Friday of the 2nd Sunday of Pascha

Our Lord has introduced a most forcible argument for preserving simplicity, and being zealous for the faith, that we should not after the manner of faithless Jews put one thing in practice, while in words we pretend another, namely, that at the last day the hidden thoughts accusing or else excusing one another, shall be seen to reveal the secrets of our mind. Whence it is added, There is nothing hid which shall not be revealed.

Nothing, however, is covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. And how in the present age does the hypocrisy of many long remain hidden? Therefore, it must be understood about the future time, when God will judge the hidden things of men. For just as one of the friends of blessed Job very truly said: The praise of the wicked is brief, and the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment. If his arrogance rises to the heavens, and his head touches the clouds, he will be lost in the end like dung (Job. XX). In the end, he says, he will be lost, who appeared to flourish at the beginning. Therefore, the sense is: Beware of emulating simulators, because surely the time will come, when both your virtue will be revealed to all, and their hypocrisy. But what follows:

Second, with regard to the certitude of the cause rendering credible information, he adds: Nothing however is covered that shall not be revealed, nor hidden that shall not be known: so that by covered is understood knowledge lying hidden in the intellect, and by hidden, delight lurking in the affections: both of which are manifest to God, according to that passage of Jeremiah 17: "I the Lord, searching hearts and reins, who give to each one" etc.; in the Psalm: "God, who searches hearts and reins." And therefore, because it will be his to make manifest and reveal all hidden things in the judgment, according to that passage of Wisdom 6: "Power has been given to you by the Lord, and strength from the Most High, who will examine your works and search out your thoughts"; and First Corinthians 4: "The Lord will come, who will illuminate the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of hearts" etc.: and thus all evils are to be avoided, however hidden they may be, because all things will be made manifest in the judgment.

He either then says this concerning that time when God shall judge the secrets of men, or He says it because however much a man may endeavour to hide the good deeds of another by discredit, good of its own nature cannot be concealed.

Since, then, He had censured their hypocrisy, which covered the secrets of the heart, and obscured with superficial offices the mysteries of unbelief, because (while holding the key of knowledge) it would neither enter in itself, nor permit others to enter in, He therefore adds, "There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; neither hid, which shall not be known," in order that no one should suppose that He was attempting the revelation and the recognition of an hitherto unknown and hidden god.

Though the Pharisees, he says, think to hide behind hypocrisy, feigning virtue for themselves, nevertheless, "there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed." For all things—both words and thoughts—will be presented in complete nakedness at the Last Judgment (1 Cor. 4:5). And even in the present life, much that is secret is usually brought to light. Therefore, "what you have said in the darkness" and "what you have spoken inside the house" and in secret, "will be proclaimed" in the light and from the rooftops. Apparently, He says this to the disciples, but meanwhile directs it against the Pharisees, hinting at their plots, and although He speaks, apparently, to the disciples, He expresses to the Pharisees something like this: Pharisees! What you plotted in darkness, in your dark hearts, wishing to ensnare Me, will be heard and known in the light, for "I am the light" (John 8:12), and you cannot hide from Me, but in Me—the Light—everything that your darkness devises is discerned. And what you decided among yourselves in a whisper became as well known to Me as if it were proclaimed from the housetops. And you can understand this also in the following way: the light is the Gospel, and the high rooftops are the lofty souls of the apostles. What the Pharisees were plotting was afterwards proclaimed and heard in the light of the Gospel, when upon the lofty souls of the apostles stood the great Preacher – the Holy Spirit. After the Lord exposed the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, turned His disciples away from it, and meanwhile again struck the Pharisees with the words: "what you have said in the dark will be heard in the light," He now addresses His friends with a discourse on more perfect matters. Having already uprooted the thorns, He sows the good seed.

Or this is addressed to the Pharisees; as if He said, O Pharisees, what you have spoken in darkness, that is, all your endeavours to tempt me in the secrets of your hearts, shall be heard in the light, for I am the light, and in My light shall be known whatsoever your darkness devises. And what you have spoken in the ear and in closets, that is, whatsoever in whispers you have poured into one another's ears, shall be proclaimed on the housetops, that is, was as audible to me as if it had been cried aloud on the housetops. Herein also you may understand that the light is the Gospel, but the housetop the lofty souls of the Apostles. But whatever things the Pharisees plotted together, were afterwards divulged and heard in the light of the Gospel, the great Herald, the Holy Spirit, presiding over the souls of the Apostles.

For what you have spoken in darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the ear in chambers will be proclaimed on the rooftops, not only in the future, when all hidden things of the heart will be brought to light, but also in the present time it can be suitably interpreted. For the things which the apostles once spoke or suffered in the darkness of oppressions and shadows of prisons are now proclaimed publicly throughout the world by the Church, now made glorious by their acts being read. Indeed, what he says 'will be proclaimed on the rooftops' refers to the custom of the province of Palestine, where they are accustomed to sit on rooftops. For they do not make their roofs elevated to peaks in our manner, but they make them flat in a level form. Hence, the law commanded that he who built a new house should build a parapet around the roof, so that bloodshed may not occur there if someone were to fall and be precipitated down. And in the construction of the temple, we read: He also covered the house with cedar boards, and built a story over the entire house five cubits in height. Therefore, it will be proclaimed on the rooftops, and it will be said openly for all to hear.

Or He says this, because all the things which the Apostles of old spoke and suffered amid the darkness of oppression and the gloom of the prison, arc now that the Church is made known through the world and their acts are read, publicly proclaimed. The words, shall be proclaimed on the housetops, are spoken according to the manner of the country of Palestine, where they are accustomed to live on the housetops. For their roofs were not after our way raised to a point, but flat shaped, and level at the top. Therefore He says, proclaimed on the housetops; that is, spoken openly in the hearing of all men.

And what is more, for greater confusion they will be made manifest even to all; on account of which he adds: Because what you have said in darkness shall be spoken in the light. He says this with regard to manifestation in respect of sight. An example of this is found in David in Second Kings 12, where the Lord said to David through Nathan: "You did that thing in secret; but I will do this thing in the sight of all Israel and in the sight of this sun." For the light of the sun makes other things manifest to sight.

But with regard to manifestation in respect of hearing it is said: And what you have spoken in the ear in private chambers shall be proclaimed on the housetops, that is, with the rest hearing. This indeed will happen in the judgment, when, namely, according to that passage of John 5, "all who are in the tombs shall hear the voice of the Son of God." And then the whisperings of detraction will be made manifest, according to that passage of Wisdom 1: "He who speaks wicked things cannot be hidden, nor shall the correcting judgment pass him by. In his thoughts" etc. And therefore counsel is given in Ecclesiastes 10: "In your thought do not detract from the king, and in the secret of your chamber do not curse the rich, for the birds of the sky will carry your voice."

On account of the judgment, therefore, which will manifest all things in the future, all hypocrisy is to be avoided in the present age: Sirach 1: "Do not be a hypocrite in the sight of men, lest God reveal your hidden things and cast you down in the midst of the assembly." And note that this is the most noble reason why hypocrisy is to be avoided, namely the universal and complete manifestation of interior things, which is most opposed to the dissimulation of hypocrites. This manifestation, however, will be accomplished through Christ, "who is the splendor of the Father's glory and the figure of His substance, sustaining all things by the word of His power." And because He is the innermost splendor, it belongs to Him to uncover all things: Sirach 23: "The eyes of the Lord are far brighter than the sun, looking about upon all the ways of men and the depths of the abyss and beholding the hearts of men," etc. But because He is the living Word, therefore all things are open to Him, and He makes all things manifest as the Word: Hebrews 4: "The word of God is living and effective and more piercing than any two-edged sword, reaching even to the division of the soul," etc., continuing to: "No creature is invisible in His sight." And therefore Christ the judge, because He will uncover all things in the judgment, is said to come "as lightning" and to "descend with the voice of the Archangel," because He will most clearly reveal all things to all.

The Gnostic, then, is impressed with the closest likeness, that is, with the mind of the Master; which He being possessed of, commanded and recommended to His disciples and to the prudent. Comprehending this, as He who taught wished, and receiving it in its grand sense, he teaches worthily "on the housetops" those capable of being built to a lofty height; and begins the doing of what is spoken, in accordance with the example of life. For He enjoined what is possible. And, in truth, the kingly man and Christian ought to be ruler and leader. For we are commanded to be lords over not only the wild beasts without us, but also over the wild passions within ourselves.

Or this is addressed to the Pharisees; as if He said, O Pharisees, what you have spoken in darkness, that is, all your endeavours to tempt me in the secrets of your hearts, shall be heard in the light, for I am the light, and in My light shall be known whatsoever your darkness devises. And what you have spoken in the ear and in closets, that is, whatsoever in whispers you have poured into one another's ears, shall be proclaimed on the housetops, that is, was as audible to me as if it had been cried aloud on the housetops. Herein also you may understand that the light is the Gospel, but the housetop the lofty souls of the Apostles. But whatever things the Pharisees plotted together, were afterwards divulged and heard in the light of the Gospel, the great Herald, the Holy Spirit, presiding over the souls of the Apostles.

Since unbelief springs from two causes, either from a deeply-seated malice or a sudden fear; lest any one from terror should be compelled to deny the God whom he acknowledges in his heart, He well adds, And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, &c.

He tells us also, that that death is not terrible for which at a far more costly rate of interest immortality is to be purchased.

For our natural death is not the end of punishment: and therefore He concludes that death is the cessation of bodily punishment, but the punishment of the soul is everlasting. And God alone is to be feared, to whose power nature prescribes not, but is herself subject; adding, Yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

But I say to you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do nothing more. If the persecutors of the saints, having killed their bodies, can do nothing more against them, then they rage with futile madness, who throw the dead bodies of martyrs to be torn apart by beasts and birds, or to be dissolved into the air, or to be dissolved in the waves, or to be reduced to ashes by flames, since they can in no way hinder the omnipotence of God from bringing them back to life by resurrection.

Their rage then is but useless raving, who cast the lifeless limbs of martyrs to be torn in pieces by wild beasts and birds, seeing that they can in no wise prevent the omnipotence of God from quickening and bringing them to life again.

It is necessary that we fear God. Whence in the Gospel: "Do not fear those who kill the body and after this have nothing more that they can do; but I will show you whom you should fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into gehenna." I would prefer to be in the greatest punishment of this world for seven thousand years than to endure the least eternal punishment.

But I say to you, my friends, etc. After He instructed them to guard against deceitfulness, here secondly He strengthens them to repel timidity. To this end, however, He brings forward a twofold consideration, namely of the punishment of hell, into which no man can cast; and of the general providence, which no man can escape. The first looks to divine power; the second, to divine providence; and the first instills true fear; the second, true hope; and each of these is a remedy against worldly fear.

First, therefore, he calls them back from the fear of men, because they can do nothing with respect to the punishment of gehenna, which alone is to be feared. On account of which he says: But I say to you, my friends, that is, you who love me and are loved by me, according to that passage of John 16: "The Father himself loves you, because you have loved me," etc. To such he says: Be not terrified by those who kill the body, and after these things have nothing more that they can do. Do not fear the punishment of bodily death, because it is partial and momentary; whence Isaiah 51: "Who are you, that you should fear a mortal man and the son of man, who shall wither like grass?" and 1 Maccabees 2: "Fear not the words of a sinful man, for his glory is dung and worms," etc.; whence, because their power is transitory, it is not to be feared, nor are their punishments. Whence Seneca: "Death, exile, grief, pain are not punishments, but the tributes of living"; "what I owe I am prepared to pay, when the creditor calls upon me." And Chrysostom: "If we are to die freely after a little while, why do we not also die a little before, in the cause of God, with glory? If you have received an ox or a horse on loan, you work diligently and say: Perhaps tomorrow it will be taken from me. Why do you not do this with your body?"

Nor are they to be feared for the spirit, because they are done in the flesh and thus as it were outwardly, as in a garment: according to what is said in 2 Corinthians 5: "We would not be unclothed, but clothed upon." Therefore Chrysostom: "God made the body for the sake of the soul, and the enemy greatly envies and persecutes it; but the body is the garment of the soul. Just as, therefore, if someone tears another's garment, that person indeed feels the injury, but suffers no harm in his nature: so the soul feels the pain of killing, but suffers no harm in its nature." And therefore bodily punishment is not to be feared, nor he who inflicts it; but spiritual punishment is most greatly to be dreaded, and he alone who inflicts it.

To put it in another light, as being his friends, we should not fear death but rather imitate the faith of the holy ancestors. When he was tempted, the patriarch Abraham offered his only-begotten son Isaac, considering that God was able to raise him up even from the dead. What terror of death can assail us, now that life has abolished death? Christ is the resurrection and the life.

For it is not absolutely to every one that this discourse seems to apply, but to those who love God with their whole heart to whom it belongs to say, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? (Rom. 8:3.) But they who are not such, are tottering, and ready to fall down. Moreover our Lord says, Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13.) How then is it not most ungrateful to Christ not to repay Him what we receive?

We must then consider that crowns and honours are prepared for the labours of those upon whom men are continually venting forth their indignation, and to them the death of the body is the end of their persecutions. Whence He adds, And after this have nothing more that they can do.

Notice that this commandment is not given to Jesus' servants but to his friends. "Do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do." The One to fear is he "who can destroy both soul and body in hell." He alone, "after he has killed," has "power to throw into hell." He throws into hell those who fear those who kill the body and do not fear "him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into hell." We may suppose that no matter who else has the hair of his head numbered, the verse is obviously true of those who are cut off for Jesus. We will confess the Son of God before people and not before gods, that he who is confessed may confess us in turn before God and his Father, and confess in heaven the one who confessed him on earth.

Wherefore, brethren, leaving willingly our sojourn in this present world, let us do the will of Him that called us, and not fear to depart out of this world. For the Lord saith, "Ye shall be as lambs in the midst of wolves." And Peter answered and said unto Him, "What, then, if the wolves shall tear in pieces the lambs?" Jesus said unto Peter, "The lambs have no cause after they are dead to fear the wolves; and in like manner, fear not ye them that kill you, and can do nothing more unto you; but fear Him who, after you are dead, has power over both soul and body to cast them into hell-fire." And consider, brethren, that the sojourning in the flesh in this world is but brief and transient, but the promise of Christ is great and wonderful, even the rest of the kingdom to come, and of life everlasting.

He then turns to His disciples with these words, "I say unto you, my friends, Be not afraid of them which can only kill the body, and after that have no more power over you." They will, however, find Isaiah had already said, "See how the just man is taken away, and no man layeth it to heart.

For "a fire shall proceed before His face, and shall utterly burn His enemies; " striking down not the body only, but the souls too, into hell. Besides, the Lord Himself demonstrates the manner in which He threatens such as judge: "For with what judgment ye judge, judgment shall be given on you.

What was said before was directed not at them, but at the Pharisees. So, I say to you, My friends. For this word is not for everyone, but for those who have loved Him with all their soul and can say: "Who shall separate us from the love of God?" (Rom. 8:35). To such as these, this exhortation is fitting.

Fear him who, after he has killed, has the power to cast into Gehenna. For there are two kinds of persecutors: one openly raging, the other deceitfully and fraudulently flattering: wishing to arm and instruct us against both, the Savior commands us above to beware of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, and here not to fear the slaughter of executioners, because evidently after death neither the cruelty of the former nor the deceit of the latter is able to endure. Rather, it is the Lord, who always sees, that must be pleased, the Lord, who is always able to punish or liberate, that must be feared.

It is necessary that we fear God. Whence in the Gospel: "Do not fear those who kill the body and after this have nothing more that they can do; but I will show you whom you should fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into gehenna." I would prefer to be in the greatest punishment of this world for seven thousand years than to endure the least eternal punishment. The Apostle: "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God," because God afflicts for eternity. Consider the sublimity of divine power, the perspicacity of divine wisdom, and the severity of divine vengeance, that you may fear God.

On account of which he adds: But I will show you whom you should fear, so that by fear of him you may turn away from evil, according to that passage of Jeremiah 10: "Do not fear those things which can do neither evil nor good"; and afterward: "Who shall not fear you, O King of the nations," etc.

Therefore, that we may not fear worldly power, we must fear the divine; on account of which he says: Fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into gehenna: whence in the Psalm: "Let all the earth fear the Lord, and let all the inhabitants of the world be moved by him." And because this kind of fear is most useful and necessary, he therefore repeats: So I say to you, fear him. Whence Isaiah 8: "Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself, and let him be your dread, and let him be your terror"; and Jeremiah 5: "Will you not then fear me? and before my face," etc.

But as to the threats of the devil, fear them not at all, for he is powerless as the sinews of a dead man are powerless. Give ear to me, then, and fear Him who has all power, both to save and destroy, and keep His commandments, and ye will live to God.

"But I will show you whom ye shall fear: fear Him who, after He hath killed, hath power to cast into hell" (meaning, of course, the Creator); "yea, I say unto you, fear Him." Now, it would here be enough for my purpose that He forbids offence being given to Him whom He orders to be feared; and that He orders Him to be respected whom He forbids to be offended; and that He who gives these commands belongs to that very God for whom He procures this fear, this absence of offence, and this respect.

"Do not be afraid," He says, "of those who kill the body" and can do nothing more to harm you. For the harm from those who injure the body does not amount to much. The body will suffer what is proper to it even if they do not harm it. But one should fear Him who punishes not only the body but also the soul, subjecting an immortal being to endless torments, and moreover in fire. In this way Christ trains His friends in spiritual courage, makes them witnesses, and drives away from them the fear of man. People, He says, extend their malice only against the perishable body, and the end of their schemes against us is bodily death. But when God punishes, He does not stop at the flesh alone, but the wretched soul itself is subjected to torments. Note from this that death brings sinners to punishment: they are punished here, being killed, and there they are cast into Gehenna. Examining this saying, you will understand something else as well. Notice, the Lord did not say: fear the one "who...after killing" "casts" into gehenna, but: "who...can cast." For sinners who die are not necessarily cast into gehenna, but it is within God's power to also forgive, for example, on account of those offerings and alms which are made on behalf of the dead and which bring no small benefit even to those who die in grievous sins. Thus, God does not unconditionally cast into gehenna after killing, but has the power to cast. Let us therefore also unceasingly devote ourselves to acts of mercy and prayers, and through them propitiate Him Who has the power to cast, but does not necessarily exercise this power, and is able also to forgive.

Here observe, that upon sinners death is sent as a punishment, since they are here tormented by destruction, and afterwards thrust down into hell. But if you will sift the words you will understand something farther. For He says not, "Who casts into hell," but has power to cast. For not every one dying in sin is forthwith thrust down into hell, but there is sometimes pardon given for the sake of the offerings and prayers which are made for the dead.

Our Lord then had instilled the virtue of simplicity, had awakened a courageous spirit. Their faith alone was wavering, and well did He strengthen it by adding with respect to things of less value, Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings? and not one of them is forgotten before God. As if He said, If God forgets not the sparrows, how can He man?

But perhaps some one will say, How is it that the Apostle says, Does the Lord care for oxen? (1 Cor. 9:9.) whereas an ox is of more value than a sparrow; but to care for is one thing, to have knowledge another.

Or else; A good sparrow is one which nature has furnished with the power of flying; for nature has given us the grace of flying, pleasure has taken it away, which loads with meats the soul of the wicked, and moulds it towards the nature of a fleshly mass. The five senses of the body then, if they seek the food of earthly alloy, cannot fly back to the fruits of higher actions. A bad sparrow therefore is one which has lost its habit of flying through the fault of earthly grovelling; such are those sparrows which are sold for two farthings, namely, at the price of worldly luxury. For the enemy sets up his, as it were, captive slaves, at the very lowest price. But the Lord, being the fit judge of His own work, has redeemed at a great price us, His noble servants, whom He hath made in His own image.

Lastly, the numbering of the hairs is not to be taken with reference to the act of reckoning, but to the capability of knowing. Yet they are well said to be numbered, because those things which we wish to preserve we number.

If then such is the majesty of God, that a single sparrow or the number of our hair is not beside His knowledge, how unworthy is it to suppose that the Lord is either ignorant of the hearts of the faithful, or despises them so as to account them of less value. Hence He proceeds to conclude, Fear not then, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

(pluris estis) Now I ask the Arians, if God, as if disdaining to make all other things, made only His Son, but deputed all things to His Son; how is it that He extends His providence even to such trifling things as our hair, and the sparrows? For upon whatever things He exercises His providence, of these is He the Creator by His own word.

Are not five sparrows sold for two assaria, and not one of them is forgotten before God? If, he says, the smallest of animals, and those birds that fly through the air everywhere, cannot be forgotten by God, you who are made in the image of the Creator should not be frightened by those who kill the body, because he who governs the irrational does not cease to care for the rational. An assarius, which sells five sparrows, that is, they are sold for, is a type of very light weight, composed of two asses. Perhaps someone may ask how the Apostle says: Does God care for oxen? (1 Cor. 9) when certainly an ox is more valuable than a sparrow. But care is one thing, and knowledge is another. Lastly, the number of hairs, about which he consequently says:

The dipondius is a coin of the lightest weight, and equal to two asses.

Second, he calls back from the fear of men, because they can do nothing against the general protection of God: with regard to which he says: Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings? Dipondius here is the name of a coin having two obols or asses. Whence Bede: "A dipondius is a weight composed of two asses. Now what in numbers is one, in weights is an as; what is two, that is a dipondius." With this agrees, nor does it disagree, what is said in Matthew 10: "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?" Because, as we see, when five eggs are sold for one denarius, two are given for an obol. A sparrow is therefore of small price, since so many are found for one denarius: yet not even it is excluded from divine protection. On account of which he adds: And not one of them is in forgetfulness before God, but rather is governed by divine providence, according to that passage of Wisdom 11: "You love all things that are, and hate nothing of those things which you have made: for you did not appoint anything out of hatred." From which it is apparent that divine providence extends itself even to the least things: nor does that passage of 1 Corinthians 9 contradict this: "Does God have care for oxen?" For that is understood of the care of special providence, by which he leads by the hand along the way of eternal salvation: but this is understood of the providence of general administration and conservation, of which it is said in the Psalm: "Who gives to beasts their food, and to the young ravens that call upon him."

And note that he says: Is not in forgetfulness before God: saying less and signifying more, because nothing happens to them except according to divine providence ordaining it; whence Matthew 10: "Not one of them shall fall upon the ground without your Father." And yet sparrows fall most easily: whence they are said to have the falling sickness: and for this reason he most aptly sets forth the example of them as of a manifest thing. From which it is gathered as from the lesser, that divine providence is most especially attentive to the governance of man.

To bestow yet another means of comfort on our minds, he forcibly added that five sparrows are scarcely perhaps worth a penny, and yet God does not forget even one of them. He also said that the separate hairs of your head are all numbered. Consider how great care he takes of those that love him. The Preserver of the universe extends his aid to things so worthless and descends to the smallest animals. How can he forget those who love him, especially when he takes so great care of them? He condescends to visit them, to know exactly each particular of their state, and even how many are the hairs of their heads.…Let us not doubt that with a rich hand he will give his grace to those who love him. He will not permit us to fall into temptation. If, by his wise purpose he permits us to be taken in the snare in order that we may gain glory by suffering, he will most assuredly grant us the power to bear it.

(ordin.) Now that which in number is one is in weight an ass, but that which is two is a dipondius.

Literally, hereby is signified the quickness of the Divine foresight, which reaches even to the least things. But mystically, the five sparrows justly represent the spiritual senses, which have perception of high and heavenly things: beholding God, hearing the Divine voice, tasting of the bread of life, smelling the perfume of Christ's anointing, handling the Word of Life. And these being sold for two farthings, that is, being lightly esteemed by those who count as perishing whatever is of the Spirit, are not forgotten before God. But God is said to be forgetful of some because of their iniquities.

To this I answered, "Those, therefore, who do wrong are not guilty, because they wrong the just by the judgment of God." Then Peter said, "They indeed sin greatly, for they have given themselves to sin. Wherefore knowing this, God chooses from among them some to punish those who righteously repented of their former sins, that the evil things done by the just before their repentance may be remitted through this punishment. But to the wicked who punish and desire to ill-use them, and will not repent, it is permitted to ill-use the righteous for the filling up of their own punishment. For without the will of God, not even a sparrow can fall into a girn. Thus even the hairs of the righteous are numbered by God."

Many, He says, think that those who die for the truth are abandoned by God; but do not think so. You will die not because you will supposedly be abandoned by Me. For if not one of the sparrows, which are sold cheaply, is forgotten by God, how much more should your death not be forgotten, My friends, as though I do not care for you.

Or these five senses are sold for two farthings, that is, the New and Old Testament, and are therefore not forgotten by God. Of those whose senses are given up to the word of life that they may be fit for the spiritual food, the Lord is ever mindful.

When our Lord said, "not a hair," he was not thinking of length but of the number of hairs, as we see from these words, "The hairs of your head are numbered." I still think that nothing that was a natural part of the body should be lost. Ugly outgrowths, which have the purpose of reminding us of the penal condition of mortal life, will be integrated into the substance as a whole so that no deformity will appear in any one part. After all, a human artist can make a botch of a statue and then reshape it into beauty without a loss of any of his material. It is not a matter of chiseling away some paticular part that was ugly or out of proportion. He can break down and remold the same mass of material so that nothing but the blemish disappears. Of course, the omnipotent Artist can do this even better. There is no deformity of any human body, whether normal, exceptional or even monstrous, which he cannot so eliminate as to leave the total substance intact, while the ugliness disappears. Such outgrowths are not out of place among the other miseries of temporal existence, but they are incompatible with the happiness of the saints in the life to come.

But even the hairs of your head are all numbered, not actually in the act of counting, but understood in the capacity of knowledge. For God does not direct a watchful solicitude in tedious counting, but to whom all things are known, as if all things were numbered. Nevertheless, they are well said to be numbered, because we count the things we want to keep. Here he shows the immense providence of God towards men, and marks the ineffable affection that nothing of ours escapes God's notice, and that even small and trivial things spoken do not elude His knowledge. Those who deny the resurrection of the flesh deride ecclesiastical understanding in this place, as if we were to say that the same earthly matter, which becomes a corpse when the soul departs, is to be restored in the resurrection in such a way that the things which decay and are transformed into different shapes and forms of other things must necessarily return not only to the body from which they dissolved but also to the same parts of the body where they were. Otherwise, if the hair of the head returns, which frequent cutting has removed, if to the nails, which frequent trimming has taken off, it appears excessive and indecent to those who think about it, and thus the resurrection of the flesh does not present itself acceptably to those who do not believe. But just as if a statue of any soluble metal were either melted by fire or ground into powder or reduced to a mass, and the artist wished to restore it again from that quantity of material, it would make no difference to its integrity which particle of material is restored to which member of the statue, provided that all from which it was constituted is reconstituted: so God, wonderfully and ineffably the artist, from all that our flesh was constituted, will restore it with wonderful and ineffable speed, nor will it matter for its reconstitution whether hairs return to hairs and nails to nails, or whether whatever of them had perished is transformed into flesh and recalled to other parts of the body, with the providence of the artist ensuring that nothing indecent happens.

Therefore, do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Not 'you are many,' which pertains to the comparison of numbers, but 'you are worth more,' that is, you are of greater merit, dignity, and esteem before God than countless sparrows, whether bodies or kinds.

We must not read, Ye are more, which relates to the comparison of number, but ye are of more value, that is, of greater estimation in the sight of God.

For the expression of which he adds: But even the hairs of your head are all numbered: from which it is given to understand that he has the greatest care for man. Whence Bede: "But even the hairs, to say nothing of the mass of the body: for even the minute particles are preserved by the providence of God." Whence numbering refers not so much to knowledge as to most diligent preservation, because from the bodies of the Saints who suffer not even a hair can perish; whence below in chapter 21: "A hair of your head shall not perish." So great therefore is God's care for us that not even a hair of our head can be taken away without his will. Therefore it is not fitting that we be troubled by fear, according to that passage of 1 Peter last chapter: "Casting all your care upon him, because he has care for you."

And this is what he infers: Do not therefore fear; you are of more value than many sparrows, "that is, of greater worth"; in which is touched upon simultaneously the conclusion and the reason of the inference through an argument from the lesser. For if God has care for the lesser, much more so for the greater; and if he has care for us, the world need not be feared by us. Moreover, we are of greater worth than brute creatures, than birds, because we are rational creatures, and this because we are made in the image of God; on account of which all other things are subject to man: Genesis 1: "Let us make man in our image and likeness, and let him have dominion over the birds of the heavens," etc. And therefore man is most immediately under the protection of God, and especially the just man and friend of God. And for this reason it is not necessary that he have the aid of anything perishable; whence Genesis 15: "Fear not, Abram, I am your protector and your exceedingly great reward"; as if to say: fear not, because you can suffer nothing for lack of aid, nor can you suffer anything without the recompense of reward, so long as you cling to me.

It is His care then diligently to know the life of the saints. Whence it follows, But the hairs of your heads are all numbered; by which He means, that of all things which relate to them He has most accurate knowledge, for the numbering manifests the minuteness of the care exercised.

Now mystically, indeed, the head of a man is his understanding, but his hairs the thoughts, which are open to the eye of God.

On the contrary, I have such care for you that I know all your affairs down to the finest detail; for example, even your "hairs are numbered." Therefore, if I permit you to fall into temptation, I will undoubtedly also give you the strength to endure it (1 Cor. 10:13). And often, when I see someone weak, I do not even permit him to fall into temptation. For being watchful and knowing all things — and keeping account of even the most trifling matters — I arrange for each person what is fitting and beneficial. If you pay attention, you will find that in Scripture everything male that has reached the measure of maturity and is generally worthy of divine counting is numbered (Exod. 18:21; Num. 26:62). By "head" one must understand the Christ-pleasing life of each of the faithful, and by "hairs" its most particular deeds, by which the body is mortified, which are numbered by God and taken into consideration. For such deeds of yours are deemed worthy of God's regard. By the "five" sparrows some understand the five senses, which, being purchased for two assaria, that is, at the price of the Old and New Testaments, are not forgotten before God. For whoever tempers his senses and subjects them to reason, so that they are not useless for spiritual nourishment, that person is not forgotten before God.

Or, by the head of each of the faithful, you must understand a conversation meet for Christ, but by his hair, the works of bodily mortification which are numbered by God, and are worthy of the Divine regard.

He has also well introduced faith, stimulating us to its confession, and to faith itself He has placed virtue as a foundation. For as faith is the incentive to fortitude, so is fortitude the strong support of faith.

But I tell you, everyone who confesses me before men, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God. But whoever denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. He looks at what was said before, where it was stated that any covered and hidden things are to be revealed, concluding that this revelation will take place not in any lowly meeting, but in the sight of the heavenly city and the eternal king and judge. And lest it be thought that because he says those who deny him will be denied, the condition of all, that is, of those who deny out of zeal and those who deny out of weakness or ignorance, is the same, he immediately adds:

It was said above, that every hidden work and word is to be revealed, but He now declares that this revelation is to take place in the presence of the heavenly city and the eternal Judge and King; saying, But I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me, &c.

But I say to you: Everyone, etc. After he has urged them to guard against deceitfulness and to repel timidity, here thirdly he urges them to preserve truthfulness. For the truthfulness of confession is opposed to the deceitfulness of dissimulation. Moreover, he leads to this in two ways: first, by intimating the equity of the divine sentence; and second, by intimating the irremissibility of the sin of blasphemy. By the first he admonishes them to confess the truth; by the second, to avoid falsehood.

First, therefore, he admonishes them to confess the truth on account of the equity of the divine sentence, when he says: But I say to you: Everyone who shall confess me before men. Me, namely, indicates the person in two natures, namely, whoever confesses me to be true God and man, not only saying in the heart, according to that of 1 Corinthians 12: "No one can say: Lord Jesus, except in the Holy Spirit," but also expressing with the mouth, according to what is said in Romans 10: "With the heart one believes unto justice, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation"; and not only with the mouth, but also by works, against hypocrites and wicked Christians, of whom it is said in Titus 1: "They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny him." Against whom, Matthew 7: "Not everyone who says to me: Lord, Lord," etc.; and therefore 1 John 3: "Let us not love in word nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth."

He who confesses thus confesses fully, namely, by heart, mouth, and works. Of such a one he adds: And the Son of man shall confess him before the Angels of God, namely, that he is one of his own, according to that of Matthew 25: "Come, blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom." Whence that saying of Proverbs 11 shall be verified: "The soul that blesses shall be made fat."

