^C but about two hundred cubits away), dragging the net of fish.

In saying, "Jesus manifested himself," the evangelist indicates that if he had not wished to manifest himself to them by condescending through his own volition, he would not have been seen, the body being incorruptible. And why does he also mention the place, the Sea of Tiberias? He is showing that they no longer feared the Jews as they had before, but had cast off a great part of their fear. Therefore they were no longer kept shut away, but were even looking out from the house, which they had not dared to do before, ^D and they were walking everywhere, going even as far as Tiberias, which is distant from Jerusalem and is the Sea of Galilee. The disciples were fishing, because they had nothing else they could do, for he was not always with

^A them, nor had the Spirit been given, nor had they been perfectly entrusted with the doctrine; for this reason they practiced their own trade. Peter then, being very industrious, could not bear to be idle, but was fervently moved toward work, and the others followed him because they were now united to one another.

Standing by them while they were laboring and suffering hardship, he did not immediately reveal himself. For he wished first to enter into conversation with them; whence he says, "Children, have you any fish?" as though he were about to buy something from them. But when they denied it, and when, at his command to cast to the right, they succeeded, the disciple whom Jesus loved says to Peter, "It is the Lord." ^B Here again we find the characteristics of the disciples being demonstrated. For John was more perceptive, but Peter was more fervent. On this account John recognized the Lord first, but Peter came to him first. By girding himself, he showed reverence; by throwing himself into the sea, he manifested the magnitude of his desire. For he did not restrain himself like the others, but arrived by swimming, even though he was about two hundred cubits distant from the land.

Now the *ependytes* is a linen garment which Phoenician and Syrian fishermen wrap around themselves, whether they are naked or whether they place it over their garments; to speak simply, it is as painters portray the apostles, covered over their clothes. Since, therefore, Peter was naked, as he was laboring at the catch, out of reverence he wraps himself in the *ependytes* (for this is what it means to be girded) and comes to the Lord first. For the things that were happening were not small, but great: first, that many fish were caught, and second, that the net was not torn.

^C "So when they had landed, they saw a charcoal fire prepared, and a fish lying on it, and bread. Jesus says to them, ‘Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.’ Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three. And though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus says to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ Yet none of the disciples dared to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ knowing that it is the Lord." Jesus then comes and takes the bread and gives it to them, and the fish likewise. This was now the third time that Jesus was manifested to his disciples after he had risen from the dead. And this is the miracle which they now saw—I speak of the coals, and the fish, and the bread. For he was no longer producing these things from ^D preexisting matter, as before in the desert with the five loaves and the two fish, satisfying so many thousands, but simply out of nothing. But when the Lord said, "Come and have breakfast," no one questioned him, nor dared to ask. For they no longer had the same boldness, but they marveled with silence and fear; for they knew that it was the Lord, and for that reason they did not ask. But seeing his form altered, and full of great astonishment, they were greatly [NEXT PAGE BEGINS: awestruck; and although they wanted to ask about it, fear and...]

awestruck; and although they wanted to ask about it, fear and the knowledge that it was no other than He Himself, kept them from asking, and they only ate what He had created for them. But how did He create it? By His own authority. For He no longer looks up to heaven and calls upon the Father (for those things happened for the sake of condescension); but He commands them to bring some of the fish, so as to show ^B that what was seen was no phantom. But in this place, indeed, He does not expressly state that He ate with them; however, Luke says that He "sojourned with them and ate." But how He ate is not for us to say. For these things happened in a more paradoxical manner, not as if His nature had need of food, but as things done for our sake for the confirmation of the resurrection. By showing, moreover, that He did not dwell with them continuously, nor in the same way as before, He says: "This is now the third time He appeared." Understand these things also by way of allegory. For it was night ^C when the darkness of idolatry prevailed, before the coming of the Sun, Christ, when the prophets labored and caught nothing. For even if they seemed to have enclosed the Israelite nation in the net, yet because it also kept falling back into idolatry, they caught nothing of consequence. But when the dawning of the Sun of righteousness shone forth, and the apostolic net was cast—the right side is indeed the doctrine, in comparison to which the Law and the Prophets are understood as the left—then the net is drawn, and not only those from the nations, whom you might call the hundred, are brought to Christ, but also those from Israel, who might be understood as the fifty. "For when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, then also Israel will be saved." And the three signify faith in the holy Trinity. For those contained in the net, ^D the hundred and fifty—I speak of the Gentiles and the Jews—are not without the addition of the three. For without faith in the Trinity, no one is said to be contained in the net. Furthermore, the words "Come, breakfast," signify something of this kind: that after labors, rest, delights, and enjoyment await the saints. For all things that were then said or done are full of mysteries. Just as, then, the fact that Mary supposed Christ to be the gardener seems indeed simple, it nevertheless possesses something hidden, since He was in truth the real cultivator of paradise, in the garden of the tomb, as if in paradise, correcting the female gender, and converting her who had deceived Adam, the first gardener, from error and ignorance. For that Mary should be converted and should teach about the resurrection was a sign that the female sex was converted and brought up to a more sublime state.