On martyrdom the Lord hath spoken explicitly, and what is written in different places we bring together. "But I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess in Me before men, the Son of man also shall confess before the angels of God; but whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I deny before the angels." "Whosoever shall be ashamed of Me or of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him shall the Son of man also be ashamed when He cometh in the glory of His Father with His angels. Whosoever therefore shall confess in Me before men, him will I also confess before my Father in heaven." "And when they bring you before synagogues, and rulers, and powers, think not beforehand how ye shall make your defence, or what ye shall say. For the Holy Spirit shall teach you in the same hour what ye must say." In explanation of this passage, Heracleon, the most distinguished of the school of Valentinians, says expressly, "that there is a confession by faith and conduct, and one with the voice. The confession that is made with the voice, and before the authorities, is what the most reckon the only confession. Not soundly: and hypocrites also can confess with this confession. But neither will this utterance be found to be spoken universally; for all the saved have confessed with the confession made by the voice, and departed. Of whom are Matthew, Philip, Thomas, Levi, and many others. And confession by the lip is not universal, but partial. But that which He specifies now is universal, that which is by deeds and actions corresponding to faith in Him. This confession is followed by that which is partial, that before the authorities, if necessary, and reason dictate. For he will confess rightly with his voice who has first confessed by his disposition. And he has well used, with regard to those who confess, the expression 'in Me,' and applied to those who deny the expression 'Me.' For those, though they confess Him with the voice, yet deny Him, not confessing Him in their conduct. But those alone confess 'in Him,' who live in the confession and conduct according to Him, in which He also confesses, who is contained in them and held by them. Wherefore 'He never can deny Himself.' And those deny Him who are not in Him. For He said not, 'Whosoever shall deny' in Me, but 'Me.' For no one who is in Him will ever deny Him. And the expression 'before men' applies both to the saved and the heathen similarly by conduct before the one, and by voice before the other. Wherefore they never can deny Him. But those deny Him who are not in Him." So far Heracleon. And in other things he seems to be of the same sentiments with us in this section; but he has not adverted to this, that if some have not by conduct and in their life "confessed Christ before men," they are manifested to have believed with the heart; by confessing Him with the mouth at the tribunals, and not denying Him when tortured to the death. And the disposition being confessed, and especially not being changed by death at any time, cuts away all passions which were engendered by corporeal desire. For there is, so to speak, at the close of life a sudden repentance in action, and a true confession toward Christ, in the testimony of the voice. But if the Spirit of the Father testifies in us, how can we be any more hypocrites, who are said to bear testimony with the voice alone? But it will be given to some, if expedient, to make a defence, that by their witness and confession all may be benefited-those in the Church being confirmed, and those of the heathen who have devoted themselves to the search after salvation wondering and being led to the faith; and the rest seized with amazement. So that confession is by all means necessary. For it is in our power. But to make a defence for our faith is not universally necessary. For that does not depend on us. "But he that endureth to the end shall be saved." For who of those who are wise would not choose to reign in God, and even to serve? So some "confess that they know God," according to the apostle; "but in works they deny Him, being abominable and disobedient, and to every good work reprobate." And these, though they confess nothing but this, will have done at the end one good work. Their witness, then, appears to be the cleansing away of sins with glory. For instance, the Shepherd says: "You will escape the energy of the wild beast, if your heart become pure and blameless." Also the Lord Himself says: "Satan hath desired to sift you; but I have prayed." Alone, therefore, the Lord, for the purification of the men who plotted against Him and disbelieved Him, "drank the cup;" in imitation of whom the apostles, that they might be in reality Gnostics, and perfect, suffered for the Churches which they founded. So, then, also the Gnostics who tread in the footsteps of the apostles ought to be sinless, and, out of love to the Lord, to love also their brother; so that, if occasion call, enduring without stumbling, afflictions for the Church, "they may drink the cup." Those who witness in their life by deed, and at the tribunal by word, whether entertaining hope or surmising fear, are better than those who confess salvation by their mouth alone. But if one ascend also to love, he is a really blessed and true martyr, having confessed perfectly both to the commandments and to God, by the Lord; whom having loved, he acknowledged a brother, giving himself up wholly for God, resigning pleasantly and lovingly the man when asked, like a deposit.

In the Gospel the Lord speaks, and says, "Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father which is in heaven: but he that denieth me, him will I also deny." If He does not deny him that denies, neither does He confess him that confesses; the Gospel cannot be sound in one part and waver in another. Either both must stand firm, or both must lose the force of truth. If they who deny shall not be guilty of a crime, neither shall they who confess receive the reward of a virtue. Again, if faith which has conquered be crowned, it is of necessity that faithlessness which is conquered should be punished. Thus the martyrs can either do nothing if the Gospel may be broken; or if the Gospel cannot be broken, they can do nothing against the Gospel, since they become martyrs on account of the Gospel. Let no one, beloved brethren, let no one decry the dignity of martyrs, let no one degrade their glories and their crowns. The strength of their uncorrupted faith abides sound; nor can he either say or do anything against Christ, whose hope, and faith, and virtue, and glory, are all in Christ: those cannot be the authority for the bishops doing anything against God's command, who themselves have done God's command. Is any one greater than God, or more merciful than God's goodness, that he should either wish that undone which God has suffered to be done, or, as if God had too little power to protect His Church, should think that we could be preserved by his help?

"Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God."

It is then a thing above all others worthy of our attention to see who it is that confesses Christ, and in what way one may rightly and blamelessly confess Him. Most wise Paul, therefore writes to us, "Say not in yours heart, Who shall ascend unto heaven? that is to bring Christ down: or who shall descend into the deep? that is, to bring Christ up from the dead. But what says the Scripture? The Word is nigh you, in your mouth and in your heart; that is, the Word of faith which we preach: because if you shall say with your mouth that Jesus is the Lord, and shall believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall live. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." In which words the mystery of Christ is most excellently explained. For first of all it is our duty to confess that the Son, Who sprang from God the Father, and Who is the Only-begotten of His substance, even God the Word, is Lord of all: not as one on whom lordship has been bestowed from without, and by imputation, but as being by nature and in truth Lord, as the Father also is. And next we must believe, that "God raised Him from the dead," that is, when having become man, He had suffered in the flesh for our sakes: for so He arose from the dead.

Whosoever therefore confesses Christ before men, as God and Lord, shall be acknowledged by Him before the angels of God. But where and how? Evidently at that time, when He shall descend from heaven in the glory of His Father with the holy angels at the end of this world: then shall He crown His true confessor, who possessed an unwavering and genuine faith, and so made profession. There also shall the company of the holy martyrs shine, who endured the conflict even unto life and blood, and honoured Christ by their patient endurance: for they denied not the Saviour, nor was His glory unknown to them, but they kept their fealty to Him.

Now Paul says, If thou wilt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Rom. 10:9.) The whole mystery of Christ is conveyed in these words. For we must first confess that the Word born of God the Father, that is, the only-begotten Son of His substance, is Lord of all, not as one who had gained His Lordship from without and by stealth, but who is in truth by His nature Lord, as well as the Father. Next we must confess that God raised Him from the dead, who was Himself truly made man, and suffered in the flesh for us; for such He rose from the dead. Whoever then will so confess Christ before men, namely, as God and the Lord, Christ will confess him before the angels of God at that time when He shall descend with the holy angels in the glory of His Father at the end of the world.

But what will be more glorious than to have the only-begotten Word of God Himself to bear witness in our behalf at the divine judgment, and by His own love to draw forth as a recompense for confession, a declaration upon that soul to whom He bears witness, For not as abiding without him to whom He bears witness, but as dwelling in him and filling him with light, He will give His testimony.

(Hom. 34. in Matt.) The Lord is not then content with an inward faith, but requires an outward confession, urging us to confidence and greater love. And since this is useful for all, He speaks generally, saying, Whosoever shall confess me, &c.

(ubi sup.) Both in condemnation a greater punishment is announced, and in blessing a greater reward; as if He said, Now you confess and deny, but I then, for a far greater recompense of good and evil awaits them in the world to come.

There are other modes also of denying which St. Paul describes, saying, They profess that they know God, but in works they deny him. (Tit. 1:16.) And again, If any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. (1 Tim. 5:8.) Also, Flee from covetousness, which is idolatry. (Col. 3:5.) Since then there are so many modes of denial, it is plain that there are many likewise of confession, which whosoever has practised, shall hear that most blessed voice with which Christ greets all who have confessed Him. But mark the precaution of the words. For in the Greek he says, Whosoever shall confess in Me, showing that not by his own strength, but by the aid of grace from above, a man confesses Christ. But of him who denies, He said not "in Me," but me. For though being destitute of grace he denies, he is nevertheless condemned, because the destitution is owing to him who is forsaken, or he is forsaken for his own fault.

But this conclusion I can draw also from the following words: "For I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before God." Now they who shall confess Christ will have to be slain before men, but they will have nothing more to suffer after they have been put to death by them.

Now He offers a reward for the confession of faith. Since He said, "do not fear those who kill the body" and added that "the very hairs of your head are all numbered," lest someone should say: then give me some reward as well, for what good does it do me that You have numbered my hairs. He says (to such a person): do you desire a reward as well? Listen. Whoever confesses (faith) in Me, that one will be acknowledged by Me before God. He said: will confess "in Me," that is, with My assistance and by My power, and I will confess him "in him," that is, with his assistance. For just as we first need God, since without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5), so also God needs us. For if He does not find in us worthy deeds, He does not accept us either; otherwise He would be a respecter of persons. So we confess "in Him," that is, with His assistance, and He "in us," that is, with our assistance. For if we do not give Him cause, He will not bear witness for us either. Since every saint abides in Christ, and Christ in him (John 15:5), then perhaps is it not for this reason also that He said thus: whoever confesses (Me) "in Me," that is, abiding, that one I too will confess, abiding in him.

From which appears the equity of retribution with respect to those who confess: and so that nothing be lacking, the equity with respect to those who deny is shown, when he adds: But he who shall have denied me before men shall be denied before the Angels of God, namely when the Lord will say that word from Matthew twenty-five: "I know you not," etc. Whence above, in the ninth chapter: "He who shall have been ashamed of me and of my words, him shall the Son of man be ashamed of," etc. And this the equity of the divine sentence requires, concerning which is said in First Kings two: "Those who honor me, I will honor; but those who despise me shall be ignoble." And note that he who confesses the truth which Christ taught confesses Christ, whether in faith or in morals; but he who denies that truth consequently denies Christ as well. He who says that it is false consequently says that Christ is a liar, and thereby that he is not God, but a deceiver.

And note that the confession of the name of Christ has a great recompense, because the confession by which Christ will confess the one confessing him will be approbative, honorificative, and salvific: for Christ is king, judge, and pontiff. His confession also is public, illustrious, and perpetual; ours however is small and momentary. And similarly, the contrary is understood concerning his denial: which manifestly appears in the judicial disputation: "Come, blessed ones," and "Depart, accursed ones."

This therefore is the most noble proposition, which raises our minds to the Truth. The reason for this is as follows: because the Truth is veracious, therefore he can neither deny himself nor the one confessing him, nor acknowledge a liar nor act against himself; whence Second Timothy two: "If we shall deny him, he also will deny us; if we do not believe, he remains faithful, he cannot deny himself."

Nay, if they shudder at the magnitude of the guilt incurred; if with a truly medicinal hand they deal with the deadly wound of their heart and conscience and the deep recesses of the subtle mischief, let them blush even to ask; except, again, that it is a matter of greater risk and shame not to have besought the aid of peace. But let all this be in the sacrament; in the law of their very entreaty let consideration be had for the time; let it be with downcast entreaty, with subdued petition, since he also who is besought ought to be bent, not provoked; and as the divine clemency ought to be looked to, so also ought the divine censure; and as it is written, "I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me," so it is written, "Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father and before His angels." For God, as He is merciful, so He exacts obedience to His precepts, and indeed carefully exacts it; and as He invites to the banquet, so the man that hath not a wedding garment He binds hands and feet, and casts him out beyond the assembly of the saints. He has prepared heaven, but He has also prepared hell. He has prepared places of refreshment, but He has also prepared eternal punishment. He has prepared the light that none can approach unto, but He has also prepared the vast and eternal gloom of perpetual night.

But the rest, those who denied and despised him, shall be denied: when the Judge shall say to them that, as it were, which was spoken by the holy prophets to certain of old; "As you have done, it shall be done unto you; and your requital shall be requited upon yours own head;" and shall deny them in these words: "Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity, I know you not." And who then are they that shall be denied? First of all, those who when persecution was pressing upon them, and tribulation had overtaken them, deserted the faith.

And in like manner both the followers and teachers of heresy deny him. For they venture to say that the Only-begotten Word of God is not by nature and in truth God; and they traduce His ineffable generation, by saying that He is not of the substance of the Father.

Now they who deny are first indeed those who in time of persecution renounce the faith. Besides these, there are heretical teachers also, and their disciples.

But having confirmed them with good hope by so great promises, He again rouses them by more alarming threats, saying, But he that denieth me before men, shall be denied before the Angels of God.

He rightly declares this threatening, in order that none should refuse to confess Him by reason of the punishment, which is to be denied by the Son of God, to be disowned by Wisdom, to fall away from life, to be deprived of light, and to lose every blessing; but all these things to suffer before God the Father who is in heaven, and the Angels of God.

These therefore will be they whom He forewarns above not to be afraid of being only killed; and this forewarning He offers, in order that He might subjoin a clause on the necessity of confessing Him: "Every one that denieth me before men shall be denied before God" -by Him, of course, who would have confessed him, if he had only confessed God.

Now He offers a reward for the confession of faith. Since He said, "do not fear those who kill the body" and added that "the very hairs of your head are all numbered," lest someone should say: then give me some reward as well, for what good does it do me that You have numbered my hairs. He says (to such a person): do you desire a reward as well? Listen. Whoever confesses (faith) in Me, that one will be acknowledged by Me before God. He said: will confess "in Me," that is, with My assistance and by My power, and I will confess him "in him," that is, with his assistance. For just as we first need God, since without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5), so also God needs us. For if He does not find in us worthy deeds, He does not accept us either; otherwise He would be a respecter of persons. So we confess "in Him," that is, with His assistance, and He "in us," that is, with our assistance. For if we do not give Him cause, He will not bear witness for us either. But the one who denies is not denied by the power of God, which is why He did not add "by Me," but said: whoever denies "Me." Since every saint abides in Christ, and Christ in him (John 15:5), then perhaps is it not for this reason also that He said thus: whoever confesses (Me) "in Me," that is, abiding, that one I too will confess, abiding in him.

Truly by the Son of Man we understand Christ, Who by the Holy Spirit was born of a virgin, seeing that His only parent on earth is the Virgin. What then, is the Holy Spirit greater than Christ, that they who sin against Christ should obtain pardon, while they who offend against the Holy Spirit are not thought worthy to obtain it? But where there is unity of power there is no question of comparison.

Thus it is thought by some that we should believe both the Son and the Holy Spirit to be the same Christ, preserving the distinction of Persons with the unity of the substance, since Christ both God and man is one Spirit, as it is written, The Spirit before our face, Christ the Lord; (Lam. 4:20.) the same Spirit is holy, for both the Father is holy, and the Son holy, and the Spirit holy. If then Christ is each, what difference is there except we know that it is not lawful for us to deny the divinay of Christ?

(Ep. 4. ad Serap.) The ancients indeed, the learned Origen and the great Theognostus, describe this to be the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, when they who have been counted worthy of the gift of the Holy Spirit in Baptism, fall back into sin. For they say that for this reason they can not obtain pardon; as Paul says, It is impossible for those who have been made partakers of the Holy Ghost to renew them again, &c. (Heb. 6:4.) But each adds his own explanation. For Origen gives this as his reason; God the Father indeed penetrates and contains all things, but the power of the Son extends to rational things only; the Holy Spirit is only in those who partake of Him in the gift of Baptism. When then catechumens and heathens sin, they sin against the Son who abideth in them, yet they may obtain pardon when they become worthy of the gift of regeneration. But when the baptized commit sin, he says that their offence touches the Spirit, after coming to whom they have sinned, and therefore their condemnation must be irrevocable. But Theognostus says, that he who has gone beyond both the first and second threshold deserves less punishment, but he who has also passed the third, shall no more receive pardon. By the first and second threshold, he speaks of the doctrine of the Father and the Son, but by the third the partaking of the Holy Spirit. According to St. John, When the Spirit of truth is come, he will lead you into all truth. (John 16:13.) Not as though the doctrine of the Spirit was above that of the Son, but because the Son condescends to those who are imperfect, but the Spirit is the seal of those who are perfect. If then not because the Spirit is above the Son, blasphemy against the Spirit is unpardonable; but because remission of sin is indeed to the imperfect, but no excuse remains to the perfect, therefore since the Son is in the Father, He is in those in whom the Father and the Spirit are not absent, for the Holy Trinity cannot be divided. Besides this, if all things were made by the Son, and all things consist in Him, He will Himself be truly in all; so that it must needs be, that he who sinneth against the Son, sinneth against the Father also, and against the Holy Spirit. But holy Baptism is given in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And so they that sin after baptism commit blasphemy against the holy Trinity. But if the Pharisees had not received baptism, how did He condemn them as if they had spoken blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, of which they were not yet partakers, especially since He did not accuse them simply of sin, but of blasphemy? But these differ, for he who sins transgresses the Law, but he who blasphemes offends against the Deity Himself. But again, if to those who sin after baptism there is no remission of the punishment of their offences, how does the Apostle pardon the penitent at Corinth; (2 Cor. 11:10) but he travails in birth of the backsliding Galatians until Christ be formed again in them. (Gal. 4:19.) And why also do we oppose Novatus, who does away with repentance after baptism? The Apostle to the Hebrews does not thus reject the repentance of sinners, but lest they should suppose that as according to the rites of the Law, under the veil of repentance there could be many and daily baptisms, he therefore warns them indeed to repent, but tells them that there could be only one renewal, namely, by Baptism. But with such considerations I return to the dispensation (οἰκονομίαν) which is in Christ, who being God was made man; as very God raised the dead; as clothed with the flesh, thirsted, laboured, suffered. When any then, looking to human things, see the Lord athirst or in suffering, and speak against the Saviour as if against a man, they sin indeed, yet may speedily on repentance receive pardon, alleging as excuse the weakness of His body. And again when any, beholding the works of Deity, doubt concerning the nature of our Lord's body, they also sin grievously. But these too if they repent may be quickly pardoned, seeing that they have an excuse in the greatness of the works. But when they refer the works of God to the Devil, justly do they undergo the irrevocable sentence, because they have judged God to be the Devil, and the true God to have nothing more in His works than the evil spirits. To this unbelief then the Pharisees had come. For when the Saviour manifested the works of the Father, raising the dead, giving sight to the blind, and such like deeds, they said that these were the works of Beelzebub. As well might they say, looking at the order of the world and the providence exercised over it, that the world was created by Beelzebub. As long then as regarding human things they erred in knowledge, saying, Is not this the carpenter's son, and how knoweth this man things which he never learnt? He suffered them as sinning against the Son of man; but when they wax more furious, saying that the works of God are the works of Beelzebub, He no longer endured them. For thus also He endured their fathers so long as their murmurings were for bread and water; but when having found a calf, they impute to it the divine mercies they had received, they were punished. At first indeed multitudes of them were slain, afterwards He said indeed, Nevertheless, in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them. (Exod. 32:34.) Such then is the sentence passed upon the Pharisees, that in the flame prepared for the devil they shall be together with him everlastingly consumed. Not then to make comparison between a blasphemy spoken against Himself and the Holy Spirit said He these things, as if the Spirit were the greater, but each blasphemy being uttered against Him, He shows the one to be greater, the other less. For looking at Him as man they reviled Him, and said that His works were those of Beelzebub.

(Serm. 71.) Or if it were here said, "Who hath spoken any blasphemy whatever against the Holy Spirit," we ought then to understand thereby "all blasphemy;" but because it was said, who blasphemeth against the Holy Spirit, let it be understood of him that blasphemed not in any way, but in such a manner that it can never be pardoned him. For so when it was said, The Lord tempteth no man, (James 1:13.) that is not spoken of every, but only of a certain kind of temptation. Now what that kind of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is, let us sec. The first blessing of believers is forgiveness of sins in the Holy Spirit. Against this free gift the impenitent heart speaks. Impenitence itself therefore is blasphemy against the Spirit, which is neither forgiven in this world, nor in that which is to come; for repentance gains that forgiveness in this world which is to avail in the world to come.

And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him. He who is scandalized by my flesh, considering me only a man because I have James, Joseph, and Judas as brothers, and that I am a human glutton and wine drinker, such opinion and blasphemy, though not free from the guilt of error, has pardon because of the benefit of the body. But he who, clearly understanding the works of God since he cannot deny their power, yet stirred by envy, slanders them, and says that Christ and the works of the Holy Spirit are of Beelzebub, this one will not be forgiven, neither in this age nor in the age to come. Not that we deny that even he, if he were able to repent, could be forgiven by Him who wills all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, but we believe this blasphemer, due to his deserving merits, will never reach forgiveness nor the fruits of worthy repentance. As the evangelist John truly wrote about some who were blinded due to the merit of their blasphemy: Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them (John XII). Some indeed say that he who speaks the word or blasphemes against the Holy Spirit resists with an impenitent heart the unity of the Church where the forgiveness of sins is effected by the Holy Spirit, saying it is a remedy lest the blasphemy be irremissible, that an impenitent heart should be avoided. Of whom, many consider their opinion by no means firm, because obviously anyone who resists the unity of the Church with an impenitent heart, whether he is a Jew or a Gentile or even a heretic, can certainly have the remission of sins in the Holy Spirit, if he flees with a repentant heart to the unity of the Church. But they say that as long as someone resists the Spirit of grace with an impenitent heart, he does not have forgiveness. But the others object that this condition applies to all crimes. For as long as someone commits fornication, idolatry, adultery, male concubinage, theft, and other crimes, he does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God; but once these crimes have been forsaken, he can be washed, sanctified, justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God; so, they say, an impenitent person as long as he has an impenitent heart cannot have forgiveness; but as soon as he repents, he will also obtain forgiveness. And impenitence is found to be no more binding or irremissible than any other sins, which, remaining until repentance, will be erased once repentance is performed. However, only blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, by which someone in the likeness of the devil and his angels does not shudder to attack the majesty of the Deity against his own conscience, does not have forgiveness eternally, but will be guilty of an eternal offense. As the evangelist Mark clearly explains, who, having placed this testimony of the Lord, added and said: Because they were saying, He has an unclean spirit. For neither those who do not believe that the Holy Spirit exists, nor those who believe that He exists but is not God, nor those who believe that He is God but inferior to the Father and the Son, because they act out of human ignorance rather than diabolical envy, are held by this crime of irremissible blasphemy. Therefore, the leaders of the Jews, and all those corrupted by a similar plague of envy, blaspheme the majesty, and will perish without end. Read the first book of the blessed Augustine on the Sermon of the Lord on the Mount.

But lest from what He says, that those who have denied Him are to be denied, it should be supposed that the condition of all was alike, that is, both of those who deny deliberately, and those who deny from infirmity or ignorance, He immediately added, And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him.

Or else; Whoso saith that the works of the Holy Spirit are those of Beelzebub, it shall not be forgiven him either in the present world, or in that which is to come. Not that we deny that if he could come to repentance he could be forgiven by God, but that we believe that such a blasphemer as by the necessity of his deserts he would never come to forgiveness, so neither to the fruits themselves of a worthy repentance; according to that, He hath blinded their eyes, so that they should not be converted, and I should heal them. (Isa. 6:10.)

Nor however are all they who say that the Spirit is not holy, or is not God, but is inferior to the Father and the Son, involved in the crime of unpardonable blasphemy, because they are led to do it through human ignorance, not a demoniacal hatred, as the rulers of the Jews were.

Secondly, he admonishes to decline falsehood on account of the irremissibility of blasphemy, which, although it is remissible when committed through ignorance, is nevertheless irremissible when committed from certain malice. On account of which he says: And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him. Against the Son of man he speaks a word who imputes what is false, deceived through ignorance: and such ignorance can obtain remission. Whence it shall be forgiven does not denote the act, because not all repent, but the aptitude, because ignorance excuses. Moreover, sin from ignorance is said to be against the Son. And in this manner Paul blasphemed, and therefore obtained mercy; whence First Timothy one: "I was a blasphemer and a persecutor and insolent, but I obtained mercy, because I did these things ignorantly in unbelief."

But it is not so when someone blasphemes from deliberate malice; on account of which it is added: But he who shall have blasphemed against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven. He blasphemes against the Holy Spirit who from deliberate malice attacks the truth and says unworthy things of God; and of such a one it is said that it shall not be forgiven, not because such a one will never obtain forgiveness, but because he is unfit for forgiveness, because that sin has no color of excuse. Whence Richard says: "One person blasphemes from compulsion, and this one sins against the Father; another from deception, and this one against the Son; another from malice alone, and this one against the Holy Spirit. Moreover, the most wicked in this kind is that in which malice has grown to the utmost, when someone takes delight in reviling God. What else, then, does the spirit of blasphemy seem to be than the desire for divine revilement? From this, therefore, because this evil has nothing in itself of excuse, it deserves to receive nothing of forgiveness."

He is also unfit for forgiveness because he attacks divine grace, through which one is prepared for repentance; whence such a one is disposed to impenitence, in which if he perseveres, the fault will never be forgiven. Whence Bede says: "He who, not acknowledging the grace of the Holy Spirit by which repentance is inspired and return to communion is effected, shall have persevered with an impenitent heart—since this is now not human but diabolical—it shall be irremissible." And concerning such blasphemy, which has joined to it final impenitence, it is true that it shall never be forgiven. Whence in Matthew twelve it is said that "it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the age to come."

He is unfit, thirdly, nonetheless, because, although by appropriation it is appropriated to the Holy Spirit, such a one most greatly dishonors the whole Trinity. For he who knowingly and deliberately attacks the saving truth and from deliberate malice is the greatest despiser of divine power, the greatest calumniator of divine truth, the greatest persecutor of the highest goodness, according to that passage in Job fifteen: "He ran against God with an outstretched neck and was armed with a thick neck." Whence, because such contempt, calumny, and persecution cannot exist without hardness of heart, and impenitence accompanies this, and the irremissibility of sin accompanies that, therefore blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven.

The man who remains an unbeliever for such reasons is not in a state of honest error. He is in a state of dishonest error, and that dishonesty will spread through all his thoughts and actions: a certain shiftiness, a vague worry in the background, a blunting of his whole mental edge, will result. He has lost his intellectual virginity. Honest rejection of Christ, however mistaken, will be forgiven and healed—"Whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him." But to evade the Son of man, to look the other way, to pretend you haven't noticed, to become suddenly absorbed in something on the other side of the street, to leave the receiver off the telephone because it might be He who was ringing up, to leave unopened certain letters in a strange handwriting because they might be from Him—this is a different matter. You may not be certain yet whether you ought to be a Christian; but you do know you ought to be a man, not an ostrich, hiding its head in the sand.

He has taught us that blasphemy is the most wicked crime for people to commit. He said that whoever speaks a word against the Son of man will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. In what way is this to be understood? If the Savior means that if any one of us uses any scornful word toward some mere man, he will receive forgiveness if he repents, the matter is free from all difficulty. Since God is by nature good, he will free from blame all those who repent. If the declaration has reference to Christ, the Savior of all, how can he who has spoken against him be innocent or secure from condemnation? Some one who has not learned the meaning of his mystery or understood that being by nature God he humbled himself to our estate and became man may say something blasphemous to a certain extent against him. If this is not so wicked as to pass forgiveness, God will pardon those who have sinned from ignorance.…On another hand, condemnation and the eternal punishment both in this world and in that which is to come is inevitable for those who have blasphemed the Godhead itself. By "the Spirit," he means not only the Holy Spirit but also the whole nature of the Godhead, as understood [to consist] in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Savior also somewhere said, "God is a Spirit." Blasphemy against the Spirit is against the whole supreme substance. The nature of the Deity, as offered for our understanding in the holy and adorable Trinity, is one.

But if our Saviour means to imply, that if any injurious word is spoken by us against a common man, we shall obtain pardon if we repent, there is no difficulty in the passage, for since God is by nature merciful, He restores those who are willing to repent. But if the words are referred to Christ how is he not to be condemned who speaks a word against Him?

But if the Holy Spirit were a creature, and not of the divine substance of the Father and the Son, how does an injury committed against Him entail upon it so great a punishment as is denounced against those that blaspheme against God?

After deterring His disciples from denial of Himself, He adds an admonition to fear blasphemy: "Whosoever shall speak against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him." Now, if both the remission and the retention of sin savour of a judicial God, the Holy Ghost, who is not to be blasphemed, will belong to Him, who will not forgive the, blasphemy; just as He who, in the preceding passage, was not to be denied, belonged to, Him who would, after He had killed, also cast into hell.

This means: whoever speaks blasphemy against Me, who in appearance am a simple son of man, eating, drinking, associating with tax collectors and harlots, whether he repents or does not repent of his blasphemy, will be forgiven. For such a person's unbelief is not imputed to him as sin. For what did he see that would dispose him to faith? On the contrary, what did he not see that was worthy of blasphemy? He saw a man associating with harlots and speaks blasphemy against him, and therefore the sin is not imputed to him. For he could naturally think, what kind of Son of God is one who associates with harlots? Therefore, one who acts in this way and yet claims to be the Son of God, he may revile and call an impostor. But whoever, seeing Divine signs and great and extraordinary works, does not believe and reviles the actions of the Holy Spirit, attributing them to Beelzebub, that person, spewing forth "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit" and saying that these signs are performed by an evil spirit and not by God's, if he does not repent, will not be excused and forgiven. For the one who speaks blasphemy against the Son of Man, the sin is not imputed, and therefore he is forgiven even without repentance, but for the one who sees the works of the Spirit of God and blasphemes without repentance, it will not be forgiven, but will be imputed as the greatest sin.

The Christian should not fear or be distressed in difficult circumstances and thus be distracted from trust in God. He should take courage as if the Lord were at hand directing his affairs and strengthening him against all his adversaries. It is as if the Holy Spirit were instructing him even as to the very replies he should make to his enemies.

When they bring you into the synagogues, and to the rulers, and authorities. For He had said before: I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute.

Do not worry about how or what you are to answer, or what you are to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. Therefore, when we are brought before judges for Christ's sake, we should only offer our will for Christ; for Christ Himself who dwells in us, speaks for Himself, and the grace of the Holy Spirit in responding will be provided.

For when we are led for Christ's sake before judges, we ought to offer only our will for Christ, but in answering, the Holy Spirit will supply His grace, as it is added, For the Holy Spirit will leach you, &c.

But when they shall bring you in, etc. Here now, fourthly, he exhorts to having confidence against faintheartedness. And he does this by a twofold way, namely by removing anxiety about danger and by conferring certainty of protection.

First, therefore, he removes anxiety about danger, when he says: When they shall bring you into synagogues and to magistrates and powers: in which he indicates that the disciples would suffer tribulation from the Jews and the Gentiles. Whence in Matthew 10 this is said more expressly: "For they will deliver you up in councils and in synagogues" etc.; whence in the Psalm: "The kings of the earth stood up" etc.

And note that he enumerates three kinds of persons before whom a man fears to speak, namely before the many, before the learned, and before the powerful. Before the many, when he says: In synagogues: against which Job 31: "If I feared the great multitude, and the contempt of kinsmen terrified me." Before the learned, whence he adds: to magistrates: Acts 5: "Then the magistrate went with the officers and brought the Apostles." Before the powerful, when he adds: and powers: Romans 13: "Do you wish not to fear the power? Do what is good." The first are not to be feared, because "there are more with us," 4 Kings 6; the second are not, because one wiser is with us, since Acts 6: "They could not resist the wisdom and the spirit" etc.; likewise neither the third; 1 John 4: "You have overcome them, because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world."

And since it is dangerous to speak in the sight of a watchful multitude, and danger induces fears, and fear anxiety, and anxiety restlessness, and restlessness disturbance, and disturbance is the occasion of impatience and ruin: therefore he calls back from superfluous anxiety, when he adds: Be not anxious how or what you shall answer, namely to those "questioning" maliciously, or what you shall say, namely to those "wishing to learn"; in which word he does not remove the anxiety of studiousness, but of curiosity. Concerning which, Philippians 4: "Be anxious for nothing, but in every prayer with thanksgiving let your petitions be made known to God"; because, as is said in James 1, "if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God" etc. And this is especially to be done in the moment of necessity, where one should not seek ornament of words or profundity of sentences, but the pure and simple truth of faith set forth with great constancy and fervor: according to what is said in 1 Corinthians 2: "Our speech was not in the persuasive words of human wisdom" etc. He does not, however, intend to draw back from the study of truth, since he himself says in John 5: "Search the Scriptures, in which you think you have eternal life"; but he intends to persuade that a man in danger of death should not trust in his own wit, because man fails in discovering, errs in judging, and therefore frequently goes astray, leaning on his own wit. On account of which, Proverbs 3: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not upon your own prudence."

On martyrdom the Lord hath spoken explicitly, and what is written in different places we bring together. "But I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess in Me before men, the Son of man also shall confess before the angels of God; but whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I deny before the angels." "Whosoever shall be ashamed of Me or of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him shall the Son of man also be ashamed when He cometh in the glory of His Father with His angels. Whosoever therefore shall confess in Me before men, him will I also confess before my Father in heaven." "And when they bring you before synagogues, and rulers, and powers, think not: beforehand how ye shall make your defence, or what ye shall say. For the Holy Spirit shall teach you in the same hour what ye must say." ...But if the Spirit of the Father testifies in us, how can we be any more hypocrites, who are said to bear testimony with the voice alone? But it will be given to some, if expedient, to make a defence, that by their witness and confession all may be benefited-those in the Church being confirmed, and those of the heathen who have devoted themselves to the search after salvation wondering and being led to the faith; and the rest seized with amazement. So that confession is by all means necessary. For it is in our power. But to make a defence for our faith is not universally necessary. For that does not depend on us.

But the Lord after having inspired such great fear, and prepared men to resist those who depart from a right confession, commanded them for the rest to take no care what they should answer, because for those who are faithfully disposed, the Holy Spirit frames fit words, as their teacher, and dwelling within them. Whence it follows, And when they shall bring you into synagogues, take no thought how or what ye shall answer.

You must also know that the Holy Spirit empowers the martyrs to bear witness.… A person cannot testify as a martyr for Christ's sake except through the Holy Spirit. If "no man can say 'Jesus is Lord,' except in the Holy Spirit," will any man give his life for Jesus' sake except through the Holy Spirit?

(inter.) Now he says, how, with respect to the manner of speaking, what, with respect to the manner of intention. How ye shall answer to those who ask, or what ye shall say to those who wish to learn.

I would therefore beseech you, Pammachius, as a foremost lover of learning, and Marcella, as an outstanding examplar of Roman virtue, men who are bound together by faith and blood, to lend aid to my efforts by your prayers, in order that our Lord and Savior might in His own cause and by His mind make answer through my mouth. For it is He who says to the prophet, "Open thy mouth and I will fill it" (Psalm 81:10). For if He admonishes us, when we have been hailed before judges and tribunals, not to ponder what answer we are to give to them (Luke 12:11-12), how much more is He able to carry on His own war against blaspheming adversaries and through His servants to vanquish them?

(Hom. 33. in Matt.) But elsewhere it is said, Be ready to answer every one who shall ask you for a reason of the hope that is in you. When indeed a contest or strife arises among friends, He bids us take thought, but when there are the terrors of a court of justice and fear on every side, He gives His own strength so as to inspire boldness and utterance, but not dismay.

When "brought before magistrates," and examined, He forbids them "to take thought how they shall answer; ""for," says He, "the Holy Ghost shall teach you in that very hour what ye ought to say." If such an injunction as this comes from the Creator, the precept will only be His by whom an example was previously given.

Our weakness is of two kinds: we flee from the confession of faith either out of fear of punishments or out of simplicity and inability to give an answer for our faith. The fear of punishments the Lord healed with the words: "fear not them which kill the body." Now He heals the fear that comes from simplicity. Since few of the "wise after the flesh" (1 Cor. 1:26) believed, and the greater part were simple folk, He says: do not be afraid, you who are uneducated and simple, and do not worry how or what to answer when examined by a ruler, or what to say on another occasion — you will have a different manner of speech.

Since then our weakness is twofold, and either from fear of punishment we shun martyrdom, or because we are ignorant and can not give a reason of our faith, he has excluded both; the fear of punishment in that He said, Fear not them which kill the body, but the fear of ignorance, when He said, Take no thought how or what ye shall answer, &c.

Second, he confers certainty concerning assistance, when he adds: For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. Now this Spirit is the best teacher, because he teaches man to understand and to express himself eloquently. On account of the first, it is said in Job thirty-two: "The inspiration of the Almighty gives understanding"; and in John sixteen: "When that Spirit of truth shall come, he will teach you all truth," because, as is said in First Corinthians two, "The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God." On account of the second, it is said in Wisdom ten: "Wisdom opened the mouth of the mute," etc.; and in Matthew ten: "It is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father." Therefore the Apostle said in Second Corinthians thirteen: "Do you seek proof of Christ who speaks in me?"

Concerning these two things, below in chapter twenty-one: "I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to resist and contradict"; and in First John two: "The anointing teaches you concerning all things." Whence Bernard: "Reading is good, but better is the anointing, which teaches concerning all things." For the anointing teaches the love of God and neighbor, and on this "the whole Law hangs and the Prophets," according to what is said in Matthew twenty-two. The entire wisdom of philosophy also, as Augustine says, "herein is natural, moral, and civil philosophy." The Holy Spirit also, by making the soul cling to God, makes it intimate with himself, and through this causes secrets to be revealed; John fifteen: "But I have called you friends." Moreover, the fervor of the spirit elevates the soul above itself, where it hears and sees hidden things, as Paul, Second Corinthians twelve; as Ezekiel, three: "The spirit lifted me up," etc.; as John, Apocalypse one: "I was in the spirit," etc.

Therefore what need is there to worry, if in that hour you will be taught by the Holy Spirit? And so, from both sides He strengthens us for the feat of confession, healing both the fear of bodily weakness and the fear of simplicity and ignorance.

"I cannot of myself do anything: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just." Else we might have said to Him, "Thou wilt judge, and the Father will not judge, for 'all judgment hath He given to the Son;' It is not, therefore, according to the Father that Thou wilt judge." Hence He added, "I cannot of myself do anything: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not my own will, but the will of Him that sent me."

Undoubtedly the Son quickeneth whom He will. He seeketh not His own will, but the will of Him that sent Him. Not my own, my proper will; not mine, not the Son of man's; not mine to resist God. For men do their own will, not God's, when they do what they list, not what God commands; but when they do what they list, so as yet to follow God's will, they do not their own will, notwithstanding they do what they list to do. Do what thou art bidden willingly, and thus shalt thou both do what thou wiliest, and also not do thine own will, but His that biddeth.

"I cannot of myself do anything; as I hear I judge, and my judgment is just." If as Thou hearest Thou judgest, of whom dost Thou hear? If of the Father, yet surely "the Father judgeth not any man, but hath given all judgment to the Son." When dost Thou, being in a manner the Father's herald, declare what Thou hearest? I speak what I hear, because what the Father is, that I am: for, indeed, speaking is my function; because I am the Father's Word.

For this Christ says to thee. Thereupon, of thine. What is "As I hear I judge," but "As I am"? For in what manner does Christ hear? Let us inquire, brethren, I beg of you. Does Christ hear of the Father? How doth the Father speak to Him? Undoubtedly, if He speaks to Him, He uses words to Him; for every one who says something to any one, says it by a word. How doth the Father speak to the Son, seeing that the Son is the Father's Word? Whatever the Father says to us, He says it by His Word: the Word of the Father is the Son; by what other word, then, doth He speak to the Word Himself? God is one, has one Word, contains all things in one Word. What does that mean, then, "As I hear, I judge"? Just as I am of the Father, so I judge. Therefore "my judgment is just."

"Because I seek not my own will, but the will of Him that sent me." The Only Son saith, "I seek not my own will," and yet men desire to do their own will! To such a degree does He who is equal to the Father humble Himself; and to such a degree does He extol Himself, who lies in the lowest depth, and cannot rise except a hand is reached to Him! Let us then do the will of the Father, the will of the Son, the will of the Holy Ghost; because of this Trinity there is one will, one power, one majesty. Yet for that reason saith the Son, "I came not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me;" because Christ is not of Himself, but of the Father. But what He had that He might appear as a man, He assumed of the creature which He himself formed.

(Tr. xix. s. 19) We were about to ask Christ, Thou wilt judge, and the Father not judge: wilt not Thou then judge according to the Father? He anticipates us by saying, I can of Mine own Self do nothing.

(Tr. xxiii. s. 15) When He spoke of the resurrection of the soul, He did not say, Hear, but, See. (v. 19) Hear implies a command issuing from the Father. He speaks as man, who is inferior to the Father.

(Serm. contr. Arrian. c. 9. [xiv.]) As I hear, I judge, is said with reference either to His human subordination, as the Son of man, or to that immutable and simple nature of the Sonship derived from the Father; in which nature hearing and seeing is identical with being. (ut sup. c. xvii.). Wherefore as He hears, He judges. The Word is begotten one with the Father, and therefore judges according to truth. (c. xviii). It follows, And My judgment is just, because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent Me. This is intended to take us back to that man (sc. Adam.) who, by seeking his own will, not the will of Him who made him, did not judge himself justly, but had a just judgment pronounced upon him. He did not believe that, by doing his own will, not God's, he should die. So he did his own will, and died; because the judgment of God is just, which judgment the Son of God executes, by not seeking His own will, i. e. His will as being the Son of man. Not that He has no will in judging, but His will is not His own in such sense, as to be different from the Father's.

(Tr. xix. 19.) I seek not then Mine own will, i. e. the will of the Son of man, in opposition to God: for men do their own will, not God's, when, to do what they wish, they violate God's commands. But when they so do what they wish, as at the same time to follow the will of God, they do not their own will. Or, I seek not Mine own will: i. e. because I am not of myself, but of the Father.

(Tr. xxi) The only Son says, I seek not Mine own will: and yet men wish to do their own will. Let us do the will of the Father, Christ, and Holy Ghost: for these have one will, power, and majesty.

"I cannot of myself do anything." Here the third point is touched upon, namely how he judges: because justly, not according to his own will by declining from the will of God, as men do who pervert judgment. Therefore he says: "I cannot of myself do anything," and thus neither judge; but "as I hear, I judge," that is, as I receive from the Father, and from this it follows that he judges justly. Therefore he says: "And my judgment is just," because it does not decline from the rule of justice through discord of will; and this is: "Because I do not seek my own will," in judging, namely, "but the will of him who sent me," that is, of God the Father, who is just; whence below in chapter 8: "He who sent me is truthful"; and afterward: "I always do the things that are pleasing to him"; and therefore justly, because, Deuteronomy 32: "God is faithful and without any iniquity, just and right"; in the Psalm: "The Lord is just in all his ways," etc.

Likewise, concerning the manner of judging: that he judges as he hears. Against: Isaiah 11: "He shall not judge according to the hearing of the ears." Likewise he says that not according to his own will, but God's: therefore his will is discordant from the will of God. I respond to the first: He does not judge according to exterior hearing and report, but according to interior hearing and paternal illumination. To the second it must be said that this has two grounds of truth: "I do not seek my own" singular will, either because he has it but does not seek it, or because he does not have it nor does he seek it: and he speaks in this latter sense, while the objector objects in the first sense.

CHAPTER IX. That the Son is in nothing inferior to God the Father, but is of Equal Might in Operation unto all things as God of God.

Give more exact heed again to the things said, and receive the force of its thought with intelligence. For the Jews not knowing the deep Mystery of the economy of flesh, nor yet acknowledging the Word of God indwelling in the Temple of the Virgin, were often excited by zeal, mistaken and not according to knowledge, as Paul saith, to savageness of manners and fierce anger: and indeed were attempting to stone Him, for that He, being a Man, was making Himself God, and again because He said that God was His Father, making Himself Equal with God. But since they were thus hard of understanding and utterly unable to endure God-befitting words, but both thought and spake meanly of Him, the Saviour by an economy acts the child with them, and made His explanation a mixed one, neither wholly foregoing words befitting God, nor altogether rejecting human language: but having said something worthy of His Divine Authority, He forthwith represses the untutored mind of the hearers, by bringing in something human also; and again having said something human by reason of the economy, He suffers not what belongs to Him to be seen in mean estate only, showing often by His Superhuman Might and Words that He is by Nature God. Some such contrivance will you find now too in the passage at present before us. For what did He say before? For as the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, so the Son too quickeneth whom He will, next again, For the hour is coming in the which all that are in their graves shall hear His Voice; and besides, that they shall also come forth to be judged and to receive their reward according to their works. But He That saith He can quicken whom He will, and in like manner as the Father: how shall He not be conceived of as clothed with Might befitting God? He Who openly says that He will be Judge of all, how shall He not with justice terrify those who deem that He is yet bare Man? For it was like that they being Hebrews and instructed in the Sacred Writings, should not be entirely ignorant that God should be Judge of the world, since they too sang often, Arise, O God, judge the earth, and again, For God is the Judge.

Since then He knew that the ignorant people of the Jews were vexed at these things, He rids them of their accustomed anger by saying in more human language, I can of Mine Own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge. As far then as one can say, taking the words superficially, He derides the understanding of the Jews. For the form of expression gives the idea of a sort of weakness, and of authority not altogether free; but it is not so in truth, since the Son being Equal in all things to the Father, hath by Nature the same Operation and Authority in respect to all things. But He saith that He can do nothing of Himself, but as He heareth, so He judgeth: in another way again showing Himself Equal in Mind and Power to God the Father.

For neither will the Father be conceived of as doing anything without the Son, Alone and by Himself, seeing He hath Him as His Might and Power (therefore all things were made by Him, and without Him was not made any one thing) nor will the Son again do ought of Himself, the Father not co-with Him. Therefore He saith also, Of Myself I do nothing; but the Father That dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works. And we shall not suppose that the Son is strengthened by the Father, as though weak, and again that authority over all things is given Him: for then |276 would He be no longer God by Nature, as having the glory of the Godhead bestowed; but neither would the Father Himself still exist in unimpaired excellency of good things, if He had the Word, the Impress of His Nature, such as to require Power and Authority from another. For a giver of the things spoken of will be sought for analogously for the Image and Archetype, and thus in short our argument will go forth into boundless controversy, and will run out into the deep sea of blasphemy. But since the Son being of the Essence of the Father takes to Himself by Nature all the Properties of Him who begat Him, and Essentially attains to one Godhead with Him, by reason of Identity of Nature, He is in the Father, and hath again the Father in Himself: wherefore He frequently, Unblamed and Truly, attributes to the Father the Power of His Own Works, not excluding Himself from the power of doing them but attributing all things to the Operation of the One Godhead: for One is the Godhead in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

And that the Son is not inferior to the Father either in Power or Operation unto ought, but is Like in all things and of Equal Might, has been demonstrated by us elsewhere, on the words, The Son can do nothing of Himself but what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever He doeth, these doeth the Son too likewise. But since I think it just and becoming, to display the most devoted zeal in Divine doctrines; come let us after the custom of sailors on the sea wind back anew (as a cable) the whole argument of the chapter. For in this way one may see, that the Son does not accuse His Own Nature by saying that He can do nothing of Himself, but rather exposes the folly of the Jews, and plainly shows that they trample on the law of Moses. For in that to the words, I can do nothing of Myself, is immediately subjoined, As I hear, I judge, it frees the Son from all reproach of not being able to act of His Own Power: rather it shows clearly that He is in all things Filial and Consentient with Him Who begat Him. For if as though impotent He were borrowing His Power of the Father, as not having sufficient of Himself: how ought He not rather to say, I can of Mine Own Self do nothing, I receive the power of my Father? But now as He does not say this, but rather adds to the being able to do nothing of Himself, that He so judges as He hears, it is evident that not in respect of weakness of operation as to ought, does He put that He cannot, but by reason of impossibility of transgressing in anything the Will of the Father. For since One Godhead is conceived of in the Father and the Son, the Will too (I suppose) will be surely the Same; and neither in the Father, nor yet in the Son or the Holy Ghost will the Divine Nature be conceived of as at variance with Itself; but whatsoever seemeth good to the Father (for example), this is the Will of the Whole Godhead.

Needs therefore does the Son introduce Himself as co-approving and consenting to the Father in whatever seemeth good to Him, explaining that He cannot do anything which is not altogether according to the Mind of the Father, for this is the meaning of Of Myself . Just as if He should say that He cannot commit sin, He would not rightly seem to any to incur the charge of weakness, but rather to set forth a wondrous and God-befitting Property of His Own Nature (for He gives to understand that He is Immoveable and Unchangeable): so when He acknowledges that He can do nothing of Himself, we shall rather be awestruck as seeing Unchangeableness the fruit of the Unchangeable Nature, than unseasonably account the not being able to be a mark of weakness.

Let these things be said by us conformably to our own ability, and let the lover of learning search out for better: but we will not shrink from interpreting the saying in another way too, lowering our manner of speech a little from the bounds of the Godhead and the Excellence of the Only-Begotten: and since the Son truly was and was called Man, translating the force of the passage to the economy with Flesh, and showing that what follows is akin and connected with what preceded. Therefore He clearly testified that all that are in the graves shall hear His Voice, and that they shall come forth to be judged. When He has once begun on the subject of His judging the world, He not only promises to be a righteous Judge at that time, in which He says the Resurrection of the dead will take place, but also declares that even now He judges rightly and justly of matters in this life. What was the question and of what the discourse, hear. For our sakes was He born of a woman: for as Paul saith, He taketh not hold of angels, but of the seed of Abraham, wherefore it behoved Him in all things to be made like unto His brethren. But since He was made Man and in servant's form, He the Law-giver as God and Lord is made under the Law also. He speaks then sometimes as under the Law, sometimes again as above the Law, and hath undisputed authority for both. But He is discoursing now with the Jews as Law-keeper and Man, as not able to transgress the commands ordered from above, nor venturing to do ought of His Own Mind, which does not agree with the Divine Law. Wherefore He says, I can of Mine own self do nothing; as I hear, I judge. By testifying to Himself that He can do nothing of Himself, which is not wholly in accordance with the Law, and that He judges and gives sentence in matters, according as He hears, to wit by declaration of the Law, He exposes the unbelief of the Jews, and lays bare their headstrong habit. For this too the words I can of Mine own self do nothing, well hint at, as contrasting with, YE recklessly transgress the commandments given you, ye were bold to do all things of yourselves, fearlessly, and in every matter are ye zealous to give judgments not consonant to the Divine decrees. For ye teach for doctrines the commandments of men, and make your own will a law.

What then is the aim of this way of speaking, or how He introduces Himself as judging justly, and they not, shall be told next. He had healed the paralytic on the Sabbath day, He compassionated a man who had spent long time in sickness, showing forth right and good judgment upon him. For it was right to pity the sick man even on the sabbath day, and by no means to shut up His compassion from reverence for the sabbath day, practising a most vain piety. As the Father too works even on the sabbath day in regard of His economy towards His creatures, and that surely through the Son, so doth Himself also. For neither did He think that a man who needed compassion on the sabbath day ought to be deprived of it, by reason of the Sabbath, since He knew that the Son of Man was Lord of the sabbath. For not man was made for the sabbath, but the sabbath for man. Therefore righteous herein and good is the judgment of the Saviour, not restraining by reason of the sabbath His Loving-Kindness to the prostrate, but that which as God He knows how to perform (for the Divine Nature is the Fountain of Goodness), this He did even on the sabbath day: but the judgment of the Jews upon Him in that they were vexed on account of the sabbath, and therefore desired to kill Him Who had done them no wrong, how is not this exceedingly dissonant to the Divine Laws (for it is written, The innocent and righteous slay thou not) and the invention rather of their cruelty, and not of the holy Scriptures?

Understand then that Jesus says with a kind of emphasis to those who were angry at His deeds of good and found fault with His holy judgments, following only their own imaginations, and so to speak defining as law that which seemed to them to be right even though it be contrary to the Law:---- I can of Mine Own Self do nothing, i. e., I do all things according to the Law set forth by Moses, I endure not to do anything of Myself, as I hear, I judge. For what willeth the Law? Ye shall not respect persons in judgment, for the judgment is God's. why then (saith He) are ye angry at Me because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day, and condemn not Moses who decreed that children should be circumcised even on the sabbath. Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the Law of Moses should not be broken, thus without due cause are ye vexed at seeing a man every whit healed on the sabbath day? I therefore judged justly, but ye by no means so, for ye do all things of yourselves. But I can of Mine Own Self do nothing; as I hear, I judge, and My Judgment is just, because I seek not Mine Own Will, as ye do, but the Will of the Father Which sent Me.

What manner of sending this is, and the mode of the being sent, we having before spoken of at length, will refrain from speaking any more thereof. But we must observe for profit's sake that He says that the Law is the Will of God the Father.

Since the Son is of one essence with the Father, by his nature he possesses all the characteristics of him who begat him and essentially attains to one Godhead with him by reason of [his] nature. He is in the Father, and likewise he has the Father in himself. Thus, he [properly] attributes to the Father the power of his own works, not excluding himself from the power of doing them but attributing all things to the operation of the one Godhead. For there is one Godhead in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.… Since he was made man and in the form of a servant he, who as God and Lord is the lawgiver, is himself also made under the law. Therefore, sometimes he exists as though under the law and sometimes as though above the law—and has undisputed authority for both. But, he is speaking now with the Jews as a law-abiding man, as one who is not able to transgress the commands ordered from above or venturing to do anything of his own mind that is contrary to the divine law. This is why he says, "I can do nothing on my own authority; as I hear, I judge."

As therefore the Lord does nothing without the Father, for says He, "I can of mine own self do nothing," so do ye, neither presbyter, nor deacon, nor layman, do anything without the bishop. Nor let anything appear commendable to you which is destitute of his approval. For every such thing is sinful, and opposed [to the will of] God. Do ye all come together into the same place for prayer. Let there be one common supplication, one mind, one hope, with faith unblameable in Christ Jesus, than which nothing is more excellent. Do ye all, as one man, run together into the temple of God, as unto one altar, to one Jesus Christ, the High Priest of the unbegotten God.

For as we do direct our faith towards the Son, so also should we possess a firm and immoveable love towards the Father. In his book against Marcion, Justin does well say: "I would not have believed the Lord Himself, if He had announced any other than He who is our framer, maker, and nourisher. But because the only-begotten Son came to us from the one God, who both made this world and formed us, and contains and administers all things, summing up His own handiwork in Himself, my faith towards Him is steadfast, and my love to the Father immoveable, God bestowing both upon us."

"I can of Mine own self do nothing; as I hear I judge, and My judgment is just, because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of Him which sent Me."

For since He appeared to make some assertions strange and varying from those of the Prophets, (for they said that it is God who judgeth all the earth, that is, the human race; and this truth David everywhere loudly proclaimed, "He shall judge the people in righteousness," and, "God is a righteous Judge, strong and patient"; as did all the Prophets and Moses; but Christ said, "The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son": an expression which was sufficient to perplex a Jew who heard it, and to make him in turn suspect Christ of being an enemy of God,) He here greatly condescendeth in His speech, and as far as their infirmity requireth, in order to pluck up by the roots this pernicious opinion, and saith, "I can of Myself do nothing"; that is, "nothing strange, or unlike, or what the Father desireth not will ye see done or hear said by Me."

As then when He said above, "We speak that we have heard, and testify that we have seen"; and when John said, "What He hath seen He testifieth, and no man receiveth His testimony"; both expressions are used respecting exact knowledge, not concerning hearing and seeing merely; so in this place when He speaketh of "hearing," He declareth nothing else than that it is impossible for Him to desire anything, save what the Father desireth. Still He said not so plainly, (for they would not as yet have at once received it on hearing it thus asserted;) and how? in a manner very condescending and befitting a mere man, "As I hear I judge." Again He useth these words in this place, not with reference to "instruction," (for He said not, "as I am taught," but "as I hear";) nor as though He needed to listen, (for not only did He not require to be taught, but He needed not even to listen;) but it was to declare the Unanimity and Identity of His and the Father's decision, as though He had said, "So I judge, as if it were the Father Himself that judged." Then He addeth, "and I know that My judgment is just, because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me." What sayest Thou? Hast Thou a will different from that of the Father? Yet in another place He saith, "As I and Thou are One," (speaking of will and unanimity,) "grant to these also that they may be one in Us"; that is, "in faith concerning Us." Seest thou that the words which seem most humble are those which conceal a high meaning? For what He implieth is of this kind: not that the will of the Father is one, and His own another; but that, "as one will in one mind, so is Mine own will and My Father's."

And marvel not that He hath asserted so close a conjunction; for with reference to the Spirit also Paul hath used this illustration: "What man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." Thus Christ's meaning is no other than this: "I have not a will different and apart from that of the Father, but if He desireth anything, then I also; if I, then He also. As therefore none could object to the Father judging, so neither may any to Me, for the sentence of Each is given from the same Mind." And if He uttereth these words rather as a man, marvel not, seeing that they still deemed Him to be mere man. Therefore in passages like these it is necessary not merely to enquire into the meaning of the words, but also to take into account the suspicion of the hearers, and listen to what is said as being addressed to that suspicion. Otherwise many difficulties will follow.

"I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him that sent Me. And I did not come down from heaven to do My own will, but the will of Him that sent Me." These things were spoken when He was fulfilling within Himself perfection, in order that spiritual beings who are outside the world might understand that not only to natural parents should they not be obedient and keep in subjection unto them, but also that they should not be persuaded by their own will, neither by their own wants and pleasures in any thing, but that they should deny themselves, even as it was said by the Redeemer, "Whosoever denieth not himself cannot be My disciple."

These words: "I can do nothing of Myself" and others like them, as was said above, point to the equality of the Son with the Father. I can do nothing new or foreign from the Father; for I have neither a will nor a power distinct from the Father's. "As I hear" from the Father, "so I judge," that is, as the Father Himself judges, so do I. He says this, as we have often said, in order to show impartiality both in deeds, and in words, and in judgments. Lest some, seeing Him as a Man, should be scandalized — how can one who appears as a Man render righteous judgment, when, in the words of David, "every man is a liar" (Ps. 116:2) — He said beforehand: "Do not marvel at this, that I am the Son of Man." And now He says: "My judgment is righteous, because I judge as I hear from My Father, who judges." "For I seek not My own will, but the will of the Father." He who desires to establish his own will may be suspected of violating justice, but he who does not have himself in view — what motive would he have to pronounce an unrighteous judgment? And I do not seek My own will, for I do not even have a will of My own, but what the Father wills, that I also desire.

Then when he says, I cannot do anything of myself, he gives the reason for what he has just said. Now he had spoken of two things: the origin of his power, and the justness of his judgment. Consequently, he mentions the reason for each.

The first point, when he says, I cannot do anything of myself, can be understood in two ways, even according to Augustine. First, as referring to the Son of Man in this manner: You say that you have the power to raise the dead because you are the Son of Man. But do you have this power precisely because you are the Son of Man? No, because I cannot do anything of myself, but I judge only as I hear it. He does not say, "as I see," as he said above; "The Son cannot do anything of himself, but only what he sees the Father doing" (5:19). But he does say, as I hear it: for in this context "to hear" is the same as "to obey." Now to obey belongs to one who receives a command, while to command pertains to one who is superior. Accordingly, because Christ, as man, is inferior to the Father, he says, as I hear it, i.e., as infused into my soul by God. We read of this kind of hearing in Psalm 84 (v 9): "I will hear what the Lord God says in me." But above he said "sees," because he was then speaking of himself as the Word of God.

Then when he says, and my judgment is just, he shows the justness of his judgment. For he had said: "Those who have done well will come forth to a resurrection of life." But some might say: Will he be partial and uneven when he punishes and rewards? So he answers: No, saying: my judgment is just; and the reason is because I am not seeking my own will, but the will of him who sent me. For there are two wills in our Lord Jesus Christ: one is a divine will, which is the same as the will of the Father; the other is a human will, which is proper to himself, just as it is proper to him to be a man. A human will is borne to its own good; but in Christ it was ruled and regulated by right reason, so that it would always be conformed in all things to the divine will. Accordingly he says: I am not seeking my own will, which as such is inclined to its own good, but the will of him who sent me, that is, the Father: "I have desired to do your will, my God" (Ps 39:9); "Not as I will, but as you will" (Mt 26:39).

If this is carefully considered, the Lord is assigning the true nature of a just judgment, saying: because I am not seeking my own will. For one's judgment is just when it is passed according to the norm of law. But the divine will is the norm and the law of the created will. And so, the created will, and the reason, which is regulated according to the norm of the divine will, is just, and its judgment is just.

Secondly, it is explained as referring to the Son of God; and then the aforesaid division still remains the same. Thus Christ, as the Divine Word showing the origin of his power, says: I cannot do anything of myself, in the way he said above, "the Son cannot do anything of himself" (5:19). For his very doing and his power are his being (esse); but being (esse) in him is from another, that is, from his Father. And so, just as he is not of himself (a se), so of himself he cannot do anything: "I do nothing of myself" (below 8:28).

His statement, I judge only as I hear it, is explained as his previous statement, "only what he sees the Father doing" (above 5:19). For we acquire science or any knowledge through sight and hearing (for these two senses are those most used in learning). But because sight and hearing are different in us, we acquire knowledge in one way through sight, that is, by discovering things, and in a different way through hearing, that is, by being taught. But in the Son of God, sight and hearing are the same; thus, when he says either "sees" or "hears," the meaning is the same so far as the acquisition of knowledge is concerned. And because judgment in any intellectual nature comes from knowledge, he says significantly, I judge only as I hear it, i.e., as I have acquired knowledge together with being from the Father, so I judge: "Everything I have heard from my Father I have made known to you" (below 15:15).

Showing the justness of his judgment he says: and my judgment is just: the reason being, because I am not seeking my own will. But do not the Father and the Son have the same will? I answer that the Father and the Son do have the same will, but the Father does not have his will from another, whereas the Son does have his will from another, i.e., from the Father. Thus the Son accomplishes his own will as from another, i.e., as having it from another; but the Father accomplishes his will as his own, i.e., not having it from another. Thus he says: I am not seeking my own will, that is, such as would be mine if it originated from myself, but my will, as being from another, that is from the Father.

Or thus; Christ, being both God and man, He shows the proper existence of both, by sometimes speaking according to the nature he took from man, sometimes according to the majesty of the Godhead. If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true: this is to be understood of His humanity; the sense being, If I, a man, bear witness of Myself, i. e. without God, My witness is not true: and then follows, There is another that beareth witness of Me. The Father bore witness of Christ, by the voice which was heard at the baptism, and at the transfiguration on the mount. And I know that His witness is true; because He is the God of truth. How then can His witness be otherwise than true?

(de Verb. Dom. s. 43) He knew Himself that His witness of Himself was true, but in compassion to the weak and unbelieving, the Sun sought for candles, that their weak sight might not be dazzled by His full blaze. And therefore John was brought forward to give his testimony to the truth. Not that there is such testimony really, for whatever witnesses bear witness to Him, it is really He who bears witness to Himself; as it is His dwelling in the witnesses, which moves them so to give their witness to the truth.

This is the fourth part of the chapter, in which is determined the corroboration of the aforesaid refutation, which was made by manifold testimony approving what the Lord said above. And this part has two sections: because first is adduced the certainty of the testimonies; second, the rebuke of the unbelieving Jews. The first part has two sections: because first the Lord, although he could adduce his own testimony, declines; second, he adduces the testimonies of others.

He therefore declines his own testimony, because they would not believe it, regarding it as uncertain: whence he says: "If I bear witness of myself, my testimony is not true," that is, it is not efficacious for believing, especially if I alone bear witness; whence below in chapter eight: "The Pharisees said to him: You bear witness of yourself; your testimony is not true." Yet true testimonies are not lacking to me.

It is asked concerning what he says: "If I bear testimony concerning myself, my testimony is not true." To the contrary: Numbers 23: "God is not as a man, that he should lie": therefore if Christ is God, therefore etc. Likewise, below in the eighth chapter: "If I bear testimony concerning myself, my testimony is true": and here he says that it is not true: therefore etc. The response to this is threefold. The first response is by pressing upon the subject: if I according to human nature bear witness concerning myself, my testimony is not true; it is nevertheless true according to the divine. But this does not resolve the matter, because just as he does not lie according to the divine nature, neither does he according to the human. Therefore the response is given by pressing upon the predicate: "my testimony is not true," that is, it is not efficacious nor will it be accepted as true; nevertheless it is true, because I speak the truth. And so it is understood such that it is called true according to the reality, but not true according to the Jews' acceptance. Otherwise the response is that this word is to be understood precisely: "if I bear witness concerning myself," supply: I alone, my testimony is not efficacious; but if I with another, it is efficacious; whence he says below: "Because I am not alone." Therefore, since above he had commended himself by his own testimony, showing his power, to strengthen this he brings forward the testimonies of others.

Think you that my testimony of myself is better than that of God? when the Lord Himself teaches, and says that testimony is not true, if any one himself appears as a witness concerning himself, for the reason that every one would assuredly favour himself. Nor would any one put forward mischievous and adverse things against himself, but there may be a simple confidence of truth if, in what was announced of us, another is the announcer and witness. "If," He says, "I bear witness of myself, my testimony is not true; but there is another who beareth witness of me." but if the Lord Himself, who will by and by judge all things, was unwilling to be believed on His own testimony, but preferred to be approved by the judgment and testimony of God the Father, how much more does it be-hove His servants to observe this, who are not only approved by, but even glory in the judgment and testimony of God! But with you the fabrication of hostile and malignant men has prevailed against the divine decree, and against our conscience resting upon the strength of its faith, as if among lapsed and profane persons placed outside the Church, from whose breasts the Holy Spirit has departed, there could be anything else than a depraved mind and a deceitful tongue, and venomous hatred, and sacrilegious lies, which whosoever believes, must of necessity be found with them when the day of judgment shall come.

The most wise Solomon, gathering together the things in which a man may very reasonably glory, and show his manner of life to be enviable, and placing them before those who are apt to learn, says, The righteous man is his own accuser in the opening of the trial, and again, Let thy neighbour praise thee and not thine own mouth, a stranger and not thine own lips. For a thing truly burdensome and most intolerable to the hearers, is it that some like not to be praised by the voice of others, but attest unrestrainedly their own most noble and excellent deeds. But with reason is such language distrusted; for we are wont to be invited by certain (so to speak) natural and necessary drawings of self-love, readily to ascribe to ourselves nought that is ill, but ever to put about us and not altogether truthfully, the things whereby any may be thought well-behaved and good.

When then our Lord Jesus Christ adjudged to Himself that He judgeth righteous judgments, saying openly that He could do nothing of Himself, but that He makes the Will of the Father His Rule in all His Actions, and in saying this, introduced Himself as witness to Himself, although it was true, yet of necessity considering the sophistry of the Pharisees, and what they would say in their folly (for they knew not that He is God by Nature): He anticipates them in putting it forward, and says, Ye following the practice of the common people, and not advancing beyond surmise befitting Jews, will surely say, THOU bearest record of Thyself, Thy record is not true; but ye shall hear this in reply (saith He), I endure yet with your blasphemies, I am by no means exceeding angry with you belching forth your words from the ignorance most dear to you, I grant you for argument's sake, that even this hath been well said by you: Be it so, ye reject My Voice, there is Another That beareth witness of Me. He here indicates God the Father Which is in heaven Who hath now in divers manners attested the Verity of the Essence of His Own Son; and He says that He knows that His witness is True showing that His Own Judgement too is in fact most trustworthy and true. For lest by admitting as it were that He said things untrue of Himself, He should give room for malice, and a loophole against Himself to them who are accustomed to think otherwise, He having ceded of necessity to what is becoming and customary, that one ought not altogether to credit as true him who praises and approves himself, returns again as God to His due position and says that He knows that the witness of the Father is true, all bat teaching this; I being Very God know Myself (says Ho), and the Father will say nothing of favour concerning Me. For I am Such by Nature, as He, being True, will declare Me. In the former part then there was an assent so to say of condescension, and the words hypothetic rather than true; in His saying that He knows that the witness of the Father is true, is the demonstration of God-befitting credibility.

But it must be observed that in respect of His Own Person the Father is Other than the Son, and is not, as some uninstructed heretics have imagined, introduced as the Son-Father.

The Only-begotten God shows Himself to be the Son, on the testimony not of man only, but of His own power. The works which He does, bear witness to His being sent from the Father. Therefore the obedience of the Son and the authority of the Father are set forth in Him who was sent. But the testimony of works not being sufficient evidence, it follows, And the Father Himself which has sent Me, has borne witness of Me. Open the Evangelic volumes, and examine their whole range: no testimony of the Father to the Son is given in any of the books, other than that He is the Son. So what a calumny is it in men now saying that this is only a name of adoption: thus making God a liar, and names unmeaning.

If any one unpracticed in the art undertake to work a mine, he will get no gold, but confounding all aimlessly and together, will undergo a labor unprofitable and pernicious: so also they who understand not the method of Holy Scripture, nor search out its peculiarities and laws, but go over all its points carelessly and in one manner, will mix the gold with earth, and never discover the treasure which is laid up in it. I say this now because the passage before us containeth much gold, not indeed manifest to view, but covered over with much obscurity, and therefore by digging and purifying we must arrive at the legitimate sense. For who would not at once be troubled at hearing Christ say, "If I testify of Myself, My witness is not true"; inasmuch as He often appeareth to have testified of Himself? For instance, conversing with the Samaritan woman He said, "I Am that speak unto thee": and in like manner to the blind man, "It is He that talketh with thee"; and rebuking the Jews, "Ye say, thou blasphemest, because I said I am the Son of God." And in many other places besides He doth this. If now all these assertions be false, what hope of salvation shall we have? And where shall we find truth when Truth Itself declareth, "My witness is not true"? Nor doth this appear to be the only contradiction; there is another not less than this. He saith farther on, "Though I bear witness of Myself, yet My witness is true"; which then, tell me, am I to receive, and which deem a falsehood? If we take them out thus [from the context] simply as they are said, without carefully considering the person to whom nor the cause for which they are said, nor any other like circumstances, they will both be falsehoods. For if His witness be "not true," then this assertion is not true either, not merely the second, but the first also. What then is the meaning? We need great watchfulness, or rather the grace of God, that we rest not in the mere words; for thus the heretics err, because they enquire not into the object of the speaker nor the disposition of the hearers. If we add not these and other points besides, as times and places and the opinions of the listeners, many absurd consequences will follow.