Vers. 15-19. "So when they had breakfasted, Jesus says to Simon Peter: Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? He says to Him: Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He says to him: Feed my lambs. He says to him again a second time: Simon, son of John, do you love me? He says to Him: Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He says to him: Shepherd my sheep. He says to him the third time: Simon, son of John, do you love me? He was grieved..."

because He said to him the third time: Do you love me? And he said to Him: Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You. Jesus says to him: Shepherd my sheep. Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk where you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and take you where you do not wish. And this He said, signifying by what death he would glorify God. ^A Since He had finished the meal with him, He entrusts to Peter the oversight of the sheep of the world; and He gives this responsibility not to another, but to him, first because he excelled all others and was the mouth of the whole chorus; then, showing him that he ought to be confident, since the denial had been as it were taken away and consigned to oblivion. And He does not bring up the denial, nor does He reproach him; but says: "If you love me, take charge of the brethren," and now show that fervent charity which you said you had for me, so that you were ready to die for me. And He questions him a third time, ^B at once showing how great a care He has for believers, and that He loves the sheep so much that He makes this the proof of love for Himself: if one takes charge of the sheep. At the same time, by the threefold interrogation and confession, He heals the threefold denial, and corrects with words the faults that were committed through words. Hence the custom has arisen that three confessions are required from those who are to be baptized. Being questioned then once and a second time, he called as witness Him who knows hearts, no longer speaking confidently or rashly, but everywhere adding that "You know." Since he was questioned a third time, ^C Peter was troubled, fearing lest perhaps he might think he loved Him, yet not actually love Him; for even before, when he thought and asserted many things, he was later rebuked; this he now feared as well. Therefore he answers cautiously: "Lord, You know all things," both the present and the future: "You know that I love You now," as it seems to me. But whether my friendship will persist in the future, even this You know: I do not assert it for myself. After the Lord had spoken to him about love for Himself, He also predicts to him the martyrdom which he was about to undergo. He says this, wishing to show that even ^D when He interrogated him about his love, He did not interrogate him out of distrust, but because He knew very well that he loved; for how would he not love, who was even about to bear witness for Him? But it was rather to show the love of Peter himself, and to teach all the others, that if we wish to love Him, let us be zealous to love Him in this way, in taking charge of the brethren. And hear how He predicts the martyrdom to him: "When you were younger, you used to gird yourself," and so forth. For, He says, since you love me, and have often promised to lay down your soul in dangers for me, be of good courage, He says. Thus will I fulfill your desire, so that what you did not suffer when you were young, these things you shall suffer when you are old. He reminds him of his previous life, showing that in turn spiritual things correspond to carnal ones. In bodily matters,