The Jews were about to object to Him, "If thou bearest witness concerning thyself, thy witness is not true": therefore He spake these words in anticipation; as though He had said, "Ye will surely say to Me, we believe thee not; for no one that witnesseth of himself is readily held trustworthy among men." So that the "is not true" must not be read absolutely, but with reference to their suspicions, as though He had said, "to you it is not true"; and so He uttered the words not looking to His own dignity, but to their secret thoughts. When He saith, "My witness is not true," He rebuketh their opinion of Him, and the objection about to be urged by them against Him; but when He saith, "Though I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true," He declareth the very nature of the thing itself, namely, that as God they ought to deem Him trustworthy even when speaking of Himself.

For since He had spoken of the resurrection of the dead, and of the judgment, and that he that believeth on Him is not judged, but cometh unto life, and that He shall sit to require account of all men, and that He hath the same Authority and Power with the Father; and since He was about again otherwise to prove these things, He necessarily put their objection first. "I told you," He saith, "that 'as the Father raiseth the dead and quickeneth them, so the Son quickeneth whom He will'; I told you that 'the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son'; I told you that men must 'honor the Son as they honor the Father'; I told you that 'he that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father'; I told you that 'he that heareth My words and believeth them shall not see death, but hath passed from death unto life'; that My voice shall raise the dead, some now, some hereafter; that I shall demand account from all men of their transgressions, that I shall judge righteously, and recompense those who have walked uprightly." Now since all these were assertions, since the things asserted were important, and since no clear proof of them had as yet been afforded to the Jews but one rather indistinct, He putteth their objection first when He is about to proceed to establish His assertions, speaking somewhat in this way if not in these very words: "Perhaps ye will say, thou assertest all this, but thou art not a credible witness, since thou testifiest of thyself." First then checking their disputatious spirit by setting forth what they would say, and showing that He knew the secrets of their hearts, and giving this first proof of His power, after stating the objection He supplieth other proofs clear and indisputable, producing three witnesses to what He said, namely, the works wrought by Him, the witness of the Father, and the preaching of John.

No one who comes on the authority of another establishes that authority as his own but rather guards against such an understanding, for first must come the support of the one who gives him his authority. Now, [Christ] will not be acknowledged as Son if the Father never called him this. Nor will people believe he is the sent One if no sender gave him a commission.

It is true that he tells us himself that he was a persecutor before he became an apostle, still this is not enough for any man who examines before he believes, since even the Lord Himself did not bear witness of Himself. But let them believe without the Scriptures, if their object is to believe contrary to the Scriptures.

Here the Lord apparently contradicts Himself. For He repeatedly bore witness about Himself, for example, He said to the Samaritan woman "I am the Christ" (John 4:25–26), to the blind man (John 9:35–37), and at other times on several occasions. If this is false, then how can we hope for salvation? But the contradiction is not limited to this alone; there is yet another, no less significant. After this (John 8:14) He says: "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true." How then can this apparent contradiction be reconciled? When He says "If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true," He speaks in accordance with the understanding of the Jews. Perhaps they intended to say to Him that You bear witness of Yourself, and in testimony about oneself no one deserves to be believed. Therefore He insistently says: "I do not bear witness of Myself, for in that case, in your opinion, I would not be worthy of belief, but there is another who bears witness of Me — John." But when He says: "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true," He speaks by way of concession. Yielding to the reasoning of the Jews, He says: "Granted that I bear witness of Myself; but even if I do bear witness of Myself, My witness is true. For I, being God, am worthy of belief." Therefore the first He said insistently — that it is not I who bear witness, but the Forerunner — while the second He said by way of contrast or concession: "Even if I bear witness, My witness is true."

Having given us the teaching on the life-giving power of the Son, he now confirms it. First, he confirms, with several testimonies, what he had said about the excellence of his power. In the second place, he reproves them because of their slowness to believe (v 41). He does two things about the first. First, he states why there was a need to resort to such testimonies. Secondly, he invokes the testimonies (v 32).

The need to appeal to testimony arose because the Jews did not believe in him; for this reason he says: If I were to bear witness to myself, my testimony would not be valid (verum, valid, true). Some may find this statement puzzling: for if our Lord says of himself, "I am the truth" (below 14:6), how can his testimony not be valid? If he is the truth, in whom shall one believe if the truth itself is not believed in? We may answer, according to Chrysostom, that our Lord is speaking here of himself from the point of view of the opinion of others, so that his meaning is: If I were to bear witness to myself, my testimony would not be valid so far as your outlook is concerned, because you do not accept what I say about myself unless it is confirmed by other testimony: "You are bearing witness to yourself; your testimony is not valid" (below 8:13).

The Gloss has a different explanation of this: If I were to bear witness to myself, my testimony would not be valid. For above, Christ was referring to himself as God, but here he is referring to himself as a man. And the meaning is: If I, namely, a man, were to bear witness to myself, i.e., apart from God, that is, which God the Father does not certify, then it follows that my testimony would not be valid, for human speech has no truth unless it is supported by God, according to: "God is true, but every man is a liar" (Rom 3:4). Thus, if we take Christ as a man separated from the Deity and not in conformity with it, we find a lie both in his essence and in his words: "Although I bear witness to myself, my testimony is true" (below 8:14); "I am not alone, because the Father is with me" (below 16:32). And so, because he was not alone but with the Father, his testimony is true.

"There is another who bears witness of me," namely the Father, or also John, and concerning both is rightly understood what follows: "And I know that the testimony which he bears of me is true": because he testifies as one who is certain. For the Father gives true testimony, because, as is said below in chapter eight, "he who sent me is truthful." John likewise is certain: whence above in chapter one, John said: "I saw and bore witness that this is the Son of God"; Proverbs 12: "He who speaks what he knows is a judge of justice, but he who lies is a fraudulent witness."

First then checking their disputatious spirit by setting forth what they would say, and showing that He knew the secrets of their hearts, and giving this first proof of His power, after stating the objection He supplieth other proofs clear and indisputable, producing three witnesses to what He said, namely, the works wrought by Him, the witness of the Father, and the preaching of John. And He putteth first the less important witness of John. For after saying, "There is another that beareth witness of Me, and I know that his witness is true," He addeth, "Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth."

Yet if Thy witness be not true, how sayest Thou, "I know that the testimony of John is true, and that he hath borne witness to the truth"? and seest thou (O man) how clear it hence is, that the expression, "My witness is not true," was addressed to their secret thoughts?

"What then," saith some one, "if John bare witness partially." That the Jews might not assert this, see how He removeth this suspicion. For He said not, "John testified of Me," but, "Ye first sent to John, and ye would not have sent had ye not deemed him trustworthy." Nay, what is more, they had sent not to ask him about Christ, but about himself, and the man whom they deemed trustworthy in what related to himself they would much more deem so in what related to another. For it is, so to speak, the nature of us all not to give so much credit to those who speak of themselves as to those who speak of others; yet him they deemed so trustworthy as not to require even concerning himself any other testimony. For they who were sent said not, "What sayest thou concerning Christ?" but, "Who art thou? What sayest thou of thyself?" So great admiration felt they for the man. Now to all this Christ made allusion by saying, "Ye sent unto John." And on this account the Evangelist hath not merely related that they sent, but is exact as to the persons sent that they were Priests and of the Pharisees, not common or abject persons, nor such as might be corrupted or cheated, but men able to understand exactly what he said.

In answer then, he puts forth three clear and irrefragable proofs, three witnesses as it were, to the truth of what He had said; the works which He had done, the testimony of the Father, and the preaching of John: putting the least of these foremost, i. e. the preaching of John: There is another that beareth witness of Me: and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of Me is true.

Since they were about to object to the words pronounced by our Lord about himself: "Your words are not true, nor worthy to be accepted, because you bear testimony about yourself"—since in their argument with him they were about to put forward this objection, our Lord forestalled them by saying, "You must not accept me as true, because I bear testimony to myself: this is what you undoubtedly mean. But you would have the right to say such a thing if I were the only one to bear testimony about myself. But now someone else said other things that were similar to my words about me, and he was a very trustworthy witness."

"I," He says, "have three witnesses: John, My works, and My Father." He puts forward John first.

Next, he presents these testimonies: first, a human testimony; secondly, a divine testimony. He does two things about the first. First, he mentions the testimony of John; secondly, he tells why this testimony was given (v 34). With respect to the first he does two things. First, he brings in the testimony; secondly, he commends it (v 32).

He brings on the witness when he says: But there is someone else who testifies on my behalf. This is, in the opinion of Chrysostom, John the Baptist, of whom we read above: "There was a man sent by God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, that he might bear witness to the light" (1:6).

He commends John's testimony on two grounds: first, because of its truth; secondly, because of its authority, for the Jews had sought it (v 33).

He commends his testimony because of its truth, saying: And I know, from certain experience, that the witness he, that is, John, bears on my behalf is true. His father, Zechariah, had prophesied this of him: "You will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his way, to give his people a knowledge of salvation" (Lk 1:76). Now it is obvious that false testimony is not a testimony that saves, because lying is a cause of death: "A lying mouth kills the soul" (Wis 1:11). Therefore, if John's testimony was for the purpose of giving knowledge of salvation to his people, his testimony is true.

Accordingly, to show that his testimony is true, not in virtue of his humanity considered in itself, but in so far as it is united to his divinity and to the Word of God, he says, But there is someone else who testifies on my behalf: not John, but the Father, according to this explanation. Because if the testimony of Christ as man is not of itself true and productive, much less is the testimony of John. Therefore, the testimony of Christ is not verified by the testimony of John, but by the testimony of the Father. So this someone else who testifies is understood to be the Father. And I know that the witness he bears on my behalf is true, for he is truth: "God is light," i.e., truth, "and in him there is no darkness," i.e., lie (1 Jn 1:5).

The first explanation, which is that given by Chrysostom, is nearer to the letter of the text.

But he bore witness not to himself, but to the truth: as the friend of the truth, he bore witness to the truth, i. e. Christ. Our Lord, on His part, does not reject the witness of John, as not being necessary, but shows only that men ought not to give such attention to John as to forget that Christ's witness was all that was necessary to Himself. But I receive not, He says, testimony from men.

Because I do not want it. John, though he bore witness, did it not that Christ might increase, but that men might be brought to the knowledge of Him.

The Lord declined his own testimony; here secondly he adduces the testimony of another. And because in the mouth of many witnesses the testimony is firm, therefore this part has four parts according to the four testimonies which he adduces. The first is of John; the second is of works; the third, divine; and the fourth, of the Scriptures. And these testimonies are distinguished: because the first is pronounced, the second exhibited, the third inspired, and the fourth written.

First, therefore, He adduces the testimony of John, which had been rendered to them at their own request: thus He says: "You sent to John": he did not put himself forward, but responded at your request, above in chapter one: "And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him," etc. "And he bore witness to the truth," as a faithful witness: Proverbs 14: "A faithful witness will not lie." And lest the Lord should seem to beg for human testimony, He adds.

It can also be asked about the sufficiency and order of these testimonies. — And it should be noted that the first testimony, namely that of John, was introductory; the second, namely that of works, advancing; the third, namely that of the Father, compelling; the fourth, namely that of Scripture, establishing in truth. And from these there results one complete and perfect testimony, and they are arranged in graduated order according to the stated conditions.

As we have just affirmed that it is disgraceful, and not without share of the uttermost folly, that any one should be seen as an admirer of his own excellencies, even though he should by reason of exceeding virtue escape untruth: so it is an absurdity cognate (so to say) and akin to this, that any not called upon to bear witness to any thing, should of their own accord appear before the judges or those who wish to enquire. For such an one would seem (and that justly) not altogether to be anxious to tell the truth, but rather to be over-eager to give his testimony, to make known not what the nature of the fact is, but rather his own account of it. Most skilfully then, yea rather as God, doth our Lord Jesus Christ, overturning beforehand the charge of the Pharisees in regard to this, say, YE have sent unto John: not of his own accord (says He) does the Baptist come to give his testimony to Me, he is clear from any charge of this: he gave free testimony; YE sent to ask John, and he hath borne witness unto the truth. For when he was asked by them who were sent to him, whether he were the Christ, he confessed and denied not, but confessed I am not the Christ, but am sent before Him. He hath then borne witness to the Truth, for Christ is the Truth.

If he [our Lord] was not receiving testimony from human beings, why did he go to John to receive testimony from him? John, however, was sent from God: "He who sent us spoke to me." Through John, the Father was testifying about him, just as he [our Lord] said, "Moses also wrote about me," along with other statements.

"What then," saith some one, "if John bare witness partially." That the Jews might not assert this, see how He removeth this suspicion. For He said not, "John testified of Me," but, "Ye first sent to John, and ye would not have sent had ye not deemed him trustworthy." Nay, what is more, they had sent not to ask him about Christ, but about himself, and the man whom they deemed trustworthy in what related to himself they would much more deem so in what related to another. For it is, so to speak, the nature of us all not to give so much credit to those who speak of themselves as to those who speak of others; yet him they deemed so trustworthy as not to require even concerning himself any other testimony. For they who were sent said not, "What sayest thou concerning Christ?" but, "Who art thou? What sayest thou of thyself?" So great admiration felt they for the man.

Lest anyone say to Him that he testified about You out of flattery (to You), He says: "you yourselves sent to John." And, without a doubt, you would not have sent to ask him if you did not consider him worthy of belief. Therefore you yourselves bear witness that John was true.

He also commends the testimony of John by reason of its authority, because it was sought after by the Jews, saying: You sent [messengers] to John. As if to say: I know that his testimony is true and you should not reject it, because the great authority John enjoyed among you led you to seek his testimony about me; and you would not have done this if you did not think that he was worthy of belief: "The Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to him" (above 1:19). And on this occasion, John bore witness, not to himself, but to the truth, i.e., to me. As a friend of the truth, he bore testimony to the truth, which is Christ: "He declared openly, and did not deny, and stated clearly, 'I am not the Messiah'" (above 1:20).

"But I do not receive testimony from man," supply: on account of any need of My own: Psalm: "I said to the Lord: You are my God, for You have no need of my goods"; but I recall it for the sake of your salvation. Whence He also says: "But these things I say, that you may be saved," namely by believing in Me through his testimony, because, as it is said in Mark 16, "he who believes and is baptized shall be saved." And truly they ought to have believed at John's testimony.

He doth not reject the word of John as useless, nor declare the witness of the truth to be of none effect (for He would with justice have seemed to have wrought absurdity against Himself, by unreasonably dismissing from credence him whom He sent to cry. Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God) but as striving with the unbounded disobedience of the Jews He proceeds to what is better and of more weight, saying that not of necessity is testimony to Himself from voice of man admitted, but rather giving them more glorious proof from the Authority befitting Him Who is by Nature God, and from the Excellence of the Divine Miracles. For a person will sometimes reject the voice of man, as not true, even though he be haply enrolled among the saints. Which some not scrupling to do, used to oppose the words of the Prophets, crying out. Speak unto us other things and declare unto us another deceit: and yet besides these, certain of them of Jerusalem, or of the land of Judah, who had escaped into Egypt: to wit, Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah and all the proud men, as it is written, openly disbelieving the prophecies of Jeremiah, said, Thou speakest falsely, the Lord sent thee not to say to us, Go not into Egypt. But demonstration through miracles, what gainsaying will it admit of; and the being borne witness to by the Excellencies of God the Father, what mode of stubbornness will it yet grant to the faultfinders? And verily Nicodemus (he was one of their rulers, and ranked among those in authority) gave incontrovertible testimony from His miracles, saying, Rabbi, we know that Thou art a Teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that THOU doest, except God be with Him.

Since then to disbelieve even the holy Baptist himself who brought testimony as far as words go, was not too much for the malice of the Jews, He says again, in a sort of irony, The blessed Baptist hath borne witness to the truth, even though questioned by you, but since nothing has been left untried by you, and ye have foolhardily accustomed yourselves to launch forth into all manner of reviling, ye have, it is likely, rejected his voice. And since this too seems to you to be right, be it so: I am haply persuaded, I agree with you, I will put aside for your sakes the voice of John too, and with you except against his testimony: I have the Father from above bearing testimony. But teaching again that the expression implies assent for argument's sake, He profitably subjoined, But these things I say that YE might be saved, that is, I used this manner of speech to you, not that the truth is so, but for argument's sake, that by every means YE may be saved.

"But I receive not testimony from man." "Why then hast Thou brought forward that of John?" His testimony was not the "testimony of man," for, saith he, "He that sent me to baptize with water, He said unto me." So that John's testimony was the testimony of God; for having learned from Him he said what he did. But that none should ask, "Whence is it clear that he learnt from God?" and stop at this, He abundantly silences them by still addressing Himself to their thoughts. For neither was it likely that many would know these things; they had hitherto given heed unto John as to one who spake of himself, and therefore Christ saith, "I receive not testimony from man." And that the Jews might not ask, "And if Thou wert not about to receive the testimony of man, and by it to strengthen Thyself, why hast Thou brought forward this man's testimony?" see how He correcteth this contradiction by what He addeth. For after saying, "I receive not testimony from man," He hath added, "But these things I say, that ye may be saved."

What He saith is of this kind; "I, being God, needed not the witness of John which is man's witness, yet because ye gave more heed to him, believe him more trustworthy than any, ran to him as to a prophet, (for all the city was poured forth to Jordan,) and have not believed on Me, even when working miracles, therefore I remind you of that witness of his."

(Hom. xl. 2) Even the witness of John was the witness of God: for what he said, God taught him. But to anticipate their asking how it appeared that God taught John, as if the Jews had objected that John's witness might not be true, our Lord anticipates them by saying, "Ye sought him yourselves to enquire of him; that is why I use his testimony, for I need it not." He adds, But these things I say that ye might be saved. As if He said, I being God, needed not this human kind of testimony. But, since ye attend more to him, and think him more worthy of credit than any one else, while ye do not believe me, though I work miracles; for this cause I remind you of his testimony. But had they not received John's testimony? Before they have time to ask this, He answers it: He was a burning and a shining light, and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. He says this to show, how lightly they had held by John, and how soon they had left him, thus preventing him from leading them to Christ. He calls him a candle, because John had not his light from himself, but from the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Perhaps some (woman) will say: "To me it is not necessary to be approved by men; for I do not require the testimony of men: God is the inspector of the heart.

Although I, as God, have no need of human testimony — the Lord has no need of the testimony of a servant — yet since you consider him more truthful and heed him more than Me, and you resorted to him, while you do not believe in Me even in the face of miracles, therefore I remind you also of John's testimony, and I do everything, accepting even what is unworthy of My divinity, if only you might be saved.

Then (v 34), he gives the reason why an appeal was made to the testimony of John. First, he excludes a supposed reason. Next, he presents the true reason (v 34b).

Someone might think that John's testimony was brought in to assure them about Christ, on the ground that Christ's own testimony was not sufficient. He excludes this reason when he says, I myself do not need proof from men. Here we should note that sometimes in the sciences a thing is proved by something else which is more evident to us, but which is less evident in itself; and at other times a thing is proved by something else which is more evident in itself and absolutely. Now, in this case, the issue is to prove that Christ is God. And, although the truth of Christ is, in itself and absolutely, more evident, yet it is proved by the testimony of John, which was better known to the Jews. So Christ, of himself, did not have any need of John's testimony; and this is what he says: I myself do not need proof from men.

But this seems to conflict with: "You are my witnesses, said the Lord" (Is 40:10); and with "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the remotest part of the world" (Acts 1:8). So how can he say: I myself do not need proof from men.

This can be understood in two ways. In the first way, the sense is: I myself do not need proof from men, as relying on it alone; but I have stronger testimony, that is, divine testimony: "For me, it does not matter much if I am judged by you" (1 Cor 4:3); "You know that I have not desired the day of man," i.e., human glory (Jer 17:16).

Another interpretation is: I myself do not need proof from men, insofar as the one giving witness is a man, but insofar as he is enlightened by God in order to testify: "There was a man sent by God, whose name was John" (above 1:6); "We did not seek glory from men" (1 Thes 2:6); "I do not seek my own glory" (below 8:50). And so I receive the testimony of John not just as a man, but insofar as he was sent and enlightened by God in order to testify.

A third explanation, and a better one, is: I myself do not need proof from men, i.e., human testimony. As far as I am concerned, I receive my authority from no one but God, who proves that I am great.

Next (v 34b), he gives the real reason for appealing to John's testimony. First, he states the reason. Secondly, he explains it. The reason for appealing to this testimony was so that the Jews might be saved by believing in Christ, and this because of John's testimony. Thus he says: I do not need John's testimony for my sake, but I say this in order that you may be saved: "He desires the salvation of all men" (1 Tim 2:4). "Christ came into this world to save sinners" (1 Tim 1:15).

John was a candle lighted by Christ, the Light, burning with faith and love, shining in word and deed. He was sent before, to confound the enemies of Christ, according to the Psalm, I have ordained a lantern for Mine Anointed; as for His enemies, I shall clothe them with shame. (Ps. 131)

"He was a burning lamp," through grace, "and shining," through doctrine: or: "burning," through interior charity, "shining," through exterior uprightness of life. Bernard: "To burn only is too little; to shine only is vain; but to shine and to burn is perfect." Therefore John was most fittingly signified by Elijah: Ecclesiasticus 48: "Elijah arose like fire, and his word burned like a torch." To such a one, therefore, shining so perfectly, faith ought to have been given, which the Jews did not do: whence He says: "But you were willing to rejoice for a time in his light," that is, that you might believe his teaching and testimony and imitate his life, which you observed for a short while: Matthew 11: "John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say: He has a demon"; Matthew 21: "John came to you in the way of justice, and you did not believe him. But the publicans and harlots believed him."

He likens the holy Baptist to a lamp, in that as far as appertains to the measure of man, he shone forth before His Coming, yet not with his own light: for not its own is the light in the lamp, but from without and bestowed and added: thus will you see in the saints also the illumination that is from Christ in the Spirit. Wherefore they both thinking and acting most wisely do themselves confess out of their own mouth, Of His fulness have all WE received. For the Only-Begotten is by Nature Light, in that from Light too He beamed forth, I mean, from the Essence of the Father: but the creation partakes of it, and whatever is endowed with power of reasoning and thinking, is as a vessel most excellently fashioned by God the Most Excellent Artificer of all things, with capacity for being filled with Divine Light.

The blessed Baptist then is a lamp according to the above-given explanation. The Saviour saying this economically calls the foolish Pharisees to remembrance of the Voice of God the Father, saying of Him, I prepared a lamp for My Christ. Very profitably and of necessity does Christ now subjoin these things to those already aforesaid. For. since, cutting off all occasion of unbelief from the Jews, and from all sides compelling them to the duty of believing on Him, He thought good to agree with them in not receiving his testimony, saying, I receive not testimony from man, that they might not suppose that the Lord was really and truly so minded respecting His forerunner, as the form of the words gives,----profitably to His present purpose, does He introduce him, not as Himself saying anything of him, but as proclaimed by the Voice of the Father. For He thought that from reverence certainly to God the Father, the gainsayer must either be ashamed, or show himself now more nakedly fighting against God, as unrestrainedly going against the very words of God the Father.

He then (saith He) was the lamp, and YE were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. For it behoved Him not only to show that the Pharisees easily went astray from what is right, and had by the great impiety of their ways thrust from them the will to believe, but also to convict them of being fickle, and by no means accustomed to cleave to the desire of good things, but after having barely tasted, and approved in words only those whom they thought to be holy, they were not ashamed quickly to go over to the contrary habit. For this I think is the meaning of their being willing for a season to rejoice in his light. For at the commencement they admired the holy Baptist, as an ascetic, as a lover of God, as an example of all piety, but they who honour the miracle again insult it, not enduring to hear, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God. For this they are clearly found doing through unbelief.

And now (as I think) having kept the well-trodden and commonly-used method of interpretation of the passage, we have put forth the meaning of it, according to our power: but since the Word of the Saviour extendeth to deep meanings, and evidently all but necessitateth the taking hold of more subtil conceptions, not merely signifying that John was a lamp, but also burning and shining, we deem it needful to apply ourselves more keenly to the force of the words and so track out the beauty of the truth. The sentence itself shall again be brought forward. He was the Lamp, He says. It would have been sufficient by this alone to have pointed out the holy Baptist, so that the hearers should go back to the thought of the prophecy concerning Him, which runs thus, I prepared a lamp for My Christ. But since He adds to the word lamp, the burning and shining, it is thence manifest that He carries the hearer back not merely to the prophet's voice, but also to some pre-figuring of the Law, fore-representing, as in figure and shadow, the torch-bearing of John, which he well performed by his testimony to Christ the Lord. He again convicts the Pharisees wise in their own conceits, who were conversant in the Law of Moses and that constantly, of being ignorant, and rather seeming to be wise than really having understanding of the Law. This then is the whole aim of the discourse: but I think we ought, bringing forward the Divine oracle itself, incontrovertibly to show that the blessed Baptist is not simply a lamp, but one burning and shining.

When then God was ordaining the arrangements of the holy tabernacle, after the completion of the ten curtains, He saith to the hierophant Moses, And do thou command the children of Israel and let them bring thee olive oil refined pure beaten to burn for a light, that the lamp burn always in the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is upon the testament, Aaron and his sons shall burn it from evening to morning before the LORD: a statute for ever unto your generations on the behalf of the children of Israel: and take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother and his sons with him from among the children of Israel to minister unto Me. Thus far the oracle of God, we must now proceed to the interpretation of it as far as may be. The oil without lees and pure, seems to signify the most pure and undefiled Nature of the Holy Ghost, Which penetrating us incomprehensibly like oil, nourishes and preserves and increases the illumination in the soul, as in a lamp. And thus we believe that the Divine Baptist also shed forth the light of his testimony concerning our Saviour, having received the power of being able to illuminate from no other source than through the spiritual oil, which mightily and effectually availeth to kindle within us the Divine Light, to which also the Saviour Himself darkly alluded, saying, I am come to cast fire on the earth and what will I, if it be already kindled? The blessed Baptist then was again as in type the lamp, that was ever burning and shining in the tabernacle of testimony: and its shining in the tabernacle of testimony shows full well that his illumination was received in the churches, and will not be outside the holy and Divine Tabernacle of the Saviour. But the lamp being seen without the vail, seems to show that he will bring in a simpler introductory illumination, saying, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven hath drawn nigh; but of the things hidden within the vail, to wit, the mysteries of our Saviour, he revealeth nothing at all. For he baptized not unto participation of the Holy Ghost, nor did his illumination introduce within the vail: for it was in the outer tabernacle, while yet standing, according to the mouth of Paul. But when it says, that Aaron and his sons shall burn it from evening to morning before the Lord: a statute for ever unto your generations, I think we ought to understand it after this sort. Aaron and his sons signify those who execute the priest's office in the Churches in their time, that is to say, the teachers therein and ministers of the Divine Altars. These are commanded to keep the spiritual lamp, that is, John, ever bright, for this is the meaning of, They shall burn it from evening to morning. For the whole period during which the light of the lamp was to appear, is the space of night, whereby is signified the term of the present life. For by light we understand the life to come. But the lamp burns or is kept bright, by always making its illumination perceptible to those who believe in Christ, and by testifying through the mouth of the Priests then being that it is true in saying such things of Christ.

That God may teach thee, that by this He was pourtraying the fore-messenger of the Saviour, He straightway subjoins the election of the Priests. You will attain again to the whole scope of the passage by ruminating on some such idea as this, and not amiss, as seems to me. On the completion of the tabernacle the ordering of the lamp is introduced, and immediately after, the appointment and function of the priests. For at the completion of the law and the Prophets, shone forth the voice of the forerunner crying in the wilderness (as it is written) Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God; immediately after whom is the ordination and manifestation of the holy Apostles by Christ. For the Lord chose out twelve, whom also He named Apostles.

Our consideration of the lamp being herein completed, let us look again at the Voice of the Saviour. He was (saith He) the burning and shining lamp, and YE were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. He blames in the Pharisees their habit of mind unlearned and hard to be brought to obedience and convicts them again of being sick with incomparable ill-instructedness and not able to understand even what they professed to know, and very far indeed from an accurate knowledge of the law, wholly ignorant of what the Lawgiver was pourtraying afore in outline through Moses. For by saying that he was the burning and shining lamp, He shames (it is like) those who did not yet understand that which was long ago too limned out in figures of the Law: by saying, and YE were willing for a season to rejoice in his light, He introduceth them again as ever preferring their own will to the Divine Decree, and accustomed to follow only whom they would. For whereas the lawgiver (says He) commanded the lamp always to shine and be burning, YE were willing for it to shine not always, but for a season only, that is for the very briefest period. For ye at first marvelling quenched (as far as you are concerned) the light of the lamp, most unreasonably accusing him that was sent from God, and not only yourselves refusing to be baptized, but also forbidding him from baptizing others. For ye sent to him, saying, Why baptizest thou then, that is, why dost thou enlighten to repentance and the knowledge of Christ? The Saviour then brought a charge alike of folly and transgression of the Law upon the senseless Scribes and Pharisees, contending with them in behalf of the words of John. This I think that the blessed Luke also understanding, most excellently declares and cries aloud against their folly, saying, And all the people that heard, that is, the words of the Saviour, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John: but the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.

"He [John] was a lamp that was burning," which even as it grew was also passing away, for he was shining in the night so that he might show that the appointed time of the sun's power was fading, and its beams of light were vanishing.

The birth of John [the Baptist] brought the dumbness of Zacharias to an end. For he did not burden his father, when the voice issued forth from silence; but as when not believed it rendered him tongue-tied, so did the voice sounding out clearly set his father free, to whom he had both been announced and born. Now the voice and the burning light were a precursor of the Word and the Light.

"I, being God, needed not the witness of John which is man's witness, yet because ye gave more heed to him, believe him more trustworthy than any, ran to him as to a prophet, (for all the city was poured forth to Jordan,) and have not believed on Me, even when working miracles, therefore I remind you of that witness of his." "He was a burning and a shining light, and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light." That they may not reply, "What if he did speak and we received him not," He showeth that they did receive John's sayings: since they sent not common men, but priests and Pharisees and were willing to rejoice; so much did they admire the man, and at the same time had nothing to say against his words. But the "for a season," is the expression of one noting their levity, and the fact that they soon started away from him.

He called John a torch, signifying that he had not light of himself, but by the grace of the Spirit; but the circumstance which caused the absolute distinction between Himself and John, namely, that He was the Sun of righteousness, this He put not yet; but merely hinting as yet at this He touched them sharply, by showing that from the same disposition which led them to despise John, neither could they believe in Christ. Since it was but for a season that they admired even the man whom they did admire, and who, had they not acted thus, would soon have led them by the hand to Jesus.

For the same John is called not merely an "angel" of Christ, but withal a "lamp" shining before Christ: for David predicts, "I have prepared the lamp for my Christ; " and him Christ Himself, coming "to fulfil the prophets," called so to the Jews. "He was," He says, "the burning and shining lamp; " as being he who not merely "prepared His ways in the desert," but withal, by pointing out "the Lamb of God," illumined the minds of men by his heralding, so that they understood Him to be that Lamb whom Moses was wont to announce as destined to suffer.

He calls John a "burning lamp," because he had an earthly origin, and had his light not from himself, but from the grace of the Spirit, and "for a time"; but when the day of the Lord came, that is, His teaching, the lamp was hidden. Everything he said they accepted "for a time" and rejoiced in him, but then they forgot what he said about Me and remained in their former unbelief. For if you had once firmly believed him, he would soon have led you to faith in Me.

He explains his statement, in order that you may be saved: that is, because I am appealing to testimony you have accepted. And so he mentions that John was accepted by them: He was a lamp, blazing and burning brightly. First, he states that John was a witness accepted on his own merits. Secondly, he mentions to what degree he was accepted by them (v 35b).

Three things perfected John and show that he was a witness accepted in his own right. The first concerns the condition of his nature, and he refers to this when he says, He was a lamp. The second concerns the perfection of his love, because he was a blazing lamp. The third is related to the perfection of his understanding, because he was a lamp that was burning brightly.

John was perfect in his nature because he was a lamp, i.e., enriched by grace and illumined by the light of the Word of God. Now a lamp differs from a light: for a light radiates light of itself, but a lamp does not give light of itself, but by participating in the light. Now the true light is Christ: "He was the true light, which enlightens every man coming into this world" (above 1:9). John, however, was not a light, as we read in the same place, but a lamp, because he was enlightened "in order to bear witness to the light" (above 1:8), by leading men to Christ. We read of this lamp: "I have prepared a lamp for my anointed" (Ps 131:17).

Further, he was blazing and impassioned in his affections, so he says, blazing. For some people are lamps only as to their office or rank, but they are snuffed out in their affections: for as a lamp cannot give light unless there is a fire blazing within it, so a spiritual lamp does not give any light unless it is first set ablaze and burns with the fire of love. Therefore, to be ablaze comes first, and the giving of light depends on it, because knowledge of the truth is given due to the blazing of love: "If any one 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" (below 14:23); and "I have called you friends, because everything I have heard from my Father I have made known to you" (below 15:15); "You who fear the Lord, love him, and your hearts will be enlightened" (Sir 2:20).

The two characteristics of fire are that it both blazes and shines. Its blazing signifies love for three reasons. First, because fire is the most active of all bodies; so too is the warmth of love (charity), so much so that nothing can withstand its force: "The love of Christ spurs us on" (2 Cor 5:14). Secondly, because just as fire, because it is very volatile, causes great unrest, so also this love of charity makes a person restless until he achieves his objective: "Its light is fire and flame" (Sg 8:6). Thirdly, just as fire is inclined to move upward, so too is charity; so much so that it joins us to God: "He who abides in love abides in God, and God in him" (1 Jn 4:16).

Finally, John had an intellect that was burning brightly. First, it was bright within, because of his knowledge of the truth: "The Lord will fill your soul with brightness," i.e., he will make it shine (Is 58:11). Secondly, it was bright without, because of his preaching: "You will shine in the world among them like stars, containing the word of life" (Phil 2:15). Thirdly, it was bright because it manifested good works: "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works" (Mt 5:16).

And so, because John was of himself so acceptable—for he was a lamp, not smothered out but blazing, not dark but burning brightly—he deserved to be accepted by you, as indeed he was, because for a time you yourselves exulted in his light. He fittingly links their exulting or rejoicing with light; because a man rejoices most in that which most pleases him. And among physical things nothing is more pleasant than light, according to: "It is a delight for the eyes to see the sun" (Sir 11:7). He says, you yourselves exulted in his light, i.e., you rested in John and put your end in him, thinking that he was the Messiah. But you did this only for a time, because you wavered on this; for when you saw that John was leading men to another, and not to himself, you turned away from him. Thus we read in Matthew (21:32) that the Jews did not believe in John. They belonged to that group referred to by Matthew (13:21) as believing "for a while."

That He enlightens the blind, that He opens the deaf ear, looses the mouth of the dumb, casts out devils, raises the dead; these works bear witness of Christ.

"But I have testimony." Here the second testimony is touched upon, namely that of works, which is greater than the aforesaid. Therefore He says: "But I have testimony greater than John," because it is more persuasive for believing in Me. "For the very works, which the Father has given Me," because from Him I received being and working: "that I may accomplish them," that is, make them perfect: because "the works of God are perfect," Deuteronomy 32. "The very works which I do," by My own power, "bear witness concerning Me, that the Father has sent Me," as God His Son, because He communicated such great works to Him: below in chapter 15: "If I had not come and done among them the works which no other man has done, they would not have sin." These works are to be believed, that the Father sent Him; below in chapter 14: "The Father abiding in Me, He does the works"; and again: "If you do not believe Me, believe the works."

There is a question concerning the testimony of works: "The works," he says, "which I do, bear witness concerning me." But the Prophets did the same works, such as miracles, and the Apostles following him did the same and greater ones; therefore if through works it could be sufficiently known that he was the Christ, by the same reasoning this could be said of anyone. I respond: It must be said that the miracles of the good and of the wicked can be distinguished, as Augustine says. They could therefore know that the miracles and works of Christ were those of a good and holy man; but Christ was saying that he was God; but no good man, remaining good, can make himself equal to God — rather, he is a thief; therefore if they could know Christ to be holy through his works, and through his words, that he was the Christ, the works were a sufficient testimony that Christ spoke the truth, and through this, that he was the Christ. Similarly concerning other good men, that they spoke the truth; but they did not speak about themselves, but about Christ, as the Apostles did. Otherwise it is said that the works were not a compelling testimony, but a persuading one, and similarly the testimony of John and of Scripture; but the testimony of the Father through revelation is compelling.

Even though he was the lamp (saith He) both depicted by the books of the law, and proclaimed afore by the voice of the holy Prophets, that he should one day appear, beaming before the true Light, and declaring among you, that ye ought to put in good order the way of your Lord and God: yet since he haply seemeth to you not trustworthy, albeit so great in virtue, by reason of your innate unruly and most absurd folly, I proceed now to what is greater, against which probably ye will say nothing, ashamed before the very beauty of truth even against your own will. For I am no longer receiving glory by the words and judgements of men, nor shall I deem it needful to collect testimonies to Myself from bare words, but I will commit My affairs to witness more credible and far greater than these, and from the very magnificence of My deeds I make manifest that I am God by Nature, and of God the Father, and I nothing wrong Mine Own laws, trans-ordering them to whatsoever I will, and trans-elementing things which were darkly spoken to those of old, from the grossness of the letter to spiritual contemplation.

But let him that loves learning consider again that the Saviour by saying that He is well witnessed to by His works as to His being by Nature God, teaches clearly, that it was not possible that God-befitting Operation and Power should be in all exactitude in any one, unless he too were by Nature God. For He is testified of by His works, in no other way (I suppose) save this. For if He is seen a Finisher of the works of His Father, and whatever things are more suited to Him Alone, these He too accomplisheth by His Own Power: how shall it not be clear to every one, that He hath obtained the Same Nature with Him, and Radiant with the Properties of the Father, as being of Him, hath Equal Power and Operation with Him?

Yet He says He hath received the Works from Him, either by reason of the garb of human nature and servant's form speaking more lowlily that was needful, and this economically, or extolling by the title of gift the good Pleasure and Approval of the Father, in regard to all His wondrous Miracles. For thus does He affirm that He was also sent, in that He emptied Himself, as it is written, of His unalloyed God-befitting Dignity by reason of His Love for us. For He humbled Himself, and we shall find the lowliness of this His humbling Himself in no other ways than in those whereby He sometimes speaks as Man. To this agreeth that which is said by the Psalmist of Him in human wise for our sakes, I was set a King by Him upon Sion His Holy Mountain declaring the Law of the Lord. For He That is King for ever with the Father, Co-enthroned and Co-seated, as God with God who begat Him, says that He has been ordained King and Lord, saying that what as God He had, He received when He was made Man to whom reigning is not inherent by nature, but both the title and reality of lordship are wholly from without.

God the Only Begotten proves his Sonship by an appeal not only to the name but to the power. The works that he does are evidence that he has been sent by the Father. What, I [Hilary] ask, is the fact that these works prove? They prove that he was sent. That he was sent, in turn, is used as a proof of his Son-like obedience and of his Father's authority. For the works that he does could not possibly be done by any other than the one who is sent by the Father.… Open the Gospel volumes and examine the whole range of their content.… No testimony of the Father to the Son is given in any of the books other than that he is the Son. So it is nothing short of deception when people now say that this is only a name of adoption, thus making God a liar and names without meaning.

Are they blameless, in that they did not know the testimony of the Father who was never heard or seen among them and whose word was not abiding in them? No, for they cannot plead that his testimony was hidden from them. As Christ says, the testimony of his works is the testimony of the Father concerning him. His works testify of him that he was sent of the Father; but the testimony of these works is the Father's testimony. Since, therefore, the working of the Son is the Father's testimony, it follows of necessity that the same nature was operative in Christ, by which the Father testifies of him. So Christ, who does the works, and the Father, who testifies through them, are revealed as possessing one inseparable nature through the birth, for the work that Christ does is shown itself to be the testimony of God concerning him.

(vi. de Trin. c. 27) The Only-begotten God shows Himself to be the Son, on the testimony not of man only, but of His own power. The works which He does, bear witness to His being sent from the Father. Therefore the obedience of the Son and the authority of the Father are set forth in Him who was sent.

"But I have greater witness than that of John." "For had ye been willing to admit faith according to the (natural) consequence of the facts, I would have brought you over by My works more than he by his words. But since ye will not, I bring you to John, not as needing his testimony, but because I do all 'that ye may be saved.' For I have greater witness than that of John, namely, that from My works; yet I do not merely consider how I may be made acceptable to you by credible evidence, but how by that (of persons) known to and admired by you." Then glancing at them and saying that they rejoiced for a season in his (John's) light, He declared that their zeal was but temporary and uncertain.

Having then proved them altogether unworthy of forgiveness, He went on to say, "I have greater witness than that of John." "What is that?" It is that from His works. "For the works," He saith, "which the Father hath given Me to finish, the same works that I do bear witness of Me that the Father sent Me." By this He reminded them of the paralytic restored, and of many other things. The words perhaps one of them might have asserted were mere boast, and said by reason of John's friendship towards Him, (though indeed it was not in their power to say even this of John, a man equal to the exact practice of wisdom, and on this account admired by them,) but the works could not even among the maddest of them admit this suspicion; therefore He added this second testimony, saying, "The works which the Father hath given Me to finish, the same works that I do bear witness of Me that the Father sent Me."

In this place He also meeteth the accusation respecting the violation of the Sabbath. For since those persons argued, "How can he be from God, seeing that he keepeth not the Sabbath?", therefore He saith, "Which My Father hath given unto Me." Yet in truth, He acted with absolute power, but in order most abundantly to show that He doth nothing contrary to the Father, therefore He hath put the expression of much inferiority. Since why did He not say, "The works which the Father hath given Me testify that I am equal to the Father"? for both of these truths were to be learned from the works, that He did nothing contrary, and that He was equal to Him who begat Him; a point which He is establishing elsewhere, where He saith, "If ye believe not Me, believe the works: that ye may know and believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me." In both respects, therefore, the works bare witness to Him, that He was equal to the Father, and that He did nothing contrary to Him. Why then said He not so, instead of leaving out the greater and putting forward this? Because to establish this was His first object. For although it was a far less thing to have it believed that He came from God, than to have it believed that God was equal with Him, (for that belonged to the Prophets also, but this never,) still He taketh much pains as to the lesser point, as knowing that, this admitted, the other would afterwards be easily received. So that making no mention of the more important portion of the testimony, He putteth its lesser office, that by this they may receive the other also...

Afterwards He goes on to say: "But I have greater witness than that of John; for the works which the Father hath given me to finish-those very works bear witness of me that the Father hath sent me. And the Father Himself, which hath sent me, hath also borne witness of me." But He at once adds, "Ye have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape; " thus affirming that in former times it was not the Father, but the Son, who used to be seen and heard.

"John," He says, "bore witness about Me — John, whom you consider more trustworthy than all others." But since some slanderers might be found who would say, "What is that to us? John was favorable to You, and therefore gave a very good testimony," He says, "You sent to John and questioned him, undoubtedly considering him truthful." But I have also another testimony, greater than John's. The works which the Father has given Me, that is, has laid upon Me to accomplish, bear witness of Me. By "works" He means the miracles, for example, the healing of the paralytic and others. Since they accused Him for performing these on the Sabbath, and said that He is not from God because He does not keep the Sabbath, He declares to them that He does what is commanded Him by the Father, and is all the more from God in that He accomplishes the works laid upon Him by God. "The works," He says, "which the Father has given Me to accomplish." But if the Father gave them, then you, by opposing such works, are opposing God.

Then (v 36), he presents the divine testimony. First, he mentions its greatness; and then he continues on to describe it.

He says: I do not need proof from men for my sake, but for your sake, for I have testimony that is greater than that of John, that is, the testimony of God, which is greater than the testimony of John: "If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater" (1 Jn 5:9). It is greater, I say, because of its greater authority, greater knowledge, and infallible truth, for God cannot deceive: "God is not like man, a liar" (Nm 23:19).

God bore witness to Christ in three ways: by works, by himself, and by the Scriptures. First, he mentions his witness as given by the working of miracles; secondly, the way God gave witness by himself (v 37); thirdly, the witness given through the Scriptures (v 39).

He says first: I have testimony that is greater than that of John, that is, my works, i.e., the working of miracles, the very works which my Father has given me to perform. We should point out that it is natural for man to learn of the power and natures of things from their actions, and therefore our Lord fittingly says that the sort of person he is can be learned through the works he does. So, since he performed divine works by his own power, we should believe that he has divine power within him: "If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin," that is, the sin of unbelief (below 15:24). And so he leads them to a knowledge of himself by appealing to his works, saying, the very works which my Father has given me in the Word, through an eternal generation, by giving me a power equal to his own. Or we could say, the very works which my Father has given me, in my conception, by making me one person who is both God and man, to perform, i.e., to perform them by my own power. He says this to distinguish himself from those who do not perform miracles by their own power but have to obtain it as a favor from God; thus Peter says: "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth: stand up" (Acts 3:6). Thus it was God, and not themselves, who accomplished these works; but Christ accomplished them by his own power: "Lazarus, come forth," as John reports below (11:43). Accordingly, those works that I myself perform—they bear witness to me; "If you do not believe me, at least believe my works" (below 10:38). We see from Mark (16:20) that God bears witness by the working of miracles: "The Lord worked with them and confirmed the word by the signs that followed."

The Jews might say, We heard the voice of the Lord at Sinai, and saw Him under the appearance of fire. If God then bears witness of Thee, we should know His voice. To which He replies, I have the witness of the Father, though ye understand it not; because ye never heard His voice, or saw His shape.

By His mission we must understand His incarnation. Lastly, He shows that God is incorporeal, and cannot be seen by the bodily eye: Ye have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape.

Here the third testimony is touched upon, namely the divine, which he also calls paternal; on account of which he says: "And the Father who sent me," through the incarnation, "has borne testimony concerning me," through internal inspiration: because, as is said below in the sixth chapter, "no one comes to me unless the Father draws him." Whence he reveals and testifies with an intelligible voice, which the carnal Jews could neither hear nor see him speaking. Therefore he says: "You have never heard his voice," through revelation of the mind: as Peter heard, Matthew 16: "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father who is in heaven." "Nor have you seen his form," through open vision: Exodus 33: "No man shall see me and live"; and above in the first chapter: "No one has ever seen God."

There is a question concerning the testimony of the Father. For he says that "you have neither heard his voice nor seen his form"; he says this to the Jews. To the contrary: Were not many present when, in Luke chapter three, a voice was made from heaven in a sensible manner: "You are my beloved Son"? Likewise, Deuteronomy chapter five: "We heard his voice from the midst of the fire." Likewise, Exodus chapter twenty: "You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven."

I respond: It must be said that God speaks in two ways and appears in two ways: in one way in himself and through himself, and thus he speaks through an internal revelation of the mind in a certain ineffable manner, yet nevertheless in a certain intelligible manner, and thus he does not speak to the wicked; in another way through a subject creature, and thus he spoke in the giving of the Law. In this second way they saw in the subject creature and heard sensibly, but not in the first way: and it is about this that he speaks here. Whence Augustine says on this: The Father bears witness: "He who outwardly displayed me as visible to the eyes of men, inwardly kindled the hearts of men to know me."

The puffed-up Pharisees liked to pretend that the divine Word was with them and in them and that they had come to an advanced level of wisdom.… But here they are, rejecting the living and hypostatic Word of God. Their faith was not directed toward him. Instead they dishonored the impress of God the Father and refused to behold his most true form (so to say) through his God-befitting authority and power. For the divine and ineffable nature is in no other way apprehended (so far as it may be) by us than through what it effects and works. This is why Paul directs us to go from the greatness and beauty of the creatures to the proportionately higher contemplation of the Creator. … This is why Jesus finds fault with Philip, who thoughtlessly imagined that he could in any other way attain to the contemplation of God the Father. It was in Philip's power, however, to consider Jesus' uncreated image, which shows accurately in himself the One who begat him.

(vi. de Trin. c. 27) But the testimony of works not being sufficient evidence, it follows, And the Father Himself which hath sent Me, hath borne witness of Me. Open the Evangelic volumes, and examine their whole range: no testimony of the Father to the Son is given in any of the books, other than that He is the Son. So what a calumny is it in men now saying that this is only a name of adoption: thus making God a liar, and names unmeaning.

This, he says, the Thracians who dwell around Haemus, and the Phrygians similarly with the Thracians, denominate Corybas, because, (though) deriving the beginning of his descent from the head above and from the unportrayed brain, and (though) permeating all the principles of the existing state of things, (yet) we do not perceive how and in what manner he comes down. This, says he, is what is spoken: "We have heard his voice, no doubt, but we have not seen his shape." For the voice of him that is set apart and portrayed is heard; but (his) shape, which descends from above from the unportrayed one,-what sort it is, nobody knows. It resides, however, in an earthly mould, yet no one recognises it. This, he says, is "the god that inhabiteth the flood," according to the Psalter, "and who speaketh and crieth from many waters." The "many waters," he says, are the diversified generation of mortal men, from which (generation) he cries and vociferates to the unportrayed man, saying, "Preserve my only-begotten from the lions." In reply to him, it has, says he, been declared, "Israel, thou art my child: fear not; even though thou passest through rivers, they shall not drown thee; even though thou passest through fire, it shall not scorch thee." By rivers he means, says he, the moist substance of generation, and by fire the impulsive principle and desire for generation. "Thou art mine; fear not." And again, he says, "If a mother forget her children, so as not to have pity on them and give them food, I also will forget you." Adam, he says, speaks to his own men: "But even though a woman forget these things, yet I will not forget you. I have painted you on my hands." In regard, however, of his ascension, that is his regeneration, that he may become spiritual, not carnal, the Scripture, he says, speaks (thus): "Open the gates, ye who are your rulers; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in," that is a wonder of wonders. "For who," he says, "is this King of glory? A worm, and not a man; a reproach of man, and an outcast of the people; himself is the King of glory, and powerful in war."

"And the Father Himself, which hath sent Me, hath borne witness of Me." Where did He "bear witness of" Him? In Jordan: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased"; hear Him. Yet even this needed proof. The testimony of John then was clear, for they themselves had sent to him, and could not deny it. The testimony from miracles was in like manner clear, for they had seen them wrought, and had heard from him who was healed, and had believed; whence also they drew their accusation. It therefore remained to give proof to the testimony of the Father.

"Ye have neither heard His voice at any time": How then saith Moses, "The Lord spake, and Moses answered"? and David, "He had heard a tongue which he knew not"; and Moses again, "Is there any such people which hath 'heard the voice of God'?" "Nor seen His shape." Yet Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, are said to have seen Him, and many others. What then is that which Christ saith now? He guideth them by degrees to a philosophical doctrine, showing that with God is neither voice nor shape, but that He is higher than such forms or sounds like these. For as when He saith, "Ye have not heard His voice," He doth not mean that God doth indeed utter a voice, but one which cannot be heard; so when He saith, "Nor seen His shape," He doth not mean that God hath a shape though one invisible, but that neither of these things belongeth to God. And in order that they might not say, "Thou art a boaster, God spake to Moses only"; (this at least they did say, "We know that God spake with Moses: as for this fellow, we know not whence He is";) on this account He spake as He did, to show that there is neither voice nor shape with God.

"And the Father who sent Me has Himself testified concerning Me." Where then did the Father testify concerning Him? Some say at the baptism, when He said: "This is My beloved Son" (Matt. 3:17). But I think it is better to understand that God testified concerning Him in all of Scripture, in the Law and the Prophets.

Then (v 37), he presents the second way God bore witness to Christ, namely, by himself. First, he mentions the way; secondly, he shows that they were not able to receive this testimony.

He says: It is not only the works which my Father has given me to perform that bear witness to me, but the Father who sent me has himself given testimony on my behalf: in the Jordan, when Christ was baptized (Mt 3:17); and on the mountain, when Christ was transfigured (Mt 17:5). For on both these occasions the voice of the Father was heard: "This is my beloved Son." And so they should believe in Christ, as the true and natural Son of God: "This is the testimony of God: he has borne witness to his Son" (1 Jn 5:9). Consequently, anyone who does not believe that he is the Son of God, does not believe in the testimony of God.

Someone could say that God also gave testimony to others by himself: for example, to Moses, on the mountain, with whom God spoke while others were present. We, however, never heard his testimony, as the Lord says: you have neither heard his voice. On the other hand, we read in Deuteronomy (4:33): "Did it ever happen before that the people heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of fire, as you heard, and have lived?" Then how can Christ say: you have neither heard his voice?

I reply, according to Chrysostom, that the Lord wishes to show those established in a philosophical frame of mind that God gives testimony to someone in two ways, namely, sensibly and intelligibly. Sensibly, as by a sensible voice only; and in this way he gave witness to Moses on Mount Sinai: "You heard his voice, and saw no form at all" (Dt 4:12). Likewise, he gives testimony by a sensible form, as he appeared to Abraham (Gn 26), and to Isaiah: "I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne" (Is 6:1). However, in these visions, neither the audible voice nor the visible figure were like anything in the animal kingdom, except efficiently, in the sense that these were formed by God. For since God is a spirit, he neither emits audible sounds nor can he be portrayed as a figure. But he does bear testimony in an intelligible manner by inspiring in the hearts of certain persons what they ought to believe and to hold: "I will hear what the Lord God will speak within me" (Ps 84:9); "I will lead her into the wilderness and there I will speak to her heart," as we read in Hosea (2:14).

Now you were able to receive the testimony given in the first of these ways; and this is not surprising, because they were the words and image of God only efficiently, as was said. But they were not able to receive the testimony given in that intelligible voice; so he says: you have neither heard his voice, i.e., you were not among those who shared in it. "Everyone who has heard the Father and has learned, comes to me" (below 6:45). But you do not come to me. Therefore, you have neither heard his voice nor seen his image, i.e., you do not have his intelligible testimony.

Or we could say that, you have neither heard his voice, can be taken as showing the three ways in which God reveals things. This is done either by a sensible voice, as he bore witness to Christ in the Jordan and on the mountain, as in 2 Peter (1:16): "We were eyewitnesses of his greatness. For he received honor and glory from God the Father, when a voice came from the heavens." And the Jews did not hear this. Or, God reveals things through a vision of his essence, which he reveals to the blessed. And they did not see this, because "while we are in the body, we are absent from the Lord" (2 Cor 5:6). Thirdly, it is accomplished by an interior word through an inspiration; and the Jews did not have this either.

For it is not by the carnal ear, but by the spiritual understanding, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, that God is heard. And they did not hear the spiritual voice, because they did not love or obey Him, nor saw they His shape; inasmuch as that is not to be seen by the outward eye, but by faith and love.

It is most appropriate that he joins the "Word" to the "form" here to show that the Word of God is himself the image and expression and form of his Father. The Jews who did not receive the one who spoke to them thus did not receive the Word, which is the form of God. This too was who the patriarch Jacob saw when he received a blessing from him and the name of Israel instead of Jacob. … And this is he who said, "He who has seen me has seen the Father," and "I in the Father and the Father in me" and "I and the Father are one." For in this way God is one and so is the faith in the Father and the Son. For even though the Word is God, the Lord our God is one Lord.

"And you do not have his word abiding in you," namely through faith: whence the reason is also added: "Because the one whom he sent, you do not believe in him." And the one whom he sent is the Word and abides in hearts through faith: Ephesians 3: "That Christ may dwell through faith in your hearts"; Isaiah 9: "The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it fell upon Israel"; it did not abide in Jacob, because his own did not receive him.

CHAPTER II. That the Son is the Image of God the Father, wherein also is an exposure of the Jews as not understanding the words darkly uttered by Moses.

One may see that not simple is the arrangement of ideas poured forth upon the passage before under consideration, but that it is a swarm of hidden contemplations, which very easily escapes the mind of uncritical hearers, and haply admits of being seen by those only who investigate more keenly. For what was it (will one perchance say) that induced Jesus, when He was saying that He was borne witness to by His God-befitting Operation, to come to something most exceeding remote as though it belonged to the subject? I mean that the Pharisees had neither at any time heard the Voice of God the Father nor seen His Form nor yet had His Word abiding in them. And I will agree, and so I suppose will every one else, that not without some cause is this their difficulty. What sense then we shall adapt to the passage before us, and what again we, on all sides holding by the truth, searching shall provide ourselves with, by the Operation and grace of the Spirit I will endeavour to tell forth.

It is the custom of the Saviour Christ, when often making useful discourses with the unskilled Pharisees, to gaze into the depths of their heart, and to consider in God-befitting manner the reasonings still dumbly revolved and stirred up in their mind, and to these in particular to direct both His answers and words and exposures, and He does not altogether keep the thread of His own words unpassed, but to what they are counselling and imagining in themselves, to this He keenly replies, and by it shows that He is by Nature God, as knowing what lies in the depth and searching the hearts and reins. If any one will, let him receive the most clear demonstration hereof, from the other Evangelists, I mean Luke and his companions. It is written then in the Gospels, that there were once gathered together from all the region round about Judea, Pharisees and doctors of the law. And, behold (he says) men bearing on a bed a man which was taken with a palsy, and they were seeking to bring him in and to lay him before him; and when they found not by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. And when He saw their faith, He said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason saying, Who is This which speak-eth blasphemies? who can forgive sins but One, God? But when Jesus perceived (it says) their thoughts, He answering said unto them, What are ye reasoning in your hearts? whether is easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, Rise and walk? Seest thou how He not waiting their answer or murmuring in utterance of words, answers as God their inward thoughts? You will find again another example too, fashioned after this same manner. For thus says the blessed Luke, And it came to pass also on another sabbath that He entered into the Synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. And the Scribes and Pharisees watched Him whether He would heal on the sabbath day, that they might find an accusation against Him: but He knew (it says) their thoughts and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth. And Jesus said unto them, I will ask you, Is it lawful on the sabbath day to do good or to do evil? Seest thou again evidently herein, that He framed His words as looking into the very heart of those who were foolishly trying to accuse Him? Something of this sort again in the passage too before us we will suppose to have been seen by the Saviour in the hearts of the Pharisees. But you will see that the discourse does not spurn the right line, or order of the subject, if you do not shrink from going over again each of those things which have been already said.

This great long discourse with them took its beginning about the man that was healed on the Sabbath Day, and by manifold devices and arguments was Christ endeavouring to persuade those who were waywardly vexed at the healing on the sabbath, that it is lawful even to have compassion on the sabbath, and to do good to all, and besides, that the Law made the rest of the sabbath a shadow of a most note-worthy reality; moreover having in their judgement broken the honour of the sabbath, and hereby specially transgressed the law, He was affirming and that very strongly, that He had been sent by God the Father, and further was clearly telling them that He was borne witness unto by Him, and was well-pleasing to Him in all that He did. To these things (as far at least as the evidence of the arguments goes) the Pharisees again are reasoning with themselves (as waiting on the writings of the law, and ever holding out as a pretext the commands through Moses, and saying they had read) What does this Man say? how will God the Father be well-pleased with one who breaks the Law? when has He testified, or what judgement did He give concerning Him? For we know from the Mosaic writings that God descended upon Mount Sinai, and His Face was seen by the fathers, and His Voice (say they) was heard: He spake to the whole Synagogue, and commanded them to keep the Sabbath Day, clearly commanding thus. Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy, six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work, but on the seventh day is a holy sabbath to the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work. And none other (say they) heard we saying these things: the multitude of the fathers was ear-witness to the Voice from God, and after them the Word of God was in us: But who is This?

When He perceived that they were thus imagining, He exposes them as keenly ignorant, saying, Ye have neither heard His Voice at any time nor seen His Form, and ye have not His Word abiding in you, for whom HE sent, Him YE believe not. For the things done in a type at that time, and why the descent of God upon Mount Sinai was figured out to them, these things they knowing nothing of, received them not as images of spiritual realities, but were imagining that the Divine Nature could actually be seen with the eyes of the body, and believed that He used a bodily voice. But that the Word of the Saviour to them was true, and that they neither at any time heard the Voice of God the Father, nor had any one with bodily vision seen His Form, that is, the Word in all things like unto Him, I think that we ought again to show clearly, bringing to spiritual investigation and test the things written in Exodus. It says thus, And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire, and the smoke thereof was going up as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole people quaked greatly. And the voices of the trumpet sounded, going forth exceeding mighty, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. Thus far then the oracle of the all-wise Moses: but I think we ought now too to convict the Jews of stumbling into a most absurd idea of God, imagining that they had both seen His Form, and heard the Voice actually inherent in the Divine Nature.

Come then taking courage in the bounty and grace of the Saviour, let us refine the grossness of the letter of the law into spiritual contemplation: for so will that be shown to be true which was said to the Pharisees of God; Ye have neither heard His Voice at any time nor seen His Form. The people then being brought forth by Moses to meet God, as it is written, will be a manifest sign and token as in enigma, that none can unled and uninstructed come to God, but by the law are they led to the knowledge of the things which they seek to learn. For Moses will be understood to be put for the Law, according as is said by a certain one, They have Moses and the Prophets. But the standing by under the mount, when God had now descended and was on it, signifies the readiness of disposition and resolve of those who are called to serve Him, not refusing in any way to apply themselves even to things above their power and superior to their nature, while God is with them. Such in all respects are they who are partakers of the Saviour. Wherefore they practising manliness above men say, Who shall separate us from the Love of Christ? shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? for all dreadful things are tolerable to the godly for love of Christ, and though tribulation should rise up as a mountain, they will rise superior against all danger, and will not withdraw their mind from love to God. But God is said to come down, not upon any low ground, but somewhere on high and on a mountain is He seen, that you may think some such thing as this with yourself, that although the Divine Nature condescending to our understandings, brings Itself to our conception, yet is It exceeding far above us, both in words and thoughts. For the height and intensity of the doctrines respecting It, are signified by the mountain, which he tells us was wholly darkened with smoke. For keen indeed and not very clear to us are words respecting the Godhead, wounding like smoke the eyes of the understanding. Therefore the most wise Paul testified that we see through a glass and darkly: the Psalmist again says that He, that is, God, made darkness His secret place, under the name of darkness hinting the Incomprehensibleness around Him, whereof the smoke about the fire on the mount may well be taken as a type. But the Godhead Itself descended in the form of fire, at that particular time, fittingly and of necessity for the nature of the thing. For it behoved, it behoved that He Who called Israel unto bondage and understanding through the law that should be put forth, should appear as an Enlightener and an Avenger. And both these ends are accomplished by fire. Yea, and the voices of the trumpet (saith he) sounded, going forward exceeding mighty, that some such effect of ideas again may be wrought for us: for the Law too was proclaimed by God, yet not continuously at first, by reason of the infirmity of the pupils, but stammeringly, so to say, and not with the whole force of the trumpeter. Wherefore Moses too called himself slow of speech. But as time advances, and carries forward the believers in Christ from the shadow in the letter to the spiritual worship, the voices of the Divine trumpet waxed exceeding mighty, the saving and Gospel preaching resounding in a way through the whole earth. For not as the Law, feeble-voiced and petty-heralding, was this heard in the country of the Jews only, or proclaimed from Dan to Beersheba, but rather, Their voice went forth into all the earth, as it is written. And what besides? Moses spake (saith he) and God answered him by a voice.

Keen be again the mind of the more studious, accurately let it observe the stability inherent in the Divine Oracles. For Moses speaks, and God answers him by a voice, not surely by His Own Voice, for this it does not say, but simply and absolutely by a voice, wrought wondrously in more human wise by sound of words. For in respect of what work will God be powerless? What that God wills shall He not perform, and that full readily? Therefore Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. Herein is the type, let us see the truth. You have therefore in the holy Gospels the Lord speaking, Father, glorify Thy Son 2, and the Father answering by a voice, I both glorified, and will glorify again. The Saviour showed that this is not truly the voice of God the Father, by saying to those who were then present, This voice was made not because of Me, but for your sakes. Thou seest how He clearly affirmed that the Voice was made, since it is not meet to suppose that the Divine Nature useth a voice with a sound, though It conform Itself to our needs and speak like us, economically.

These considerations were of necessity brought into our present discourse: we deemed it altogether needful that Jesus should be shown to the readers speaking truth, when He is found saying of His Father, Ye have neither heard His Voice at any time nor seen His shape, and ye have not His Word abiding in you, for Whom HE hath sent, Him yE believe not. That the Pharisees puffed up unto strange boasting, were wont to pretend that the Divine Word was with them and in them, and therefore foolishly affirmed that they had advanced to marvellous wisdom, the Spirit Itself will testify, since Christ says by the Prophet Jeremiah unto them, How do ye say, WE are wise, and the word of the Lord is with us? For nought to the scribes became their lying pen; the wise men were ashamed, were dismayed and taken; what wisdom is in them? because they rejected the word of the Lord. For how are they not taken rejecting the Living and Hypostatic Word of God, receiving not the faith to Him-ward, but dishonouring the Impress of God the Father, and refusing to behold His most true Form (so to say) through His God-befitting Authority and Power? For the Divine and Ineffable Nature is in no other wise apprehended (so far as may be) by us, than through what It effects and works, therefore Paul directs us to go from the greatness and beauty of the creatures proportionably unto the contemplation of the Creator, the Saviour again leads us to the apprehending of Himself, saying, If I do not the works of My Father, believe Me not; but if I do, though ye believe not Me, believe My works. And with great reason did He blame His own disciple (this was Philip) who imagined thoughtlessly that he could in any other way attain to the contemplation of God the Father, albeit it was in his power to consider His Uncreated Image, which shows accurately in Himself Him Who begat Him. Wherefore He said, So long time am I with you, and hast thou not known Me Philip? he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.

"But why," He saith, "name I these things? Not only have ye 'neither heard His voice nor seen His shape,' but it is not even in your power to assert that of which you most boast and of which you are all most fully assured, namely, that ye have received and keep His commandments." Wherefore He addeth, "And ye have not His word abiding in you." That is, the ordinances, the commandments, the Law, and the Prophets. For even if God ordained these, still they are not with you, since ye believe not on Me. Because, if the Scriptures everywhere say that it is necessary to give heed to Me, and yet ye believe not, it is quite clear that His word is removed from you. Wherefore again He addeth, "For whom He hath sent, Him ye believe not."

"You," He says, "have not heard His voice, that is, the Father's, nor have you seen His face, and He is utterly unknown to you, because you do not have His word abiding in you, that is, you do not know the Scriptures that bear witness about Me, although you think that you know them and boast that the words of God have been entrusted to you. That you do not know the Scriptures is clear from the fact that you do not believe in the One whom He sent. And just as you have not heard the voice of God, for God does not have a perceptible voice, nor have you seen His face, for He has no form or shape, so also you do not have His word in you, that is, the Scriptures that bear witness about Me."

Hence he adds: and you do not have his word abiding in your hearts, i.e., you do not have his word that is inwardly inspired. And the reason is, for you do not believe in him whom he, the Father, has sent. For the word of God leads to Christ, since Christ himself is the natural Word of God. But every word inspired by God is a certain participated likeness of that Word. Therefore, since every participated likeness leads to its original, it is clear that every word inspired by God leads to Christ. And so, because you are not led to me, you do not have his word, i.e., the inspired word of God, abiding in your hearts. "He who does not believe in the Son of God does not have life abiding in him," as it says below (sic). He says abiding, because although there is no one who does not have some truth from God, they alone have the truth and the word abiding in them whose knowledge has progressed to the point where they have reached a knowledge of the true and natural Word.

Or thus; they cannot have abiding in them the Word which was in the beginning, who came not to keep in mind, or fulfil in practice, that word of God which they hear. Having mentioned the testimonies of John, and the Father, and of His works, He adds now that of the Mosaic Law: Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of Me: as if He said, Ye think ye have eternal life in the Scriptures, and reject Me as being opposed to Moses: but you will find that Moses himself testifies to My being God, if you search the Scripture carefully. All Scripture indeed bears witness of Christ, whether by its types, or by prophets, or by the ministering of Angels. But the Jews did not believe these intimations of Christ, and therefore could not obtain eternal life: Ye will not come to Me, that ye may have life; meaning, The Scriptures bear witness of Me, but ye will not come to Me notwithstanding, i. e. ye will not believe on Me, and seek for salvation at My hands.