^A the young man is useful, whereas the old man is useless; but in spiritual matters, when old age arrives, then excellence is more splendid. Therefore, by exciting his desire and rekindling it unto martyrdom, he says these things. He also hints to him that he, too, will be crucified. For the words, "You will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you," signify nothing else but the extension on the cross and the bonds. And in saying, "When you were younger," and again, "but when you are old," he shows that at that time Peter was neither a youth, nor an old man, but a mature man. But how did the Lord say to him that "Another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish"? And yet Peter desired martyrdom. He did desire it, and longed for it; but what the Lord says signifies the sympathy of nature, and that the soul is severed from the body against its will—this being economically ordained by God for our benefit, so that we may not slaughter ourselves. ^B Therefore, no one lays aside the body without some pain, even if he be a saint. The Evangelist, interpreting for us after his custom what the Lord meant by these words, says, "But this he said, signifying by what death he would glorify God." For Jesus, he says, spoke these things to Peter—"You will stretch out your hands," and the rest—signifying that he would bear witness for Him. And he calls the death of Peter the glory of God. For in truth, the endurance unto death on His behalf is the glory of God. For if the soul were not fully persuaded that God is true, it would not die for His sake; so that the death of the saints is a confirmation of the glory of God.

And one might find a difference between lambs and sheep, and between feeding and shepherdizing. For perhaps the "lambs" are the more simple-minded, who are easily led in, while the "sheep" are the more perfect. He, therefore, who loves Christ will take care of both the lambs and the sheep: feeding the lambs, that is, applying a milder supervision to them, and shepherdizing the sheep, which signifies something more perfect and more absolute. ^C But since even the more perfect often need a milder supervision, those who are set over them are also commanded to feed the sheep. For shepherdizing indicates a harsher supervision, while feeding indicates a milder one. What, then, shall we render to the Lord, who loved us so much that He characterizes love for Himself by this: the taking care of the sheep?

And having said this, He says to him, "Follow me." And Peter, turning, sees the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also reclined at supper on His breast, and said, "Lord, who is it that is betraying You?" Seeing him, Peter says to Jesus, "Lord, but what about this man?" Jesus says to him, "If I will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me." Then this saying went out among the brothers, that that disciple would not die. And Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, "If I will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?" He indeed committed to Peter the care of the faithful.

^A For even if James received the throne of Jerusalem, yet Peter received the throne of the entire world. But He says to him after these things, "Follow me," showing his care and that he was affectionately disposed toward Him. And at the same time, understand "following" here as the fulfillment in all works and words. For those who walk in the footsteps of his way of life and emulate his exactness in all things are those who follow him. For the present, at any rate, He urges Peter to follow him physically, showing, as I said, the intimacy he had toward him. For we make those who are more intimate our followers. Now since Peter heard these things, and was deemed worthy of such things, as even to be entrusted with the world, and was deemed worthy of martyrdom, being very fond of John, he asks also about him: "But what of this one? Will he not come by the same path as we? Will he not also be a participant in the supervision of the sheep and in the appointment to these things?" For the command, "Follow me," plainly declares just this: "Come, take up the sheep, go out into the world." ^B Since, therefore, the Lord knew that Peter was anxious about John and did not wish to be separated from him, He divides them because of their untimely attachment and habit. "The work," He says, "which has been entrusted to you, finish, and follow me," as I lead you to the preaching and hand over the entire world into your hands. "But if I will that he remain here in the places around Galilee, and not send him with you, what is that to you?" As for "Until I come," some have understood it thus: "Until," He says, "I come against the Jews who crucified me," being about to strike them with the rod of the Romans and overturn their city. They say, indeed, that this apostle traversed the regions, and stayed there, preaching, almost until the reign of Vespasian; but when Jerusalem was about to be captured, he moved away. Since, therefore, a great work, the preaching, was entrusted to them, it was no longer fitting for them to be entangled [together], but divided, so that one might go to these, and another to those. And why does the evangelist mention the reclining upon the breast, and that he asked, "Who is it who will betray you?" ^C It did not happen simply, nor accidentally, but so that he might show the boldness of Peter after his denial. For he who before the cross did not dare to ask about the traitor, but entrusted the question to another—that is, to John—now has the stewardship of all entrusted to him; and not only does he not entrust his own affairs to another, but he even asks on behalf of that disciple who was especially loved by all, and becomes, as it were, a mediator before the Lord. And marvel with me at the lack of arrogance in the evangelist, how he corrects the mistaken assumption of many, who had not understood what the Lord had said about him, but had assumed that he would not die. But that was not the case; rather, the instruction "to remain" was not said by the Lord regarding his not dying, but regarding his not being yoked to Peter at the time of the preaching, but remaining on his own. ^D