Let him he patient and gentle in his admonitions, well instructed himself, meditating in and diligently studying the Lord's books, and reading them frequently, that so he may be able carefully to interpret the Scriptures, expounding the Gospel in correspondence with the prophets and with the law; and let the expositions from the law and the prophets correspond to the Gospel. For the Lord Jesus says: "Search the Scriptures; for they are those which testify of me." And again: "For Moses wrote of me." But, above all, let him carefully distinguish between the original law and the additional precepts, and show which are the laws for believers, and which the bonds for the unbelievers, lest any should fall under those bonds. Be careful, therefore, O bishop, to study the word, that thou mayest be able to explain everything exactly, and that thou mayest copiously nourish thy people with much doctrine, and enlighten them with the light of the law; for God says: "Enlighten yourselves with the light of knowledge, while we have yet opportunity."

"Search the Scripture," saith He, "in which ye think ye have eternal life: the same bears witness of me; and ye will not come to me that ye may have life." Why do ye think that in the Scripture ye have eternal life? Ask itself to whom does it bear witness, and understand what is eternal life. And because for the sake of Moses they were willing to reject Christ, as an adversary to the ordinances and precepts of Moses, He convicts those same men as by another lamp.

For, indeed, all men are lamps, since they can be both lighted and extinguished. Moreover, when the lamps are wise, they shine and glow with the Spirit; yet also, if they did burn and are put out, they even stink. The servants of God remain good lamps by the oil of His mercy, not by their own strength. The free grace of God, truly, is the oil of the lamps. "For I have labored more than they all," saith a certain lamp; and lest he should seem to burn by his own strength, he added, "But not I, but the grace of God that was with me." All prophecy, therefore, before the coming of the Lord, is a lamp. Of this lamp the Apostle Peter says: "We have a more sure word of prophecy, to which ye do well giving heed, as unto a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts."

Vegetation on earth is alive, that is, having strength: wherefore it produces the green herb. And by this it is shown that the sacraments of Scripture, which externally seem arid, are yet alive within. And this is what the Saviour says to the Jews in John: "You search the Scriptures, because in them you think that you have life everlasting." No other Scripture besides this one is able to give life.

"Search the Scriptures." Here the fourth testimony is touched upon, namely that of the Scriptures, to which the Lord exhorts and arouses to diligence and spiritual understanding; on account of which he says: "Search the Scriptures," that is, discern the interior meaning, because, as the Apostle says in 2 Corinthians 3, "the letter kills, but the spirit gives life." And he adds the reason why they ought to search: "In which you think you have eternal life," that is, through which you think to know, and through this to have eternal life, because through them you think to know God, who is eternal life: Wisdom 15: "To know you is consummate justice, and to know your justice and your power is the root of immortality." Christ says that these Scriptures testify of him: whence he also adds: "They are the ones that bear testimony concerning me," namely all the Scriptures of the Old Testament: Luke, the last chapter: "It is necessary that all things be fulfilled which are written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning me," said the Lord Jesus: Acts 18 says of Apollos that "he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing through the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ."

That another Prophet such as Moses was promised, to wit, one who should give a new testament, and who rather ought to be heard. In Deuteronomy God said to Moses: "And the Lord said to me, A Prophet will I raise up to them from among their brethren, such as thee, and I will give my word in His mouth; and He shall speak unto them that which I shall command Him. And whosoever shall not hear whatsoever things that Prophet shall speak in my name, I will avenge it." Concerning whom also Christ says in the Gospel according to John: "Search the Scriptures, in which ye think ye have eternal life. These are they which set forth testimony concerning me; and ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. Do not think that I accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, on whom ye hope. For if ye had believed Moses, ye would also believe me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?"

The smooth, and passable to the many, and beaten explanation of the passage persuades us to suppose that it was spoken in the imperative mood by our Saviour to the Pharisees, that they ought to search the Divine Scriptures and gather testimonies concerning Him unto life. But since by interposing the conjunction (I mean, And) He joins on the clause, Ye will not come to Me, He evidently signifies something else, akin to what has been said, but a little different. For if it were to be taken imperatively, how should we not say it was necessary to say the whole sentence in some such fashion as this, Search the Scriptures for in them YE think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of Me; but when ye have searched, come to Me? But He is blaming them for not choosing to come, although led to it by the search, saying, And ye will not come to Me.

We will then, looking to what is more profitable and agreeable to what preceded, read it not imperatively, but rather as in connection and with a comma. Of this kind again will be the meaning of the passage before us. For when He saw that they were ever running to the books of Moses, and ignorantly collecting thence materials for gainsaying, but seeking for nothing else, nor receiving what would avail them for due belief: needs therefore does He show them that their labour in searching for these things is useless and unprofitable, and clearly convicts them of exercising themselves in a great and most profitable occupation in a way not becoming its use. For what tell me (saith He) is the use of your searching the Divine Scriptures, and supposing that by them ye will attain unto everlasting life, but when ye find that they testify of Me and call Me everlasting life, ye will not come to Me that ye might have life? Whence then ye ought to be saved (He saith) ye perceive not that thence ye get the greatest damage to your own souls, ye who are sharpened from the Mosaic books only unto gainsaying, but the things whereby ye could gain eternal life, ye do not so much as receive into your minds.

For that in the Law and the holy Prophets there is much said concerning Him Who is by Nature Life, that is the Only-Begotten, will I think be plain to all who are lovers of learning.

Wherefore also John does appropriately relate that the Lord said to the Jews: "Ye search the Scriptures, in which ye think ye have eternal life; these are they which testify of me. And ye are not willing to come unto Me, that ye may have life." How therefore did the Scriptures testify of Him, unless they were from one and the same Father, instructing men beforehand as to the advent of His Son, and foretelling the salvation brought in by Him?

Then that they may not argue, "How, if we have not heard His voice, hath He testified unto thee?" He saith, "Search the Scriptures, for they are they which testify of Me." Since by these the Father gave His testimony. He gave it indeed by Jordan also and in the mount, but Christ bringeth not forward those voices; perhaps by doing so He would have been disbelieved; for one of them, that in the mount, they did not hear, and the other they heard indeed, but heeded not. For this reason He referreth them to the Scriptures, showing that from them cometh the Father's testimony, having first removed the old grounds on which they used to boast, either as having seen God or as having heard His voice. For as it was likely that they would disbelieve His voice, and picture to themselves what took place on Sinai, after first correcting their suspicions on these points, and showing that what had been done was a condescension, He then referreth them to the testimony of the Scriptures.

Wherefore Christ when He referred the Jews to the Scriptures, sent them not to a mere reading, but a careful and considerate search; for He said not, "Read the Scriptures," but, "Search the Scriptures." Since the sayings relating to Him required great attention, (for they had been concealed from the beginning for the advantage of the men of that time,) He biddeth them now dig down with care that they might be able to discover what lay in the depth below. These sayings were not on the surface, nor were they cast forth to open view, but lay like some treasure hidden very deep. Now he that searcheth for hidden things, except he seek them with care and toil, will never find the object of his search. For which cause He said, "Search the Scriptures, because in them ye think ye have eternal life." He said not, "Ye have," but "ye think," showing that they gained from them nothing great or high, expecting as they did to be saved by the mere reading, without the addition of faith. What He saith therefore is of this kind: "Do ye not admire the Scriptures, do ye not think that they are the causes of all life? By these I confirm My claims now, for they are they which testify of Me, yet ye will not come to Me that ye may have eternal life." It was thus with good reason that He said, "ye think," because they would not obey, but merely prided themselves on the bare reading.

So far we have given, in brief, the history of the woman and the dragon. But to search out and explain the solution of them is beyond my powers. Nevertheless, let me venture, trusting in Him who commanded to search the Scriptures. If, then, you agree with this, it will not be difficult to undertake it; for you will quite pardon me, if I am unable sufficiently to explain the exact meaning of the Scripture.

Learn the mysteries of God; the very thing itself which is being done bears witness that it is God that is thus hymned by uninstructed tongues. Search the Scriptures, as ye have heard from the Lord; for they are they which testify of Him, and be not ignorant of this miracle. Hear ye men without grace, and thankless, what good tidings the prophet Zechariah brings to you. He says, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; behold thy King cometh unto thee: just and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon the foal of an ass. Why do ye repel the joy? Why, when the sun shineth, do ye love darkness? Why do ye against unconquerable peace meditate war?

For all the wisdom of life is hidden in the Scriptures. In them we are able to gain knowledge of God and of his creative activity, of his wonderful governance and providence; likewise of his goodness and, at the same time of his righteousness, and, in sum, of his great and mighty power. Anyone who is deprived of a knowledge of the Scriptures cannot withstand the power of God. … It is from the Scriptures that we learn how to travel on the road of virtue, for in them all the fine deeds of the just life are delineated. One cannot see anything without light, for it is light that enables us to see, as it is written, "By light we see light." Similarly, without the light of the Scriptures we are unable to see God, who is light, or his justice, which is filled with light. The effort involved in reading the Scriptures is thus greatly beneficial to us, all the more so since it causes us to become illumined in prayer. For anyone whose soul, after having labored in reading and having been purified by spiritual meditation, is fervent with love for God, will pray in a luminous manner when he turns to prayer and the divine office, and he will recite the psalms without distraction. This is because his mind has labored in meditation on divine providence and so is filled with joy.

"They have," says He, "Moses and Elias," -in other words, the law and the prophets, which preach Christ; as also in another place He says plainly, "Search the Scriptures, in which ye expect (to find) salvation; for they testify of me; " which will be the meaning of "Seek, and ye shall find.

He told them that the word of God does not abide in them, that is, the Scriptures that testify of Me. And teaching how they can have the word of God in themselves, He says: "Search the Scriptures, for you think through them to have life." Notice, He did not say "you have," but "you think." He said "you think," declaring that they truly received no benefit from them (the Scriptures), since they expected salvation from reading alone, without applying faith.

Then when he says, Search the Scriptures, he gives the third way in which God bore witness to Christ, through the Scriptures. First, he mentions the testimony of the Scriptures. Secondly, he shows that they were not able to gather the fruit of this testimony (v 40).

He says: Search the Scriptures. As if to say: You do not have the word of God in your hearts, but in the Scriptures; therefore, you must seek for it elsewhere than in your hearts. Hence, Search the Scriptures, that is, the Old Testament, for the faith of Christ was contained in the Old Testament, but not on the surface, for it lay hidden in its depths, under shadowy symbols: "Even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil is over their hearts" (2 Cor 3:15). Thus he significantly says, Search, probe into the depths: "If you search for her [wisdom] like money, and dig for her like a treasure, you will understand the fear of the Lord and will find the knowledge of God" (Prv 2:4); "Give me understanding and I will search your commandments" (Ps 118:34).

The reason why you should search them I take from your own opinion, because you think you have eternal life in them, since we read in Ezekiel (18:19): "He who has kept my commands will live." But you are mistaken; because although the precepts of the old law are living, they do not contain life in themselves. They are said to be living only to the extent that they lead to me, the Christ. Yet you use them as though they contained life in themselves, and in this you are mistaken, for they bear witness to me, i.e., they are living to the extent that they lead to a knowledge of me. And they lead to a knowledge of me either by plain prophecies, as in Isaiah (7:14): "A virgin will conceive." or in Deuteronomy (18:15): "The Lord your God will raise up a prophet for you."; and so Acts (10:43) says: "All the prophets bear witness to him." The Scriptures also lead to a knowledge of Christ through the symbolic actions of the prophets; thus we read: "I have used resemblances in the ministry of the prophets" (Hos 12:10). Knowledge of Christ is also given in their sacraments and figures, as in the immolation of the lamb, and other symbolic sacraments of the law: "The law has only a shadow of the good things to come" (Heb 10:1). And so, because the Scriptures of the Old Testament gave much testimony about Christ, the Apostle says: "He promised the Good News before, through his prophets in the holy Scriptures; the Good News of his Son, a descendant of David in his human nature" (Rom 1:2).

That coming is put for believing we know, Come unto Him, and be lightened. He adds, That ye might have life; (Ps. 33) For, if the soul which sinneth dies, they were dead in soul and mind. And therefore He promises the life of the soul, i. e. eternal happiness.

The certainty of the testimonies having been set forth, here is set forth the rebuke of the unbelieving Jews. Now the Lord rebukes the Jews on four counts: first, namely for the lack of divine love; second, for the blindness of false love; third, for the appetite for vain honor; fourth, for the lack of faith.

First, therefore, he rebukes them for the lack of divine love, the sign of which is that they do not come to him whom God sent; whence he says: "And you are not willing to come to me, that you may have life." Thus I have sufficient testimonies, yet you are not willing to come to me; rather, hating me, you flee: below in chapter eight: "Why do you not understand my speech? Because you cannot hear my word." Nor does he accuse them of not coming on account of his own glory.

They (the Scriptures) bear witness of Me, but you are unwilling to come to Me that you may have life. From this we learn that they were evil by choice. For He did not say "you cannot come," but "you are unwilling to come." Let the Manicheans hear that evil does not consist in nature, but in free choice.

The fruit which you think you have in the Scriptures, that is, eternal life, you will not be able to obtain, because in not believing the testimonies of the Scriptures about me, you are unwilling to come to me, i.e., you do not wish to believe in me, in whom the fruit of these Scriptures exists, in order to possess that life in me, the life which I give to those who believe in me: "I give them eternal life" (below 10:28); "Wisdom infuses life into her children" (Sir 4:12); "He who finds me will find life, and will have salvation from the Lord" (Prv 8:35).

Or, I receive not honour from men: i. e. I seek not human praise; for I came not to receive carnal honour from men, but to give spiritual honour to men. I do not bring forward this testimony then, because I seek my own glory; but because I compassionate your wanderings, and wish to bring you back to the way of truth. Hence what follows, But I know you that ye have not the love of God in you.

"I do not receive glory from men," but from the Father: below in chapter seventeen: "Father, glorify your Son"; therefore I do not accuse you on account of love of my own glory, but on account of the lack of divine love.

It is asked about what he says: "I do not receive glory from men." Because in the last chapter below it is said of Peter: "Signifying by what death he would glorify God." Therefore men glorify God. Likewise, Philippians one: "Christ will be magnified in my body whether by death or by life." I respond: It must be said that there is a difference between saying to be glorified in a man and through a man and by a man. To be glorified in a man is to reveal one's glory to a man; to be glorified through a man is to be made known to others through him; to be glorified by a man is for some glory to be given and increased to oneself by a man. The first two ways are true, but the third is false.

He perceives again, yea rather He sees in a God-befitting way, that the stubborn and contumacious band of the Pharisees were cut to the heart, and that not altogether at being accused of not searching the Divine Scriptures as they ought, but rather at His saying, Ye will not come to Me. For what diseases themselves easily fall into, these they think can take hold of the Saviour also. For they imagined (it seems) of their great folly that the Lord was ambitious, and wished to obtain for Himself honour from all, through His calling them to be His disciples. Having got some such surmise as this into their minds, they expected to be deprived forthwith of their authority over the nation: they were cut to the heart in no slight degree at seeing the Heir desirous of demanding the fruit of the vineyard. Wherefore, as far as pertains to their wrath and envy at what is said, they all but say what is in the Gospel parables, Come, let us hill Him and let us have His inheritance. Taking away then their surmise the offspring of emptiness, and plucking up beforehand by the roots the shoots of envy and evil eye, He says downright, I receive not honour from man. For I do not (says He) call My hearers to discipleship under Me, as though hunting for honour from you, or from others, as YE do, nor do I receive this as the reward of My teaching, having most full glory from Myself, and not short of that from you, but I said that ye would not come to Me, because I know well, that ye have not the love of God in you. And being destitute of Love to God (says He) how should ye come to Me, Who am the Only Begotten, God of God?

"I receive not honor from men." That is, "I need it not": "My nature," He saith, "is not of such a kind as to need the honor which is from men, for if the sun can receive no addition from the light of a candle, much farther am I from needing the honor which is from men." "Why then," asks some one, "sayest thou these things, if thou needest it not?" "That ye may be saved." This He positively asserted above, and the same He implied here also, by saying, "that ye might have life." Moreover, He putteth another reason: "But I know you that ye have not the love of God in you." For when under pretense of loving God they persecuted Him because He made Himself equal with God, and He knew that they would not believe Him, lest any one should ask, "why speakest thou these words?" "I speak them," He saith, "to convict you of this, that it is not for the love of God that ye persecute Me, if it be so that He testifieth to Me both by works and by the Scriptures. For as before this when ye deemed Me an enemy of God ye drove Me away, so now, since I have declared these things, ye ought to have hastened to Me, if ye had really loved God. But ye love Him not. And therefore have I spoken these words, to show that you are possessed with excessive pride, that you are vainly boasting and shading over your own enviousness." And the same He proveth not by these things only, but by those that should come to pass.

After he had rebuked with all these words those who did not want to believe in him, and after he had confirmed with different [arguments] those words said about him, he opportunely rejected the foolish conclusion that had followed his words by saying: I do not accept glory from human beings. But I know that you do not have the love of God in you. I have used these words not because I want glory from you or because I expect that your faith will be an advantage for me, but so that I might reprove you since you do not have the love of God. And, with the pretext of the love for God, you even eagerly persecute me as if I were vainly or even impiously boasting equality with him. So, I reprove you in order that you might turn to virtue after being rebuked. He then said aptly: ou lambanō, that is, "I do not accept" the glory given to me. My nature does not increase in dignity through the glory of people.

When He reminded them of the testimony of John, the testimony of the Father, and the testimony of His works, solely out of desire for their salvation, and meanwhile many could think that He was saying this out of love for glory, He therefore says: "I do not receive glory from men, that is, I have no need of glory, and My Nature is not such as to need glory from men."

After God confirmed the greatness of his power by the testimonies of men, of God, and of the Scriptures, he here rebukes the Jews for being slow to believe. Now the Jews persecuted Christ on two grounds: for breaking the Sabbath, by which he seemed to go against the law, and for saying that he is the Son of God, by which he seemed to go against God. Thus they persecuted him on account of their reverence for God and their zeal for the law. And so our Lord wishes to show that their persecution of him was really inspired not by these motives, but by contrary reasons.

He first shows that the cause of their unbelief was their lack of reverence for God. Secondly, that another cause of their unbelief was their lack of reverence for Moses (v 45). As to the first he does two things. First, he shows their irreverence for God. Secondly, he shows that this is the cause of their unbelief (v 44). Concerning the first he does two things. First, he mentions their lack of reverence for God. Secondly, he makes this obvious by a sign (v 43). With respect to the first he does two things. First, he rejects what they might have assumed to be his intention, from what he had said before. Secondly, he presents his real intention (v 42).

The Jews might have assumed that Christ was seeking some kind of praise from men, since he had reminded them of so many witnesses to himself, as John, God, his own works, and the testimony of the Scriptures. Against this thought he says, Praise from men I do not need, i.e., I do not seek praise from men; for I have not come to be an example of one seeking human glory: "We did not seek glory from men" (1 Thes 2:6). Or, Praise from men I do not need, i.e., I do not need human praise, because from eternity I have glory with the Father: "Glorify me, Father, with the glory I had before the world was made" (below 17:5). For I have not come to be glorified by men, but rather to glorify them, since all glory proceeds from me (Wis 7:25). It is through this wisdom that I have glory. God is said to be praised and glorified by men—"Glorify the Lord as much as you are able; he will still surpass even that" (Sir 43:30)—not that he might become by this more glorious, but so that he might appear glorious among us.

"But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you," but rather hatred: below in chapter fifteen: "Now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father." And such people are worthy of rebuke, because they lack the wedding garment: Matthew twenty-two: "Friend, how did you come in here, not having a wedding garment?"

You persecute Me under the pretext that you love God. But this is not so, no. For I know about you that you do not have the love of God in yourselves, even though you put forward everywhere that you persecute Me out of love for God. The Jews, indeed, did not have the love of God, because they persecuted self-existent Love — the Son of God. Indeed, they did not have His word abiding in them either, for they rejected the Word and God.

Thus Christ presented the various testimonies to himself not for the reason they thought, but for another one: because I know you, i.e., I have made known about you, that you do not have the love of God in your hearts, although you pretend to have it. And so you are not persecuting me because of your love for God. You would be persecuting me for the love of God if God and the Scriptures did not bear witness to me; but God himself bears witness to me by himself, his works and in the Scriptures, as has been said. Consequently, if you truly loved God, then so far from rejecting me, you would come to me. You, therefore, do not love God.

Another interpretation would be this. It is as though he were saying: I have not brought in these witnesses because I wanted your praise; but I know you do not love God and your waywardness makes me sad, and I want to lead you back to the way of truth: "Now they have seen and hated both me and my Father" (below 15:24); "The pride of those who hate you continuously rises," as the Psalm (73:23) says.

Here we should point out that God cannot be hated in himself by anyone, nor can he be hated with respect to all his effects, since every good in things comes from God, and it is impossible for anyone to hate all good, for he will at least love existence and life. But someone may hate some effect of God, insofar as this is opposed to what he desires: for example, he might hate punishment, and things of that sort. It is from this point of view that God is said to be hated.

As if He said, For this cause came I into the world, that through Me the name of the Father might be glorified; for I attribute all to Him. As then they would not receive Him, Who came to do His Father's will; they had not the love of God. But Antichrist will come not in the Father's name, but in his own, to seek, not the Father's glory, but his own. And the Jews having rejected Christ, it was a fit punishment on them, that they should receive Antichrist, and believe a lie, as they would not believe the Truth.

Here the second point is touched upon, namely the blindness of false love: because they did not receive the humble one, but will receive the proud one. "I came in the name of my Father," that is, seeking his glory, not my own: below in chapter eight: "I do not seek my own glory." "And you did not receive me": me, that is, the humble one: above in chapter one: "He came unto his own, and his own received him not." "If another shall come in his own name," such as the antichrist, who will seek his own glory, because it is said in Second Thessalonians chapter two: "He is exalted above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he sits in the temple of God." "Him you will receive," blinded, that is, by the just judgment of God; Second Thessalonians chapter two: "God shall send them the operation of error, that they may believe a lie." And the reason for this is that they were unwilling to believe the truth.

That Christ is at once Angel and God. In Genesis, to Abraham: "And the Angel of the Lord called him from heaven, and said unto him, Abraham, Abraham! And he said, Here am I. And He said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him. For now I know that thou fearest thy God, and hast not spared thy son, thy beloved son, for my sake." Also in the same place, to Jacob: "And the Angel of the Lord spake unto me in dreams, I am God, whom thou sawest in the place of God where thou anointedst me a pillar of stone, and vowedst to me a vow." Also in Exodus: "But God went before them by day indeed in a pillar of cloud, to show them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire." And afterwards, in the same place: "And the Angel of God moved forward, which went before the army of the children of Israel." Also in the same place: "Lo, I send my Angel before thy face, to keep thee in the way, that He may lead thee into the land which I have prepared for thee. Observe Him, and obey Him, and be not disobedient to Him, and He will not be wanting to thee. For my Name is in Him." Whence He Himself says in the Gospel: "I came in the name of my Father, and ye received me not. When another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive." And again in the cxviith Psalm: "Blessed is He who cometh in the name of the Lord." Also in Malachi: "My covenant of life and peace was with Levi; and I gave him fear, that he should fear me, that he should go from the face of my name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips. In the peace of the tongue correcting, he walked with us, and turned many away from unrighteousness. Because the lips of the priests shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law at His mouth; for He is the Angel of the Almighty."

In order that the Pharisees might not think that the Lord was idly railing at them, from His saying, Ye have not the love of God in you, He immediately adds this also to the above, showing that the saying is true. That I do not lie (says He) in saying that ye are bereft of love towards God, I will set before you by one thing. For I came in My Father's Name (for I am persuading you zealously to perform all things to the glory of God the Father) but ye shook off from you by your unbelief Him That cometh from above and proceedeth from God: but ye will surely receive (for as God, I know things to come) the falsely-called, who does not offer the glory to God the Father, and demands credence from you, yet works in his own name. Whence I suppose the blessed Paul too, having understanding, says something true concerning the Jews and the son of transgression, Because they received not the love of the truth, that they might he saved, for this cause God sendeth them an operation of error, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be doomed who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. This then which is said is a proof that the Pharisees were not slandered by our Saviour Christ with empty words, for it introduces a prophecy of an event which should come to pass in its time.

Holy Scripture records that this prophecy was fulfilled when our Lord and Savior Christ entered Jerusalem.… And the words "blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord" explain the words that follow: "The Lord is God and has appeared to us." It was, then, one and the same Lord God who appeared to them, that is to say, the Word of God. It is he who is therefore blessed, because he came among people in the name of the Lord his Father who sent him. It was therefore to reprove the Jews who disbelieved in him that he said, "I came in the name of my Father, and you received me not. But if one comes in his own name, him will you receive." So the Holy Spirit suitably addressed the opening verses of the psalm not to the Jewish people but to all the nations.

Jesus comes in the name of the Father, that is, he is not himself the Father and yet is in the same divine nature as the Father. For as Son and God it is natural for him to come in the name of the Father. But then, when another comes in the same name [ironically] he is the one they will receive. And he is one from whom people will expect glory and to whom they will give glory in return, though he will pretend to have come in the name of the Father. By this, doubtless, is signified the antichrist, glorying in his false use of the Father's name. He is the one they will glorify, and they will be glorified by him. But the glory of him who alone is God they will not seek.

The Lord also spoke as follows to those who did not believe in Him: "I have come in my Father's name, and ye have not received Me: when another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive," calling Antichrist "the other," because he is alienated from the Lord. This is also the unjust judge, whom the Lord mentioned as one "who feared not God, neither regarded man," to whom the widow fled in her forgetfulness of God,—that is, the earthly Jerusalem,—to be avenged of her adversary. Which also he shall do in the time of his kingdom: he shall remove his kingdom into that [city], and shall sit in the temple of God, leading astray those who worship him, as if he were Christ.

"I am come in My Father's name, and ye receive Me not; if another shall come in his own name, him will ye receive." Seest thou that He everywhere declareth that He hath been "sent," that judgment hath been committed to Him by the Father, that He can do nothing of Himself, in order that He may cut off all excuse for their unfairness? But who is it that He here saith shall come "in his own name"? He alludeth here to Antichrist, and putteth an incontrovertible proof of their unfairness. "For if as loving God ye persecute Me, much more ought this to have taken place in the case of Antichrist. For he will neither say that he is sent by the Father, nor that he cometh according to his will, but in everything contrariwise, seizing like a tyrant what belongeth not to him, and asserting that he is the very God over all, as Paul saith, 'Exalting himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, showing himself that he is God.' (2 Thess. ii. 4.) This is to 'come in his own name.' I do not so, but am come in the Name of My Father." That they received not One who said that He was sent of God, was a sufficient proof that they loved not God; but now from the contrary of this fact, from their being about to receive Antichrist, He showeth their shamelessness.

(Hom. xli. 13.) Here is the crowning proof of their impiety. He says, as it were, If it was the love of God that made you persecute me, you would persecute Antichrist much more: for he does not profess to be sent by the Father, or to come according to His will; but, on the contrary, usurping what does not belong to him, will proclaim himself to be God over all. It is manifest that your persecution of Me is from malice and hatred of God. Then He gives the reason of their unbelief: How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only? another proof this, that theirs was not a zeal for God, but a gratification of their own passions.

And in another place it is thus said through the prophet: "The King with His glory ye shall see,"-that is, Christ, doing deeds of power in the glory of God the Father; "and your eyes shall see the land from afar," -which is what you do, being prohibited, in reward of your deserts, since the storming of Jerusalem, to enter into your land; it is permitted you merely to see it with your eyes from afar: "your soul," he says, "shall meditate terror," -namely, at the time when they suffered the ruin of themselves.

They more readily supposed that the Father acted in the Son's name, than that the Son acted in the Father's; although the Lord says Himself, "I am come in my Father's name; " and even to the Father He declares, "I have manifested Thy name unto these men; " whilst the Scripture likewise says, "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord," that is to say, the Son in the Father's name.

But in the trouble of His soul, (on a later occasion, ) He said: "What shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause is it that I am come to this hour; only, O Father, do Thou glorify Thy name" -in which He spake as the Son. (At another time) He said: "I am come in my Father's name." Accordingly, the Son's voice was indeed alone sufficient, (when addressed) to the Father.

To us it has been revealed in the Son, for the Son is now the Father's new name. "I am come," saith He, "in the Father's name; " and again, "Father, glorify Thy name; " and more openly, "I have manifested Thy name to men.

I [Jesus says] refer what I say and do to the Father, because my glory is the glory of my Father. Therefore I lead you to the Father and do not offer a pretext for your unbelief. But he [i.e., antichrist] will come and will not mention the Father. Instead he will do all his works for his own glory. He will tell everyone that he is god by showing himself to be great and admirable before all. And then you will take refuge in him, and you will stay firm in your resolve without resorting to the pretext of your love for God or the intervention of the Father. And from all that you do now and you will do then, it is evident that you act according to your inclination to evil.

"I," He says, "have come in the name of My Father." Everywhere He glorifies the Father and says that He was sent by Him and that He can do nothing of Himself, and in general expresses many humble things, wishing to cut off every pretext for not accepting Him. But another will come, that is, the antichrist, who will claim that he alone is God. If you, then, do not receive Me, Who came in the name of the Father, that is, Who says that He was sent by the Father, you will receive him. This will happen to you because he will promise you worldly glory, which you seek, desiring to receive glory from one another and rejecting the glory that is from God alone. But I promise you nothing attractive in this life; rather, in My words you see much that is difficult.

Then (v 43), he gives a sign that they do not love God. First, a present sign; secondly, a future sign (v 43b).

The present sign concerns his own coming; so he says, I have come in my Father's name. As if to say: What I say is obvious, for if one loves his Lord, it is clear that he will honor and receive one who comes from him, and seek to honor him. But I have come in my Father's name, and I make his name known to the world: "I have made your name known to those you have given me" (below 17:6), and yet you do not accept me. Therefore, you do not love him. The Son is said to make his Father known to men because, although the Father, as God, was known—"God is known in Judah" (Ps 75:1)—yet he was not known as the natural Father of the Son before Christ came. Thus Solomon asked: "What is his name? And what is the name of his son?" (Prv 30:4).

The future sign concerns the coming of the Antichrist. For the Jews could say: Although you come in his name, we have not accepted you, because we will not accept anyone but God the Father. The Lord speaks against this, and says that it cannot be, because you will accept another, who will come, not in the Father's name, but in his own name; and what is more, he will come, not in the name of the Father, but in his own name, precisely because he will not seek the glory of the Father but his own. And whatever he does, he will attribute it, not to the Father, but to himself: "who opposes and is exalted above all that is called God, or is worshipped" (2 Thes 2:4). You would be accepting him; and so the Apostle continues in the same letter: "God will send them a misleading influence so that they might believe what is false" (2 Thes 2:11). And this, because they did not accept the true teaching, that they might be saved. So the Gloss says: "Because the Jews were unwilling to accept Christ, the penalty for this sin will be, fittingly enough, that they will receive the Antichrist; with the result that those who were unwilling to believe the truth, will believe a lie."

According to Augustine, however, we can understand this text as applying to heretics and false teachers: who spread a teaching that comes from their own hearts and not from the mouth of God, and who praise themselves and despise the name of God. Of such persons it is written: "You have heard that the Antichrist is coming; and now many antichrists have appeared" (1 Jn 2:18). So it is clear that your persecution of me does not spring from your love for God, but from your hatred and envy of him. And this was the reason why they did not believe.

How faulty then is the boasting temper, and that eagerness for human praise, which likes to be thought to have what it has not, and would fain be thought to have all that it has, by its own strength. Men of such temper cannot believe; for in their hearts, they are bent solely on gaining praise, and setting themselves up above others.

The best way of guarding against this sin, is to bring to our consciences the remembrance, that we are dust, and should ascribe all the good that we have not to ourselves, but to God. And we should endeavour always to be such, as we wish to appear to others. Then, as they might ask, Wilt thou accuse us then to the Father? He anticipates this question: Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father.

Here thirdly he reproves them for their appetite for vain honor, by reason of which they were unfit to believe in the truth, because they were seeking vanity. "How can you believe," namely in the truth, "you who receive glory from one another," clinging to vanity? For human glory is vanity; Isaiah chapter forty: "All flesh is grass, and all its glory is as the flower of grass": and from the appetite for vanity a man is rendered unfit for faith in the truth: whence in the Psalm: "O sons of men, how long will you be heavy of heart? Why do you love vanity and seek after falsehood?" Thus you seek false glory, "and the glory which is from God alone, you do not seek," that is, true glory. This is from God alone: the Psalm: "The Lord will give grace and glory." Therefore it is said in Second Corinthians chapter ten: "Let him who glories, glory in the Lord: for not he who commends himself is approved, but he whom God commends."

He accuses the Pharisees of a love for power and of prizing honors from people. He is covertly hinting that it is exceedingly inadvisable to put the diseases of their own soul on God, who can by no means have anything to do with disease. He goes on to say that they, held fast by an empty kind of glory, thereby lose the fairest prize, meaning faith in him. Paul speaks clearly of this too when he says, "For if I were yet pleasing people, I should not be Christ's servant." It is almost always necessarily the case that those who hunt for honors from people fail when it comes to the glory that comes from above and from the only God.

"How can ye believe, which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God only?" Hence again He showeth that they looked not to the things of God, but that under this pretense they desired to gratify private feeling, and were so far from doing this on account of His glory, that they preferred honor from men to that which cometh from Him. How then were they likely to entertain such hostility towards Him for a kind of honor which they so despised, as to prefer to it the honor which cometh from men?

And, of course, that ought to have been chosen which keeps virgins veiled, as being known to God alone; who (besides that glory must be sought from God, not from men ) ought to blush even at their own privilege.

Since I, he says, lead you to God without promising anything magnificent in this life, you run away from me because my words are difficult. But the other one shows all his glory in this life by promising great security and dignity to those who believe in him. And so you, enticed by the greed of this life, take refuge in him.

"That is why," He says, "you do not believe Me, because you do not hope to receive from Me any worldly pleasure." And in another sense: "You do not believe Me because you love glory from one another." For the rulers and teachers, desiring themselves only to be in glory among the people, do not accept Me, lest their glory be diminished. And the people, seeking favor from the rulers, do not wish to turn to Me, lest on account of Me they lose honor with the rulers.

He concludes: How can people like you believe, when you crave praise from each other, i.e., human praise, and yet not even ask for that one praise which is from God alone? which is true glory. The reason they could not believe in Christ was that, since their proud minds were craving their own glory and praise, they considered themselves superior to others in glory, and regarded it as a disgrace to believe in Christ, who seemed common and poor. And this was why they could not believe in him. The one who can believe in Christ is the person of humble heart, who seeks the glory of God alone, and who strives to please him. And so we read: "Many of the leaders believed in him; but they did not admit it because of the Pharisees, so that they would not be expelled from the synagogue" (below 12:42). We can see from this just how dangerous vainglory is. For this reason Cicero says: "Let a man beware of that glory that robs him of all freedom; that freedom for which a man of great spirit should risk everything." And the Gloss says: "It is a great vice to boast and to strive for human praise: to desire that others think you have what you really do not have."

Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the defect of faith among the Jews, not only for believing Christ, but also Moses: on account of which they were accused not only by Christ, but also by Moses. "Do not think that I shall accuse you before the Father": because I did not come to accuse, but to pardon. Whence he himself is the propitiation, not the accuser: First John chapter two: "He himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world." Nor yet do they lack an accuser: therefore he says: "There is another who accuses you, Moses, in whom you hope," as his disciples: below in chapter nine: "We are disciples of Moses: we know that God spoke to Moses." He accuses you, because, that is, you do not believe him.

Likewise there is a question about what he says: "I will not accuse you before the Father." On the contrary: Christ is just and cannot not be just: therefore just as it belongs to him to praise the good, so also to accuse the wicked. Likewise, Jeremiah twenty-nine: "I am the judge and the witness": therefore if it belongs to a true witness to accuse the wicked, etc.

I respond: It must be said that Christ, so far as it was in his power, offered himself by his death: and because he offered himself for all, therefore so far as it depends on him, he accuses no one. Whence the Gloss says: "The blood of Christ accuses no one, but cries out for pardon; the blood of Abel cries out for vengeance," the teaching of Moses cries out for vengeance. Whence it must be understood that he does not accuse of himself, but on account of our fault. — Or it must be said that he does not accuse primarily and principally: but Moses accuses more principally, Moses whom they do not believe when he foretells Christ.

Having said that the Pharisees cared more to live vain-gloriously than piously, and having taught that hence they turned aside to unmeasured unbelief, He says that they were accused by Moses himself, of whom it was their custom to boast very vehemently. And indeed when the man who was blind from his birth once said to them of Christ, Will YE also be His disciples? immediately they cry out and say openly, THOU art His disciple, but WE are Moses disciples. Even Moses himself therefore (says He) shall accuse you, in whom ye put all your hope, and he despised with the rest will denounce before God your innate folly. And we do not deem that they who believe not in Him will be without blame from Christ, by reason of His saying to the Jews, Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. For what shall we say when we hear Him saying, Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I too confess before My Father which is in Heaven: but whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in Heaven? shall we not reasonably suppose, that they shall be accused to God the Father for their denial, who meet with this from Christ? But I suppose this is clear to every one. The Jews then are not surely free from accusal who have through long unbelief denied Christ, but this applies to them most naturally. For since they shook off His admonitions, and made no account of His Divine and Heavenly teaching, but are ever about duly keeping the Mosaic law, so as to be seen at length even more nakedly crying out, WE know that God hath spoken unto Moses, this man we know not from whence He is:----most necessarily does He convict them of transgressing against that Moses, in whom they boast, and says that they need no other accuser, but that the law given through him will alone suffice for their with reason being accused for their unbelief in Him, even though the Voice of the Judge, that is, Christ, should be dumb.

"Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me; for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe My words?" What He saith is of this kind: "It is Moses who has been insulted more than I by your conduct towards Me, for ye have disbelieved him rather than Me." See how in every way He hath cast them out from all excuse. "Ye said that ye loved God when ye persecuted Me; I have shown that ye did so from hatred of Him: ye say that I break the Sabbath and annul the Law; I have rid Me of this slander also: ye maintain that ye believe in Moses by what ye dare to do against Me; I on the contrary show that this is most to disbelieve in Moses; for so far am I from opposing the Law, that he who shall accuse you is none other than the man who gave you the Law." As then He said of the Scriptures, in which "ye think ye have eternal life," so of Moses also He saith, "in whom ye trust"; everywhere conquering them by their own weapons.

That the Scriptures testified of Him He declared, but where they testify He added not; desiring to inspire them with greater awe, and to prompt them to search, and to reduce them to the necessity of questioning. For had He told them readily and without their questioning, they would have rejected the testimony; but now, if they gave any heed to His words, they needed first of all to ask, and learn from Him what that testimony was. On this account He dealeth the more largely in assertions and threats, not in proofs only, that even so He may bring them over by fear of what He saith; but they even so were silent. Such a thing is wickedness; whatsoever a man say or do it is not stirred to move, but remaineth keeping its peculiar venom.

(Hom. xli. 2) For I am not come to condemn, but to save. There is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom you trust. As He had said of the Scriptures above: In them ye think ye have eternal life. So now of Moses He says, In whom ye trust, always answering them out of their authorities. But they will say, How will he accuse us? What hast Thou to do with Moses, Thou who hast broken the sabbath? So He adds: For had ye believed Moses, ye would perhaps have believed Me, for he wrote of me, This is connected with what was said before. For where evidence that He came from God had been forced upon them by His words, by the voice of John, and the testimony of the Father, it was certain that Moses would condemn them; (alluding to Deut. 13:1.) for he had said, If any one shall come, doing miracles, leading men to God, and foretelling the future with certainty, you must obey him. Christ did all this, and they did not obey Him.

Since they constantly appealed to Moses, the Lord says that he will accuse you, because he wrote about Me. Where did he write about Him? In many places. Thus the saying "The Lord will raise up a Prophet for you" referred to Christ, and many other things, partly in words, partly in signs and symbols. For example, the miracle of the bush (Exod. 3:2). Here the fire signified the Divinity, and the thornbush signified the sinful nature, which the fire of Divinity assumed and yet preserved unburnt, illuminating it with light and endowing it with His radiance, but not taking on its defects. This saying of Moses contributed very greatly to faith in Christ. "If," he says, "a prophet arises who works miracles and leads away from God, do not believe him: he is the antichrist. But if a Prophet arises who works miracles and leads to God and the Father, especially not leading away from Him, believe Him." (Deut. 13:1–3) Thus, Christ, who came in the name of the Father, who worked miracles and did not lead them (the Jews) away from piety, was the very One about whom Moses prophesied.

Then (v 45), he shows that they do not have zeal for Moses. First, how Moses was against them. Secondly, he gives the reason for this opposition (v 46). As to the first he does two things. First, he rejects their false zeal; secondly, he shows them true zeal, The one who accuses you is Moses.

As to the first he says: Do not think that I will accuse you before my Father. There are three reasons for his saying this. First, the Son of God did not come into the world to condemn the world, but to save it. So he says, Do not think that I have come to condemn, I have come to free: "God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world," that is, to condemn the world, "but that the world might be saved through him" (above 3:17). And so the blood of Christ cries out, not to accuse, but to forgive: "We have the blood of Christ, crying out better than that of Abel" (Heb 12:24), whose blood cried out to accuse; "Who will accuse God's elect? It is Christ who justifies. Who is it, then, who will condemn?" (Rom 8:33). As to his second reason for saying this, he says: Do not think that I will accuse you before my Father, because I will not be the one to accuse you, but to judge you: "The Father has given all judgment to the Son" (above 5:22). The third reason is: Do not think that I, i.e., I alone, will accuse you before my Father for what you are doing to me; for even Moses will accuse you for not believing him in the things he said of me.

Consequently he adds: The one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you place your trust, because you believe you are saved through his precepts. Moses accuses them in two ways. Materially, because they deserved to be accused for transgressing his commands: "Those who have sinned under the law, will be judged by the law" (Rom 2:12). Again, Moses accuses them because he and the other saints will have authority in the judgment: "The two-edged swords will be in their hands" (Ps 149:6).

Perhaps, He says, in accommodation to our way of speaking, not because there is really any doubting in God. Moses prophesied of Christ, A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up from among your brethren like unto me: Him shall ye hear. (Deut. 18:18)

Let him he patient and gentle in his admonitions, well instructed himself, meditating in and diligently studying the Lord's books, and reading them frequently, that so he may be able carefully to interpret the Scriptures, expounding the Gospel in correspondence with the prophets and with the law; and let the expositions from the law and the prophets correspond to the Gospel. For the Lord Jesus says: "Search the Scriptures; for they are those which testify of me." And again: "For Moses wrote of me." But, above all, let him carefully distinguish between the original law and the additional precepts, and show which are the laws for believers, and which the bonds for the unbelievers, lest any should fall under those bonds.

But just as in barley the kernel is hidden in the husk, so Christ is hidden under the wraps of the mysteries of the law. Like bread, those mysteries are expounded and expanded.

(de Verb. Dom. Serm. 45. a med.) Hear John, As ye have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now are there many Antichrists. (1 John 2:18) But what dost thou dread in Antichrist, except that he will exalt his own name, and despise the name of the Lord? And what else does he do, who says, "I justify;" or those who say, "Unless we are good, ye must perisho?" Wherefore my life shall depend on Thee, and my salvation shall be fastened to Thee. Shall I so forget my foundation? Is not my rock Christ?

(cont. Faust. l. xvi. c. 9) But, in fact, the whole that Moses wrote, was written of Christ, i. e. it has reference to Him principally; whether it point to Him by figurative actions, or expression; or set forth His grace and glory.

"For if you believed Moses, you would perhaps believe me also: perhaps" is a mark of freedom: and truly me: "for he wrote of me": Deuteronomy eighteen: "The Lord will raise up a prophet for you from your nation: you shall hear him, just as you hear me." And he will accuse you, because you do not believe in him.

Having said that the Jews would be accused by the all-wise Moses, and would undergo indictment at his hands for their unbelief in Him; He profitably subjoins these things also, teaching that He was not finding fault with them for nothing, or otherwise repudiating the suspicion of being given to railing, for it is evident that He is making no untrue speech. Be it then (saith He) that ye reject My words, I will bear with not being believed: receive your own Moses, give credence to him whom ye admire, and ye shall know of a surety Him whom not knowing ye dishonour. Break off your types which travail with the truth. For I am shadowed out in his books. Therefore will Moses himself also accuse you (saith He) when he seeth you disbelieving his writings about Me.

We ought then perhaps having interpreted what is before us, to proceed in order, committing it to sincere lovers of learning to investigate the images of Christ through Moses. For his books are full of passages, and there is much said by him, yet full of difficulty to understand and replete with exceeding subtle and hidden meanings. But lest we seem to let indolence have the mastery over us, and unreasonably to shirk so glorious a toil, by simply clothing with difficulty the books of Moses, we will apply ourselves to this too, knowing what is written, The Lord will give utterance to them who evangelize with much power.

But since there are, as we have said, many words on these things, and since the all-wise Moses hath through many forms foretypified the Mystery of Christ, we shall not deem it necessary to heap up a great multitude before our readers, but having chosen one out of the whole number, we will essay to make clear proof that the Word of our Saviour was true, which He spake to the Jews, saying, If ye had believed Moses, ye would have believed Me, for of Me he wrote.

CHAPTER III. That Moses was indicating the Coming of the Saviour. From Deuteronomy, concerning Christ.

The Lord thy God (it says) will raise up unto thee a Prophet from thy brethren, like unto me, Him shall ye hear; according to all that thou desiredst of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let us not hear again the voice of the LORD our God, neither let us see this great fire any more, nor let us die: and the LORD said unto me, Well is all which they spake: I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren like unto thee, and will put My word in His Mouth, and He shall speak unto them as I shall command Him. And the man who shall not hearken unto what the Prophet shall speak in My Name, I will require it of him. Deuteronomy is a kind of repetition and summary of the Mosaic books: it is not therefore possible to take from it a type and image of the legal priesthood. Yet since we are not accustomed to be without understanding, who in all think rightly by Christ's aid, we will tell our readers and throw open the meaning of the passage in hand: Lo again is the mystery of Christ plainly told us, skilfully moulded by most subtle contemplation from likeness to Moses. For (says he) a Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren like unto me: himself explaining, and that unflinchingly, what is the idea which from the likeness to himself his declaration introduces to us, clearly subjoins, According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in the mount Sinai in the day of the assembly, saying, Let us not hear any more the voice of the LORD our God, neither let us see this great fire any more, and let us not die. For he affirms that himself was at that time spoken of as a mediator, the Synagogue of the Jews being yet powerless to have to do with things above nature, and therefore prudently declining things above their power. For such was the sight of God, surprising the vision with unwonted sights, and the echoes of the trumpets supernatural and intolerable to the hearers.

Therefore the mediation of Moses was instituted as medicine of infirmity for those at that time, ministering to the synagogue the things decreed of God. You will transfer again the type to the truth, and will hereby conceive of Christ, the Mediator of God and men, ministering to the more teachable by means of human voice (when for our sakes He was born of a woman) the Ineffable Will of God the Father, made known to Him Alone, in that He is conceived of as both Son, of Him, and Wisdom, knowing all things, yea the deep things of God. For since it was not possible for the eyes of the body to fasten themselves upon the untempered and bare Divine and Ineffable glory of the Essence which surpasseth all things (for there shall no man (saith He) see My Face, and live:) needs was the Only-Begotten Word of God co-fashioned after our infirmities, clothed in this human body according to the Ineffable mode of the economy, and manifesting to us the counsel from above, that is of God the Father, saying, All things that I heard of My Father, these will I declare unto you, and again, For I spake not of Myself, but the Father which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment what I should say and what I should speak. Therefore as an image of the mediation, Moses of old may be considered a type of Christ, ministering most excellently to the children of Israel the things appointed from God: but the mediation of Moses was ministrative, that of Christ is free and more mystical, in that He takes hold by Nature of the things mediated and reaches unto both, I mean the manhood that is mediated and God the Father.

For He was by Nature God, as the Only-Begotten of God, as not separated from the Essence of Him Who begat Him, and in-being in It, as He is conceived to be also of it. But He was Man too, in that He became Flesh likening Himself to us, that through Him that which is by nature far separated might be conjoined to God. When then Moses says, A Prophet shall the Lord raise up unto you like unto me, you will understand it no other wise than we have just said. Since God Himself also sets His seal on the word saying, Well is all which they spake; I will raise them up a Prophet like unto thee, and will put My Words upon Him, and He shall speak unto them according to all that I shall command Him. For the Son upholdeth all things by the word of His Power, as Paul saith, and telleth us the words of the Father, inasmuch as He is ordained a Mediator by Him, as is sung in the Psalms, as of Christ Himself, And I was set King by Him upon Sion His holy Mountain, declaring the decree of the Lord.

But if it seem good to any, by other considerations also to attain unto the mode of likeness, he will understand Like unto me as lawgiver, and will bring forward as proof the words, It was said by them of old, Thou shalt not commit adultery, but I say unto you, Thou shalt not lust. He will understand again like unto me, saying that He is a kind of leader and master unto the being able to understand the will of the Father, and to the things whereby there is the high road into the Kingdom of Heaven: just as to them of old too the blessed Moses appeared a teacher of the instruction through the Law, adding everywhere to his own words, That thou mayest live long, and that the Lord thy God may bring thee into the land which He sware to thy fathers. But since he subjoined to what has been said, And the man that will not hear what the Prophet shall speak in My Name, I will require it of him; let the ignorant Jews, who harden their minds to most utter stubbornness, consider that they are pouring self-invited destruction upon their own heads. For they shall be under Divine wrath, receiving the total loss of good things as the wages of their rage against Christ. For if they had believed Moses, they would have believed Christ, for of Him he wrote.

To whom it is said that they have Moses and the prophets. But he says: "They will not believe, unless someone rises from the dead." To whom it is immediately answered: "If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe even if someone rises from the dead." Certainly the Truth says of Moses: "If you believed Moses, you would certainly believe me also. For he wrote of me." Therefore what is said through Abraham's response is fulfilled. For the Lord rose from the dead, but that Jewish people, because they were unwilling to believe Moses, also scorned to believe him who rose from the dead. And since they scorned to understand the words of Moses spiritually, they did not come to him of whom Moses had spoken.

Moses, indeed, will refute you with the whole volume of the law, ordained through angels, which he received by the hand of the Mediator. Enquire whether he who gave the law was not true God, for the Mediator was the Giver. And was it not to meet God that Moses led the people out to the mountain? Was it not God who came down onto the mountain? Or was it, perhaps, only by a fiction or an adoption, and not by right of nature, that he who did all this bore the name of God?… In your eyes is he not God just because he addressed you through the weak faculties of a man so that you might hear and live?

If, then, those who were conversant with the ancient Scriptures came to newness of hope, expecting the coming of Christ, as the Lord teaches us when He says, "If ye had believed Moses, ye would have believed Me, for he wrote of Me; " and again, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it, and was glad; for before Abraham was, I am; " how shall we be able to live without Him? The prophets were His servants, and foresaw Him by the Spirit, and waited for Him as their Teacher, and expected Him as their Lord and Saviour, saying, "He will come and save us." Let us therefore no longer keep the Sabbath after the Jewish manner, and rejoice in days of idleness; for "he that does not work, let him not eat."

But since the writings of Moses are the words of Christ, He does Himself declare to the Jews, as John has recorded in the Gospel: "If ye had believed Moses, ye would have believed Me: for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not his writings, neither will ye believe My words." He thus indicates in the clearest manner that the writings of Moses are His words. If, then, [this be the case with regard] to Moses, so also, beyond a doubt, the words of the other prophets are His [words], as I have pointed out. And again, the Lord Himself exhibits Abraham as having said to the rich man, with reference to all those who were still alive: "If they do not obey Moses and the prophets, neither, if any one were to rise from the dead and go to them, will they believe him."

Wherefore also John does appropriately relate that the Lord said to the Jews: "Ye search the Scriptures, in which ye think ye have eternal life; these are they which testify of me. And ye are not willing to come unto Me, that ye may have life." How therefore did the Scriptures testify of Him, unless they were from one and the same Father, instructing men beforehand as to the advent of His Son, and foretelling the salvation brought in by Him? "For if ye had believed Moses, ye would also have believed Me; for he wrote of Me;" [saying this,] no doubt, because the Son of God is implanted everywhere throughout his writings: at one time, indeed, speaking with Abraham, when about to eat with him; at another time with Noah, giving to him the dimensions [of the ark]; at another; inquiring after Adam; at another, bringing down judgment upon the Sodomites; and again, when He becomes visible, and directs Jacob on his journey, and speaks with Moses from the bush. And it would be endless to recount [the occasions] upon which the Son of God is shown forth by Moses. Of the day of His passion, too, he was not ignorant; but foretold Him, after a figurative manner, by the name given to the passover; and at that very festival, which had been proclaimed such a long time previously by Moses, did our Lord suffer, thus fulfilling the passover. And he did not describe the day only, but the place also, and the time of day at which the sufferings ceased, and the sign of the setting of the sun, saying: "Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any other of thy cities which the Lord God gives thee; but in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose that His name be called on there, thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, towards the setting of the sun."

But since the writings (literae) of Moses are the words of Christ, He does Himself declare to the Jews, as John has recorded in the Gospel: "If ye had believed Moses, ye would have believed Me: for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not his writings, neither will ye believe My words." He thus indicates in the clearest manner that the writings of Moses are His words. If, then, [this be the case with regard] to Moses, so also, beyond a doubt, the words of the other prophets are His [words], as I have pointed out. And again, the Lord Himself exhibits Abraham as having said to the rich man, with reference to all those who were still alive: "If they do not obey Moses and the prophets, neither, if any one were to rise from the dead and go to them, will they believe him."

(Hom. xli. 2) Indeed had they attended to His words, they ought and would have tried to learn from Him, what the things were which Moses had written of Him. But they are silent. For it is the nature of wickedness to defy persuasion. Do what you will, it retains its venom to the last.

He presents the reason for this opposition when he says: If you believed Moses, you would perhaps believe me as well, as is clear from "The Lord your God will raise up a prophet for you, from your nation and your brothers; he will be like me: you will listen to him" (Dt 18:15), and from all the sacrifices, which were a symbol of Christ. He says, perhaps, to indicate that their will acts from a free judgment, and not to imply that there is any doubt on the part of God.

From this we may infer too, that he who knows the commandments against stealing, and other crimes, and neglects them, will never fulfil the more perfect and refined precepts of the Gospel.

But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe My words.

"But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?" As if to say: you will not. Luke sixteen: "If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they believe even if someone should rise from the dead."

Likewise there is a question about the Lord's argument: "If you do not believe the writings of Moses, how will you believe my words?" It appears to be an argument from the lesser by negation. I respond: Although it is lesser absolutely, nevertheless for the Jews it is not lesser, but greater.

The verse might appear to a person, and with good reason, to have great obscurity. For he might even without being out of the mark, take to untrue surmises, supposing that the books of Moses excel the words of the Saviour. For the verse hath some such appearance, and as far as one can say, taking it without accurate consideration, it furnishes to the Mosaic writings a more worthy repute than to the words of the Saviour. For by saying, If ye believe not Ms writings, how shall ye believe My Words, He somehow gives us to understand that the writings of Moses are in a superior position to His Own words. But the very nature of the thing will show that this so incredible idea is replete with the extremest folly: for how shall the writings of Moses be conceived to excel the words of the Saviour, when his were types and shadows, Christ's the truth? And it would not perhaps be hard to expend much reasoning hereupon: but things which are obvious and receive their proof, not from without, but from themselves, I think it superfluous to say that they are not in ill case or the reverse. For why should one waste time making fine distinctions about such things, and mince up what is by no means hard into unseasonable babblings?

Some such meaning as this then hath that which is said by the Saviour. If (says He) ye who have the Law written by Moses, and thoroughly study his writings, make no account of transgression of them, burying in strange oblivion that which is full often read, how will ye be better disposed to My Words, or how will ye show yourselves more ready and more obedient to My sayings, since ye have not often nor always attended them, but hear them by the way, and scarce once admit them into the bodily ears? You shall either clothe the verse in this dress, or you may consider it in another way: for to love of learning belongs the labour and research herein. The writings of Moses then introduce a kind of preparation for, and typical outline of the Mysteries of Christ, and the elements, so to say, of knowledge of Him are the things limned in Moses, as we showed more at large by the things already examined. But the end of the instruction of the Law is Christ, according as it is written, Christ is the fulfilment of the law and the Prophets. They then (saith He) who received not the elements of the beginning of the words of God, and in their folly thrust away the Law which by its clearer letter leadeth them, how shall they attain to yet more perfect knowledge? or how will the greater be acceptable, if that which is little and inferior be by no means admitted?

If you do not believe the writings of Moses, how will you believe My words? "He," He says, "wrote, and the Bible is always before your eyes, so that even if you had forgotten, you can easily recall it, and yet you do not believe what is written — how then will you believe My unwritten words?" Why then do You say this, Lord, when You know that they will not believe? "Although," He says, "I know that they will not listen, nevertheless I speak, so that they may not afterward claim, 'We would have believed, if You had told us.'" And in another sense: His ungrateful contemporaries did not believe; but it would have been unjust to deprive of the benefit of Christ's words those who would come to believe in the course of time.

As if He said, He has even written, and has left his books among you, as a constant memento to you, lest you forget His words. And since you believe not his writings, how can ye believe My unwritten words?

Then when he says, But if you do not believe in his written statements, how will you believe in my spoken words? he gives a sign of this opposition. He does this by comparing two things, and then denying of the lesser of them what is denied of the greater. First, there is a comparison between Moses and Christ: for although Christ, absolutely speaking, is greater than Moses, Moses was the greater in reputation among the Jews. Thus he says: If you do not believe Moses, you will not believe me either. Secondly, he compares the way in which they presented their teaching: Moses gave his precepts in a written form; and so they can be studied for a long time, and are not easily forgotten. Hence they impose a stronger obligation to believe. But Christ presented his teachings in spoken words. Thus he says, But if you do not believe in his written statements, which you have preserved in your books, how will you believe in my spoken words?

In the Gospel lesson which precedes this one, the Lord had said: "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and appointed you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and [that] your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, He may give it you." On these words you remember that we have already discoursed, as the Lord enabled us. But here, that is, in the succeeding lesson which you have heard read, He says: "These things I command you, that ye love one another." And thereby we are to understand that this is our fruit, of which He had said, "I have chosen you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and [that] your fruit should remain." And what He subjoined, "That whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, He may give it you," He will certainly give us if we love one another; seeing that this very thing He has also given us, in choosing us when we had no fruit, because we had chosen Him not; and appointing us that we should bring forth fruit,-that is, that we should love one another,-a fruit that we cannot have apart from Him, just as the branches can do nothing apart from the vine. Our fruit, therefore, is charity, which the apostle explains to be, "Out of a pure heart, and a good conscience, and faith unfeigned." So love we one another, and so love we God. For it would be with no true love that we loved one another, if we loved not God. For every one loves his neighbor as himself if he loves God; and if he loves not God, he loves not himself. For on these two commandments of love hang all the law and the prophets: this is our fruit. And it is in reference, therefore, to such fruit that He gives us commandment when He says, "These things I command you, that ye love one another." In the same way also the Apostle Paul, when wishing to commend the fruit of the Spirit in opposition to the deeds of the flesh, posited this as his principle, saying, "The fruit of the Spirit is love;" and then, as if springing from and bound up in this principle, he wove the others together, which are "joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." For who can truly rejoice who loves not good as the source of his joy? Who can have true peace, if he have it not with one whom he truly loves? Who can be long-enduring through persevering continuance in good, save through fervent love? Who can be kind, if he love not the person he is aiding? Who can be good, if he is not made so by loving? Who can be sound in the faith, without that faith which worketh by love? Whose meekness can be beneficial in character, if not regulated by love? And who will abstain from that which is debasing, if he love not that which dignifies? Appropriately, therefore, does the good Master so frequently commend love, as the only thing needing to be commended, without which all other good things can be of no avail, and which cannot be possessed without bringing with it those other good things that make a man truly good.

(Tract. lxxxvii. 1) Our Lord had said, I have ordained that ye should walk, and bring forth fruit. Love is this fruit. Wherefore He proceeds: These things I command you, that ye love one another. (Gal. 5:22) Hence the Apostle saith: The fruit of the Spirit is love; and enumerates all other graces as springing from this source. Well then doth our Lord commend love, as if it were the only thing commanded: seeing that without it nothing can profit, with it nothing be wanting, whereby a man is made good.

And in view of this recompense they ought to keep the commandment of Christ; therefore he repeats it: These things I command you, that you love one another. The commandment of love is called as it were given by hand, because he gave it by his own example: therefore above in chapter 13: "A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another"; and 1 Thessalonians 4: "Concerning brotherly charity, we have no need to write to you: for you yourselves have learned of God to love one another."

They observed it in order to calumniate it, as we read in the Psalms, The ungodly sees the righteousness .

"These things I command you, that ye love one another."

That is, "It is not to upbraid, that I tell you that I lay down My life for you, or that I ran to meet you, but in order to lead you into friendship." Then, since the being persecuted and insulted by the many, was a grievous and intolerable thing, and enough to humble even a lofty soul, therefore, after having said ten thousand things first, Christ entered upon this matter. Having first smoothed their minds, He thus proceedeth to these points, showing that these things too were for their exceeding advantage, as He had also shown that the others were. For as He had told them that they ought not to grieve, but rather to rejoice, "because I go to the Father," (since He did this not as deserting but as greatly loving them,) so here also He showeth that they ought to rejoice, not grieve.

Lest the apostles think that the Lord speaks to reproach them by saying that He lays down His life for them and that He chose them, He therefore says: "I command you this not as a reproach to you, nor in praise of Myself as though for some merit, but to more firmly establish your souls in love for one another; for this reason I enumerate the perfections of My love toward you. These things I command you, that you love one another."

2029 These things I command you so that you will love one another. Here he is giving the reason for what he has said. Someone might ask: Why did Christ tell them all these things? So our Lord answers, These things I command you so that you will love one another. He is saying in effect: Everything I said to you was to lead you to love your neighbor: "The aim of our charge is love" (1 Tim 1:5). One could also say, with Chrysostom, that the apostles could have said: Lord, why are you reminding us so much about your love? Are you reprimanding us? But our Lord says: Not at all. I am doing this to encourage you to love your neighbor: "And this commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should love his brother also" (1 Jn 4:21).

But behold, that which persecutes is called the world: let us test if that which suffers persecution is also called the world. Or are you deaf to the voice of Christ saying, or rather the sacred Scripture testifying: God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself? If the world hates you, he says, know that it hated me before it hated you. Behold, the world hates. Whom, if not the world? Which world? God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. The condemned world persecutes; the reconciled world suffers persecution. The condemned world is anything outside the Church; the reconciled world is the Church. For the Son of man did not come, he says, to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

But alongside of this love we ought also patiently to endure the hatred of the world. For it must of necessity hate those whom it perceives recoiling from that which is loved by itself. But the Lord supplies us with special consolation from His own case, when, after saying, "These things I command you, that ye love one another," He added, "If the world hate you, know that it hated me before [it hated] you." Why then should the member exalt itself above the head? Thou refusest to be in the body if thou art unwilling to endure the hatred of the world along with the Head. "If ye were of the world," He says, "the world would love its own." He says this, of course, of the whole Church, which, by itself, He frequently also calls by the name of the world: as when it is said, "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself." And this also: "The Son of man came not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." And John says in his epistle: "We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also [for those] of the whole world." The whole world then is the Church, and yet the whole world hateth the Church. The world therefore hateth the world, the hostile that which is reconciled, the condemned that which is saved, the polluted that which is cleansed.

But if we are asked about the love which is borne to itself by that world of perdition which hateth the world of redemption; we reply, it loveth itself, of course, with a false love, and not with a true. And hence, it loves itself falsely, and hates itself truly. For he that loveth wickedness, hateth his own soul. And yet it is said to love itself, inasmuch as it loves the wickedness that makes it wicked; and, on the other hand, it is said to hate itself, inasmuch as it loves that which causes it injury. It hates, therefore, the true nature that is in it, and loves the vice: it hates what it is, as made by the goodness of God, and loves what has been wrought in it by free-will. And hence also, if we rightly understand it, we are at once forbidden and commanded to love it: thus, we are forbidden, when it is said to us, "Love not the world;" and we are commanded, when it is said to us, "Love your enemies." These constitute the world that hateth us. And therefore we are forbidden to love in it that which it loves in itself; and we are enjoined to love in it what it hates in itself, namely, the workmanship of God, and the various consolations of His goodness. For we are forbidden to love the vice that is in it, and enjoined to love the nature, while it loves the vice in itself, and hates the nature: so that we may both love and hate it in a right manner, whereas it loves and hates itself perversely.

(Tract. lxxxvii. 2) For why should the members exalt themselves above the head? Thou refusest to be in the body, if thou art not willing, with the head, to endure the hatred of the world. For love's sake let us be patient: the world must hate us, whom it sees hate whatever it loves; If ye were of the world, the world would love his own.

(Tract. lxxxvii. 2) He saith this to the whole Church, which is often called the world; as, God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself. (2 Cor. 5:19) The whole world then is the Church, and the whole world hateth the Church. The world hateth the world, the world in enmity, the world reconciled, the defiled world, the changed world. (Tract. lxxxviii. 4.). Here it may be asked, If the wicked can be said to persecute the wicked; e. g. if impious kings, and judges, who persecute the righteous, punish murderers and adulterers also; how are we to understand our Lord's words, If ye were of the world, the world would love his own? In this way; The world is in them who punish these offences, and the world is in them who love them. The world then hates its own so far as it punishes the wicked, loves its own so far as it favours them. (Tract. lxxxvii. 4.). Again, if it be asked how the world loves itself, when it hates the means of its redemption, the answer is, that it loves itself with a false, not a true love, loves what hurts it; hates nature, loves vice. Wherefore we are forbidden to love what it loves in itself; commanded to love what it hates in itself. The vice in it we are forbidden, the nature in it we are commanded, to love. And to separate us from this lost world, we are chosen out of it, not by merit of our own, for we had no merits to begin with, not by nature which was radically corrupt, but by grace: But because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

Third, he exhorts the disciples to endurance of enemies.

If the world hates you etc. This is the third part of the chapter, in which the Lord exhorts to endurance of persecuting enemies: and he does this in the following manner. First, he foretells the enmity of the world: second, the injury proceeding from this; third, he shows the malice of the persecutors or haters: fourth, his own innocence: fifth, he arms the disciples for patience.

First, therefore, he foretells the enmity of the world, which was to be against the members after the example of the head. For there had been the hatred of the world with respect to the head, which is Christ; on account of which he says: If the world hates you, know, that is, consider, that it hated me before you. The Lord assigned the reason for this hatred above in chapter three: "Everyone who does evil hates the light"; and above in chapter seven: "The world hates me, because I bear witness concerning it, that its works are evil."

It is shown that none is free from the peril of persecution, when even these accomplished martyrdoms. But how grave is the case of a Christian man, if he, a servant, is unwilling to suffer, when his Master first suffered; and that we should be unwilling to suffer for our own sins, when He who had no sin of His own suffered for us! The Son of God suffered that He might make us sons of God, and the son of man will not suffer that he may continue to be a son of God! If we suffer from the world's hatred, Christ first endured the world's hatred. If we suffer reproaches in this world, if exile, if tortures, the Maker and Lord of the world experienced harder things than these, and He also warns us, saying, "If the world hate you, remember that it hated me before you. If ye were of the world, the world would love its own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you." Whatever our Lord and God taught, He also did, that the disciple might not be excused if he learns and does not.

That it was before predicted that the world would hold us in abhorrence, and that it would stir up persecutions against us, and that no new thing is happening to the Christians, since from the beginning of the world the good have suffered, and the righteous have been oppressed and slain by the unrighteous.

The Lord in the Gospel forewarns and foretells, saying: "If the world hates you, know that it first hated me. If ye were of the world, the world would love what is its own: but because ye are not of the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I spoke unto you, The servant is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you also."

That it was before predicted, concerning the hatred of the Name, in the Gospel according to Luke: "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake."558 Also according to John: "If the world hate you, know ye that it first hated me. If ye were of the world, the world would love what would be its own: but because ye are not of the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word which I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you."