^A Some, however, understand it this way: Having heard, they say, that Peter would die for Christ, he said: "And what of John? Will he not die too?" Christ did not deny this (for everyone who is born will also die), but said: "If I will him to remain," that is, to live until the consummation of the world, and then to testify concerning me. From this, they say that he is still living, and that he will be killed by the Antichrist while preaching Christ along with Elijah. But even if his tomb is shown, what of it? For he entered it while living, and then was translated, just as Enoch and Elijah were. The evangelist, therefore, overturns the false opinion of those who think that this disciple does not die, but will be immortal. For it is truly a lie that a human being is immortal. Even if Enoch and Elijah have not died, they are nevertheless mortal. So also in the case of this man: even if he has not died, he will yet die. Therefore, the statement "he does not die," that is, he will be immortal, is false. Others maintain that he has already died, and they understand the words "If I will him to remain" in the way we interpreted them above. We have stated all the opinions so that those who are fond of learning might be ignorant of none of them; but to us, the phrase "to remain until I come" is best understood, as it seems to that divine and golden-mouthed John, not concerning life, but that he was not to be yoked to Peter.

^B VERS. 24, 25. "This is the disciple who bears witness of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written." Why, when none of the other evangelists bore witness to himself, does this one bear witness to himself? It is said that he came to write last, having been moved and stirred to do so by Christ. For this reason, he frequently mentions the love, showing the cause for which he came to write, and that Christ entrusted this work to him who was loved more than the others. "And I know," he says, "that he speaks the truth," that is, being fully assured, I wrote what I wrote, as one who was present at all the discourses, and the works, and the sufferings, and the things that happened after the resurrection. For I was beloved, and was not excluded; ^C and so I speak confidently even of myself that I speak the truth, being provoked to investigate what was done and to examine each thing individually. Now, we men are accustomed, when we have great confidence in the truth, by no means to refuse our own testimony, as the apostles themselves also said: "We are witnesses of these things which we speak, and the Spirit whom he gave to them that obey him." ^D Whence, then, is it manifest, he says, that I speak the truth and do not flatter my teacher? From the fact that I omit many things, from which it is clear that I would not flatter him. For he who brought all the ignominious [reports] into the open, and did not hide even this—that they called him a violator of the law, and a seducer, and one possessed of a demon—it is evident that he would not have flattered...

and that he did not speak to curry favor, but rather did the opposite; for he overlooks the disgraceful things and brings the glorious ones into the middle. ^A Do not wonder, then, if he said that the world could not contain the books being written about the works of Jesus; rather, having considered the ineffable power of the Word of God, accept what was said faithfully. For just as it is for us to speak, so for him, and indeed much more easily, it is to do whatever he willed. Some, however, say that this was spoken hyperbolically, in the manner of Scripture. For it is the custom of Scripture to use hyperbole: as in, "We saw cities reaching to the heavens," and, "We saw men, and we were before them as locusts," and all such things. Thus, therefore, it is to be understood that the world could not contain the books being written. ^B Others, however, understand by "the world" those who have worldly thoughts; and as for the works done by Jesus, being divine and full of his mysteries—both those in the invisible creation and the visible, and those that are to come, and [those that] are filled with mysteries—the worldly man is not able to understand them: as it is said, "I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now." But let us pray that we never fall into forgetfulness of the works and the words of the Lord, but rather that we may always turn the pages of this book of the beloved [disciple], and search out the treasure contained within it, both in the miracles of Jesus and in his words; so that, having been enabled to purify ourselves both in word and in life, we may be deemed worthy also of the more ineffable works and mysteries on the day of revelation, which now, while we are in the world, we are not able to contain; and that we may be perfected in Christ himself, who loved us, and through his beloved disciple enlightened us in the theology and the knowledge of himself and of the Father and of the Holy Spirit, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. ^C

The End of the Exposition of Theophylact on the Gospel according to John.