We shall find the course pursued in each case by our Saviour in no way whatever inferior, as I suppose, to the skill and fine art of physicians, as He everywhere follows a plan profitable to His hearers. For physicians check the stubborn maladies which sometimes arise in bodies by means of the resources of their art. But Christ fences off the entrance to evil, fortifying as it were each individual soul with commands ensuring prevention. Since therefore the disciples were destined to be rulers, not indeed over one nation or one district only, but rather to be the instructors of the universe, and to preach to all throughout the world the message of the Gospel and of God, and to turn their hearers to a belief in the true God alone, and to change them from sin to a willingness to do what became them, and to make the law, I mean that of the Gospel, the rule of their life; He bids them account as nothing the hatred of the world, that is of those who set their hearts on worldly things and choose to live wantonly and impiously. For could any one venture to say that, in seeing fit to give such injunctions to His disciples, showing that it was profitable to be hated, He did so without a reason, and not to profit them in any thing that is necessary? Put aside this folly; for His Word would not fall away into such a meaning as this. He counsels them not to guard against being noway hated by every one, and says excellently, in the clearest and most precise language, If the world hateth you, that is, if those who honour what is of the world and set their affections on earthly things alone should view you with hatred, know then indeed, He declares, that your Master endured this before you.

But any one might very readily perceive that the command of the Saviour will bring full profit to the expounders of the sweetest mysteries, if he would look at the nature of the circumstances. For it is always dear ----nay, rather, it is the object of their earnest endeavour----to thrust away as grievous and as monstrous the word that maketh wise, and to set upon those who are zealous to introduce the noblest of studies, and those by which they will become better than they were before; yielding up the victory to their private pleasures only. But a necessary consideration had well-nigh escaped my notice, although especially appropriate to, and connected with, the investigation of the words before us.

For the Jews, serving only the letter of the Mosaic Law, and putting their own construction on those things that were performed as types until a time of reformation, made no account whatsoever of the training of the Gospel, but thought they ought to consider its ministers as even more unendurable than their bitterest foes. And others, pursuing a different error, and attaching the unspeakable glory of God to the creature, I mean the heathen, did not very gladly receive the word that was capable of illumining them. For being as it were absorbed in their former vices, they accounted their ignorance as most precious, and were as little as possible inclined to depart from the disease akin to it. And since the nature of the case was so, who could doubt that the disciples of the Saviour would not only be hated by the Jews but also utterly despised by those diseased with the error of the Greeks? But they were very unwelcome, nay, they were intolerable, to those preferring to devote themselves to pleasure and honouring a life that spent itself in luxury. But if the disciples of the Saviour were to consider the consequence of being hated by those already mentioned as grievous, while they rather hastened to strive after and extravagantly to pursue the affection of those in this diseased condition, is it not quite clear to all that they would be manifestly not putting forth the word that is able to save to any one whatsoever, but would be rather bestowing their thoughts on vain trivialities, and restraining the rebuke that proceeds from boldness of speech according to the Will of God, speaking and expounding forsooth according to each individual taste?

The injunction therefore not too eagerly to seek to be loved and to disregard incurring the hatred of some is necessary if they gain profit from their counsels. This also we shall see St. Paul doing when he says plainly:----For am I now persuading men, or God? or am I seeking to please men? If I were still wishing to please men, I should not be a servant of Christ. And again, when he had rebuked someone in Corinth, and heard that he was excessively pained, he says: For if I make you sorry, who then is he that maketh me glad, but he that is made sorry by me? For godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation, a repentance which bringeth no regret. It will therefore be quite indisputable that the word which consults the pleasure of the listeners will flatter rather than benefit the world; but he who obeys the words of the Saviour will not conduct his ministry in this way. For he will prefer rather to please Him, and will regard even the being hated by those, and will consider even the hatred of those who have chosen to treat virtue with the utmost hostility, as spiritual wealth.

When then, He says, the hatred that you have stirred up against you in the world is found at times to militate against your good repute, overcome and cast aside this stumblingblock in your path, seeing that honours paid you by those who love the world cannot give you much pleasure, if they cannot endure to hear the word that profits them. For I am of a truth your Lord and Master. But that those who preferred to mind earthly things and despised the heavenly blessings hated Christ Himself also to their own destruction, I think it not difficult to show. For He said in the Gospels to some: The world cannot hate you; but Me it hateth, because I testify of it that its works are evil. Making Himself then again a pattern to His holy disciples in this, He bids them follow the track there laid down when He said again openly in another place: Blessed are ye when men shall persecute you, and shall reproach you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

The word that speaks to the pleasure of the listeners will flatter rather than benefit the world. But those who obey the words of the Savior will not conduct their ministry in this way. Such a minister will prefer rather to please the Savior, and if the minister incurs hatred from those who have chosen to treat virtue with the utmost hostility, it shall be considered spiritual wealth.

(Hom. lxxvii. 2) Or thus: I have said that I lay down My life for you, and that I first chose you. I have said this not by way of reproach, but to induce you to love one another. Then as they were about to suffer persecution and reproach, He bids them not to grieve, but rejoice on that account: If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you: as if to say, I know it is a hard trial, but ye will endure it for My sake.

Since enduring persecution and hatred is a difficult and very grievous thing, He says to comfort them: "If they hate you, this is nothing new, for they hated Me before you. Therefore you should find great consolation in the fact that you become My companions in bearing hatred."

2030 After presenting the picture of the vine and the branches and explaining the part about the branches being united to the vine, he now explains it in regard to the pruning or cleansing they will receive from their trials. So our Lord now consoles them against the tribulations they were going to endure. First, he mentions a few considerations which will console them; secondly, he explains these (v 20); thirdly, he rejects the excuses of those who will persecute them (v 22). He mentions two reasons why they should be consoled: the first uses himself as an example; the second is based on the reason for their being hated, because you are not of the world.

2031 Our Lord consoles them by using himself as an example of one who has suffered the persecution of oppressors, saying, If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. Note that just as the source of all benefits is love, so the source of all persecutions is hatred. And so our Lord foretells that they will be hated: "You will be hated by all nations" (Mt 24:9); "Blessed are you when men hate you" (Lk 6:22).

He says, If the world hates you, that is, it will come to pass that the world will hate you, and show its hatred by persecuting you, know that it has hated me before it hated you: "The world cannot hate you, but it hates me" (7:7). This thought is a great consolation for the just so that they can courageously endure persecutions: "Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted" (Heb 12:3); "Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps" (1 Pet 2:21). According to Augustine, the members should not consider themselves greater than the Head, nor refuse to be part of his body by being unwilling to endure with their Head the hatred of the world.

2032 The world can have two meanings. First a good meaning, for those who lead a good life in the world: "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself" (2 Cor 5:19). Secondly, it can have an evil sense, meaning those who love the world: "The whole world is in the power of the evil one" (1 Jn 5:19). And so the whole world hates the whole world, because those who love the world, and they are spread throughout the whole world, hate the whole world, that is, the Church of the good, which has been established throughout the whole world.

That which is promised to us is already present with you, and the object of your prayers is with you. You are of this world and yet not in this world. This age has held you but has not been able to retain you.

But that world which God is in Christ reconciling unto Himself, which is saved by Christ, and has all its sins freely pardoned by Christ, has been chosen out of the world that is hostile, condemned, and defiled. For out of that mass, which has all perished in Adam, are formed the vessels of mercy, whereof that world of reconciliation is composed, that is hated by the world which belongeth to the vessels of wrath that are formed out of the same mass and fitted to destruction. Finally, after saying, "If ye were of the world, the world would love its own," He immediately added, "But because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." And so these men were themselves also of that world, and, that they might no longer be of it, were chosen out of it, through no merit of their own, for no good works of theirs had preceded; and not by nature, which through free-will had become totally corrupted at its source: but gratuitously, that is, of actual grace. For He who chose the world out of the world, effected for Himself, instead of finding, what He should choose: for "there is a remnant saved according to the election of grace. And if by grace," he adds, "then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace."

For this same reason he shows the hatred of the members: whence he gives the reason for this hatred: because they were at variance with the world; on account of which he says: If you had been of the world, that is, if you had remained in the world through depraved custom: the world would love what was its own: whence above in chapter seven it is said to the worldly: "But your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you." But because you are not of the world, that is, of worldly conduct: but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. That hatred was signified in Genesis twenty-seven in the hatred of Esau, where it is said: "Esau hated Jacob on account of the blessing with which his father had blessed him." Esau signifies the worldly and the reprobate, but Jacob the elect.

He lightens by His art even that which was most grievous, and gives them unexpected pleasure at that which it was reasonable to suppose would greatly trouble them. For to be hated by any is truly burdensome, because sly injuries and unexpected devices are the result; yet this too is sweet when it happens for the sake of God and righteousness, and it supplies a convincing proof that the man against whom some thus act is not of the world. For as we find physical so also shall we find moral affinities, and a sameness and complete likeness of disposition is sufficient to undermine mere blood-relationship.

For every creature loveth its like, according to the Scripture, and a man will be attached to his like. Now whereas similarity of character renews the law of love towards one another, the holy will live with the holy and very readily conform to him, and be joined to him in friendly union. And so also will be the attitude of one of like disposition towards a blasphemer. For this reason the Mosaic Law made a complete distinction between what was holy and profane, keeping such things apart and separate from one another according to the law of love.

Evil company doth corrupt good manners, and differences of disposition are at war with one another, and wills that are divided look in opposite directions and almost accuse one another: each being enamoured of its own pursuit. The lover of virtue then must incur hatred for the very things which excite our admiration----his rebuking vice and unveiling the vileness of the wicked by the contrast that his own manner of life presents. For when goodness is seen by its side, what is evil must appear unseemly. For this cause then I think those who are not enamoured of the same manner of life rage against the virtuous.

He bids then His disciples not be pained, even though they see themselves hateful to the world on account of their love of virtue and righteousness towards Him, but explains that they ought on the contrary to rejoice, receiving the hatred of the world as a proof of their dignity and praise with God. For see how dangerous He has shown their not enduring to suffer (which it was likely they would prefer) to be. For to be hated by any was not absolutely without loss. But it has not the free pardon from God, and the great gain which results from preferring to suffer it. For if the man who is hated by those who mind worldly things is considered as outside the world, it is necessary then to suppose that the man who is not hated is united to the vices of the world.

What then has Christ established by these words? That they should preach His word with boldness, and should not permit their hearers to be unprofited, from their regard towards sinners or those who prefer to disobey the Divine command; but that, leaving unnoticed the affronts that will often result from being hated, they should give bold and fearless counsel, passing by nothing whatsoever or esteeming anything of more consequence than the necessity of serving God. This object St. Paul well accomplishes when he writes thus: For am I now persuading mien, or God? or am I seeking to please men? If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ. For it is not possible to please evil men and God. For how could the two coincide, the will of each presenting the widest divergence? For one looks towards virtue, and the other looks towards vice. The man therefore who wishes only to be the servant of God, and who regards nothing as superior to piety towards Him, must necessarily be in conflict with those who love the world, whenever he persuades them to a state of mind out of harmony with the vain folly of the world. For advice which calls to something else is most intolerable to lovers of pleasure, as assuredly are profitable and severe remedies to those whose bodies are diseased by these passions.

For the detraction of the perverse is the approbation of our life, because it is already shown that we have something of justice if we begin to displease those who do not please God. For no one can be pleasing in one and the same matter to the Almighty Lord and to His enemies. For he denies himself a friend to God who pleases His enemy. And he will be opposed to the enemies of truth who is subjected to that same truth in his mind. Whence holy men, inflamed in the rebuke of free speech, do not fear to arouse against themselves the hatred of those whom they know do not love God.

(Hom. in Ezech. ix.) For the dispraise of the perverse, is our praise. There is nothing wrong in not pleasing those, who do not please God. He proves himself no friend to God, who pleases His enemy; and he whose soul is in subjection to the Truth, will have to contend with the enemies of that Truth.

"If ye were of the world, the world would love its own."

So that had ye been loved it would be very clear that ye had shown forth signs of wickedness. Then, when by saying this first, He did not effect his purpose, He goeth on again with the discourse.

And observe how He effecteth this. He said not, "I know that the action is grievous, but bear for My sake, since for My sake also ye suffer," for this reason was not yet sufficient to console them; wherefore letting this pass, He putteth forward another. And what is that? It is that this thing would be a sure proof of their former virtue. "And, on the contrary, ye ought to grieve, not because ye are hated now but if ye were likely to be loved"; for this He implieth by saying, "If ye were of the world, the world would love its own."

After this, he adds another way of consolation, one that is more compelling. "You," he says, "on the contrary, ought to grieve in the event that the world, that is, evil people, loved you. For if they loved you, it would be a sign that you yourselves also have fellowship with them in the same malice and wickedness. But now, when the evil hate you, you should rejoice. For they hate you on account of your virtue; otherwise, if you were not virtuous, the world would love its own. But since I have separated you from the wickedness of the world, the world hates you because you do not participate in its works."

2033 Now he mentions a second point for their consolation, and this is based on the reason for their being hated. When a person endures another's hatred because of his own sins, there is reason for regret and sorrow; but when he is hated because of his virtue he should rejoice. First, our Lord gives the reason why some are loved by the world; secondly, why the apostles are hated by the world (v 19).

2034 The reason why some are loved by the world is that they are like the world; If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Like loves like: "Every creature loves its like" (Sir 13:15). And thus the world, that is, those who love the world, love those who love the world. Accordingly, our Lord says, If you were of the world, that is, followers of the world, the world would love its own, because you would be its own and like to it: "The world cannot hate you, but it hates me" (7:7). "They are of the world, therefore what they say is of the world, and the world listens to them" (1 Jn 4:5).

2035 One might object that our Lord meant by the world the authorities of the world, who would persecute the apostles. Yet these very same authorities persecute other worldly people, like murderers and thieves. Therefore, the world does not love its own any more than it loves the apostles.

I reply that it is possible to find something purely good, but not something purely evil, since the subject of evil is something good. Consequently, the evil of guilt is located in some good of nature. Therefore, no person can be a sinner and evil without having some good. So it is because of the evil of these authorities, the evil of their unbelief, that they belong to the world and hate the apostles and those who are not of the world. But because of the good they possess they are not of the world and hate those who are of the world, as thieves and robbers, and such. Still, there were some who were living well in the world yet loved the apostles and approved of their actions.

2036 But now there seems to be a greater difficulty. For every sin pertains to the world, and so a person is of the world by reason of any sin. Yet we observe that people who commit the same sin hate each other, for example, the proud: "Among the proud there is always strife" [Prv 13:10]. And one greedy person hates another who is also greedy. As the Philosopher says, potters quarrel with one another. Thus, the world is hating the world, and what our Lord says here does not seem to be true, that is, the world would love its own.

I reply that there are two kinds of love: the love of friendship and the love of concupiscence. These are quite different. With the love of concupiscence we draw external things or persons to ourselves, and we love these others insofar as they are useful to us or give us pleasure. But in the love of friendship we have the opposite, for we draw ourselves to what is external to us, because those we love in this way we treat the same as ourselves, sharing ourselves with them in some way. Thus, likeness is a cause of love, when we are speaking of the love of friendship, for we do not love a person in this way unless we are one with that person: and likeness is a certain way of being one. But with the love of concupiscence, whether it is for what is useful or gives pleasure, likeness is a cause of division and hatred. For since with this love I love some person or thing insofar as it is useful to me or gives me pleasure, I hate as opposed to me whatever hinders this usefulness or pleasure. So it is that the proud feud among themselves, for one takes for himself the glory that another loves and in which he takes pleasure. As for the potters, they quarrel because one takes for himself some profit which another wants for himself.

Notice that the love of concupiscence is not a love for the thing desired but a love for the person desiring: for in this kind of love, one loves another because the other is useful, as was said. Therefore, in this kind of love, one is rather loving himself than the other. For example, a person who loves wine because it gives him pleasure loves himself rather than the wine. But the love of friendship is concerned rather with the thing loved than with the one loving, because here one loves another for the sake of the one loved, and not for the sake of the one loving. And so because in the love of friendship likeness is a cause of love, and unlikeness a cause of hatred, the world hates what is not its own and is unlike it; but it loves, with the love of friendship, what is its own. It is the reverse with the love of concupiscence. Thus he says, If you were of the world, the world would love its own, with the love of friendship.

2037 Now he gives the reason why the world hates the apostles, which is because they are unlike the world. He says, but because you are not of the world, because your spirit has been lifted above it - although you are of the world by your origin: "You are from below, I am from above" (8:23) - lifted above it not by yourselves but by my grace, because I chose you out of the world, therefore, because you are not of the world, the world hates you, that is, those who love the world and who are unlike you, hate you: "An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous, but he whose way is straight is an abomination to the wicked" (Prv 29:27); and in the same chapter "Bloodthirsty men hate one who is blameless" (v 10).

2038 Three reasons can be given why the world hates those who are holy. First, there is a difference of condition: the world is in a state of death, but those who are holy are in a state of life: "Do not wonder, brethren, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren" (1 Jn 3:13). And so we read: "The very sight of him is a burden to us" (Wis 2:15). The second reason is that the world does not like to be corrected: for those who are holy are, by their words and actions, a rebuke to the conduct of the world. Consequently the world hates them: "They hate him who reproves in the gate" (Amos 5:10); "But it," the world, "hates me because I testify of it that its works are evil" (7:7). The third reason is because of evil envy, for those who are evil envy the good when they see them grow and increase in goodness and holiness, just like the Egyptians hated and persecuted the children of Israel when they saw them increasing (Ex 1:9). And we also see that Joseph's brothers hated him when they saw that he was loved more than they (Gen 37:4).

Receive also those that are persecuted on account of the faith, and who "fly from city to city" on account of the Lord's commandment; and assist them as martyrs, rejoicing that ye are made partakers of their persecution, as knowing that they are esteemed blessed by the Lord; for Himself says: "Blessed are ye when men shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, because your reward is great in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before us." And again: "If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you." And afterwards: "If they persecute you in this city, flee ye to another..." And, "He that endureth unto the end, the same shall be saved." For he that is persecuted for the sake of the faith, and bears witness in regard to Him, Christ, and endures, is truly a man of God.

The Lord, in exhorting His servants to endure with patience the hatred of the world, proposes to them no greater and better example than His own; seeing that, as the Apostle Peter says, "Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow His steps." And if we really do so, we do it by His assistance, who said, "Without me ye can do nothing." But further, to those to whom He had already said, "If the world hate you, know that it hated me before it hated you," He now also says in the word you have just been hearing, when the Gospel was read, "Remember my word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord: if they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also." Now in saying, "The servant is not greater than his lord," does He not clearly indicate how He would have us understand what He had said above, "Henceforth I call you not servants"? For, you see, He calleth them servants. For what else can the words imply, "The servant is not greater than his lord: if they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you"? It is clear, therefore, that when it is said, "Henceforth I call you not servants," He is to be understood as speaking of that servant who abideth not in the house for ever, but is characterized by the fear which love casteth out; whereas, when it is here said, "The servant is not greater than his lord: if they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you," that servant is meant who is distinguished by the clean fear which endureth for ever. For this is the servant who is yet to hear, "Well done, thou good servant: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."

(Tract. lxxxviii. 1) Our Lord, in exhorting His servants to bear patiently the hatred of the world, proposes to them an example than which there can be no better and higher one, viz. Himself: Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you: if they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also.

(Tract. lxxxviii. 1) The servant is not greater than his Lord. Here the servant is the one who has the purified fear, which abideth for ever.

Remember the word. Here the second point is touched upon, namely injury, in the same manner as enmity, namely of the head first and of the members on account of the head and after the example of the head. On account of which he says: Remember the word that I said to you: The servant is not greater than his lord; above in the thirteenth chapter: "Amen, amen I say to you: The disciple is not above the master, nor is the apostle greater than his lord." And therefore he argues: If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. And it follows that if they hate and persecute the head, they also hate and persecute the members. Whence Augustine: "He refuses to be in the body who does not wish to endure the hatred of the world with the head." Concerning the persecution of the head, it is found in the Psalm: "They persecuted the man who was poor and a beggar and stricken in heart." Not only will they persecute in deed, but they will despise in heart: If they have kept my word, they will keep yours also, that is, just as they despised my word, so also yours; Luke tenth chapter: "He who hears you hears me, and he who despises you despises me."

Or they have kept, that is, they watched in order to find fault: Matthew twenty-second chapter: "The Pharisees went away and took counsel to trap Jesus in his speech"; and in the Psalm: "The sinner will watch the just man."

Our Lord in Gethsemane made a petitionary prayer (and did not get what He asked for). You'll remind me that He asked with a reservation—"nevertheless, not my will but thine." This makes an enormous difference. But the difference which it precisely does not make is that of removing the prayer's petitionary character...

The servant is not greater, and must not be more high-minded than the master. Whatever the theoretical difficulties are, we must continue to make requests of God. And on this point we can get no help from those who keep on reminding us that this is the lowest and least essential kind of prayer. They may be right; but so what? Diamonds are more precious than cairngorms, but the cairngorms still exist and must be taken into account like anything else.

After having first then shown that the hatred His followers would incur was honourable to them if justified by the occasion----for it can well be borne, nay, it is even thrice-longed for, when it happens on account of God, Who is able to set men above hindrances----He removes that which, as God, He was aware would induce them to be slow to be willing to devote all their energies to the duty of preaching the heavenly doctrine. For whereas disgrace and danger follow for the most part those that are bent on teaching, whenever their words are not found agreeable to those whom they admonish, and besides persecution is incurred, their message sometimes not being received, He vigorously and earnestly exhorts them to be prepared for these things and very ready to meet them. This too He has set forth in other words, saying: Woe unto the world because of occasions of stumbling! for it must needs be that the occasions come. But He exercises an entire control over them, representing His own condition in this respect in order that they may not aim at what is greater nor be found behaving unseemly after a different manner, but necessarily as it were following in the wake of the glory of the Lord may be anxious not to be above Him. He signifies to them that they will meet every kind of opprobrium, saying, "the slave is not above his lord." For Me, He says, wicked men assailed with unbridled tongue; and, leaving no kind of insult untried, they called Me a man possessed of a devil, and a drunkard, and the fruit of fornication. Yet I did not immediately seek their punishment, but not being cut to the heart by their insults, I vouchsafed unto My hearers the word of salvation. Do not, then, seek out of reason your own aggrandisement, nor scorn the limits within which your Lord was bound, Who lowered Himself to such humiliation for us to benefit all. Therefore it makes men superior to the bitterness of speech and the impiety of those who are accustomed to find fault, as indeed also the blessed prophet Jeremiah when harassed said with respect to this very thing: My strength hath failed me by reason of those who curse me; while the inspired Paul, showing still more nobility of character under the like treatment, and gaining a great victory over the impiety of those who insulted him, says: Being reviled, we bless; being defamed, we entreat. For to love to contend against such things as these is the work of a mind humble of spirit according to the Scripture, and adorned with a truly modest temper. For long-suffering and forbearance spring up and arise as though from a good root, especially at such a time. But the inability to endure words of provocation or any kind of ill repute whatever among men, would give a clear proof of an understanding that loves boasting, and of a disposition but little estranged from the love of worldly glory. For what injury can insolence inflict on him who is free from pride? And how shall the reviling of any one be grievous to him who aims not at worldly reputation?

He well exhorts us to have a mind that goes beyond this most worthless reputation----I mean that which is the object of worldly honour----and that mounts far beyond such things as these. But He forearms them as it were with a necessary safeguard, so that they may be willing to manifest such a spirit, and sets before them an argument which thrusts aside the contumely that results from weakness, namely that which we mentioned at first, the following in the wake of the glory of the Lord, and with joy confronting everything that comes in its season, until they attain to glory through God; not being bowed down by dishonour like a feeble laggard, nor checking the boldness of their teaching and neglecting the Divine commands when they are bitterly reviled, but rather to lay hold of love towards their brethren, and to hasten in every way to help those that are astray.

Persuading them therefore to shun the temporary honour of the world that lies immediately before them, He makes another earnest contention, useful and necessary. For if, He says, they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. And the drift of this is allied to His previous words. He still therefore persuades them to endure suffering, and removes by anticipation the weakness caused by the reflections that naturally arise in us. For there was no doubt that the disciples of the Saviour, incurring the anger of the persecutors of the truth, would fall into the terrors of persecution. But it was very right for them to reflect that when they preached the message of the glory of Christ, they would at all events partake of the riches of His mercy, so that they should think nothing at all a hindrance in the way of so desirable a zeal, but should appear superior to all panic and danger, having nothing painful to undergo, but rather exulting in the honours that all men would bestow on them as ministering unto them the word of salvation. And it was a perfectly right object that those who were anxious to call men into eternal life and were found to be messengers to their hearers of blessings from God should expect this, and seek to be included among men so blessed. But as every man inclines his own purpose in the direction of his wishes, and directs it to suit his will and pleasure, it was the more necessary that it should be pointed out that those who are hostile to the truth and are subjugated by the pleasures of vice must fight through conviction with those who call them away from the objects of their pursuit. For lessons which have this object are not pleasant to those who love pleasure. It remained then of necessity to show what they would have to expect from those who, being ranked among their foes, would persecute them, and insult them, and try every kind of assault.

Christ therefore exhorts them to confront this boldly, not denying that it will happen. And because His followers ought to show a manful spirit, He instructs them and foretells the dangers they will encounter. For if, He says, they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. This is just as if He had said: "I, the Creator of the Universe, Who have all things under My hand, both in heaven and on earth, did not put a bridle on their rage, nor restrained as it were by bonds the inclination of each of my hearers. But I rather left to the choice of each his own course, and permitted all to do as they liked. And therefore I, when persecuted, endured it, though I had the power of preventing it. When therefore ye also are persecuted, enduring for a time the aversion of those who hate you, and not being too much troubled by the ingratitude of those whom you benefit, following in the wake of My dispensation pursue the same course as I did, that you may attain the like glory. For those who surfer with Me shall also reign with Me."

And by the third addition, If they kept My word, they will keep yours also, He bids them not to be disheartened when their teaching is sometimes not received; and He does this also excellently and well. For he who has been appointed to this work thinks that he has lost his labour if any refuse to obey his words. But the case is not so. Let no one think that it is: for how is that possible? For the adviser who has once spoken and set forth the knowledge of what is good, has done that which was in his power. The rest will depend upon the disposition of his hearers. For it is easy for them to turn, each to what he wishes, either to obedience or the opposite. Those then who are our guides to the best life must not shrink back, so that they may sow in the reprobates the Word that is able to profit by Divine power, and may be able to order aright what we cannot attain unto by their faithful ministration, a thing which we find well practised and brought to perfection in the distribution of the talents. For one is found taking ten, and another five, and another two, and besides these yet another taking one, who, disdaining to use it for commercial purposes, buried the talent in the earth. And for this reason it was said to him: Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou oughtest to have put my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back mine own with interest. For just as those who have been trained to agricultural industry, and who have this object in view, cutting up the land with the plough and then burying the seed in the furrow, leave the rest no longer to their own skill but rather entrust it to the power and favour of God, I mean the taking root of that which is cast into the earth and nourishing it up to perfect fruit, so I think the expounder of the noblest truths ought only to distribute the Word and leave the rest to God.

The Saviour therefore gives His advice in this matter to His disciples as a medicine for want of spirit and a cure of listlessness. For do not ever choose to shrink, He says, from continuing to teach, even if some of those who have once been admonished should make of no account the teaching that has been given them. But finding that even My words are often not received by many, do not strive to surpass My reputation, and, following in My steps in this also, lay aside despondency. And this instruction was very necessary to the holy Apostles, since they were about to preach to all men the message of God and salvation. And therefore the inspired Paul, as having been nominated to his Apostleship by Christ, has shown himself to us a man of this kind, and is often seen to attain manliness herein. For it is easy to show that he thought he ought to despise the love of honour, and to treat persecution as utterly of no account, while he considered it of great importance not to be too fainthearted, even if some entirely refused to receive the Word that was once scattered among them. For he writes to some: Ye are wise in Christ, but we are fools for Christ's sake; we are weak, but ye are strong; we have dishonour, but ye have glory. Even unto this present hour we both hunger and thirst; and yet again, besides, these words: We are made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things even until now. So you see then that he was above worldly repute, on account of the commandment of the Saviour. But, showing his nobleness in persecutions, he said: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? He writes also to others, that to speak the same things, to me indeed is not irksome, but for you it is safe. And yet again to the Galatians: My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you. You hear with how little hesitation he repeats the same message, though the first that he had originally given had not gained acceptance, and well says that he travailed in birth for some until the forming of Christ in them should appear. And his preaching effected this, moulding his hearers into the love of God and into the likeness of Christ by faith.

Jesus indicates to his disciples that they will encounter every kind of disgrace, saying, "The slave is not above his lord." "For," he says, "wicked people attacked me with their unbridled tongues. And leaving no kind of insult untried, they called me a man possessed of a devil and a drunkard and the fruit of fornication. Yet I did not immediately seek their punishment, but not being cut to the heart by their insults, I granted to my hearers the word of salvation." Do not, then, seek out of reason your own aggrandizement or scorn the limits within which your Lord was bound, who lowered himself to such humiliation for us to benefit all.

It is just as if Jesus said, "I, the creator of the universe, who have everything under my hand, both in heaven and on earth, did not bridle their rage or restrain … their inclinations. Rather, I let each one choose their own course and permitted all to do what they wanted. Therefore, when I was persecuted, I endured it even though I had the power of preventing it. When you too follow in my wake and pursue the same course I did, you also will be persecuted. You're going to have to momentarily endure the aversion of those who hate you without being overly troubled by the ingratitude of those whom you benefit. This is how you attain my glory, for those who suffer with me shall also reign with me."

Just as those who have been trained in agriculture … cut up the land with the plough, and then bury the seed in the furrow and do not rely any further on their own skill but rather leave the rest to the power and favor of God—I mean the germination of the seed that is buried in the earth and nourishing it up to perfect fruit—so too I think the interpreter of the noblest truths ought only to sow the Word and leave the rest to God. The Savior therefore gives his advice in this matter to his disciples as a medicine for lack of spirit and a cure for listlessness. For, he says, do not ever choose to shy away from continuing to teach, even if some of those who have once been admonished should nullify the teaching that has been given to them. Rather, finding that even my words are often not received by many, do not strive to surpass my reputation. Instead, follow in my footsteps and do not become discouraged.

They observed it in order to calumniate it, as we read in the Psalms, The ungodly seeth the righteous.

"The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you."

He showed that in this point they would be most His imitators. For while Christ was in the flesh, men had war with Him, but when He was translated, the battle came in the next place upon them. Then because owing to their fewness they were terrified at being about to encounter the attack of so great a multitude, He raiseth their souls by telling them that it was an especial subject of joy that they were hated by them; "For so ye shall share My sufferings. Ye should not therefore be troubled, for ye are not better than I," as I before told you, "The servant is not greater than his lord." Then there is also a third source of consolation, that the Father also is insulted together with them.

What He said above, namely, that they hated Me before they hated you, He now sets forth more extensively, offering them greater consolation. "Remember," He says, "My word that a servant is not greater than his master. And you are not greater than Me. See then how they treated Me. If they persecuted Me—the Master, all the more will they persecute you—the servants. If they did not persecute Me but kept My word, then they will keep yours as well."

Or thus: If, Me says, they have persecuted your Lord, much more will they persecute you; if they had persecuted Him, but kept His commandments, they would keep yours also.

2039 Now he amplifies on the reasons just given for their consolation: first, the one using himself as an example; secondly, the one relating to the reason why they are hated (v 21). He does two things with the first: first, he reminds them that he and they are different in condition; secondly, he shows they are alike in what will be done to them, If they persecuted me, they will persecute you.

2040 Their different conditions were that Christ was the Lord and the apostles were servants: "A servant is not greater than his master" (13:16). He reminds them of this difference when he says, Remember the word that I said to you, A servant is not greater than his master. Therefore, it is not unfitting for you to undergo the same sufferings as your Lord; rather, you should regard this as a great glory. Thus Christ said to the disciples who were asking to sit on his right and left, "Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?" (Mt 20:22). "It is a great honor to follow God" (Sir 23:28); "It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher" (Mt 10:25).

2041 On the contrary. He said above, "No longer do I call you servants" (15:15), while he says here, A servant is not greater than his master. I answer that there are two kinds of servitude. One comes from a slave-like fear, that is, from a fear of punishment; and the Apostles were not servants in this way. The other comes from a "chaste fear," [the respect of a spouse], and such servitude was in the apostles: "Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes" (Lk 12:37).

2042 If then you are my servants and I am your Lord, you should be content to have happen to you what happens to me. Now some have despised me, while others have accepted me: "He came to his own home, and his own people received him not. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God" (1:11). You will be treated the same way: if some despise you, yet others will honor you.

For this reason he says, If they persecuted me, they will persecute you. Here we see how the saints are like Christ: for the disciples were persecuted for the same reason that Christ was, because Christ was being persecuted in the disciples. In fact in Acts (9:4) Christ said that he was being persecuted in the persecution of his disciples: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"

And so because their reason for acting is the same in the two cases, the consequence follows: If they persecuted me, they will persecute you: "If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household" (Mt 10:25). Matthew (23:34) says of this persecution: "Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from town to town." Similarly, they will be honored for the same reason that Christ was: if they kept my word, they will keep yours also, because your words are my words: "You desire proof that Christ is speaking in me" (2 Cor 13:3); "For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you" (Mt 10:20). And so Christ says, "He who hears you hears me" (Lk 10:16). The apostles were in truth accepted and honored by some of the people, as is clear from "When you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God" (1 Thess 2:13).

"But all these things," He says, "will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not Him that sent me." And what are "all these things" that "they will do," but what He has just said, namely, that they will hate and persecute you, and despise your word? For if they kept not their word, and yet neither hated nor persecuted them; or if they even hated, but did not persecute them: it would not be all these things that they did. But "all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake,"-what else is that but to say, they will hate me in you, they will persecute me in you; and your word, just because it is mine, they will not keep? For "all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake:" not for yours, but mine. So much the more miserable, therefore, are those who do such things on account of that name, as those are blessed who suffer such things in its behalf: as He Himself elsewhere saith, "Blessed are they that suffer persecution for righteousness' sake." For that is on my account, or "for my name's sake:" because, as we are taught by the apostle, "He is made of God unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and santification, and redemption; that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." For the wicked do such things to the wicked, but not for righteousness' sake; and therefore both are alike miserable, those who do, and those who suffer them. The good also do such things to the wicked: where, although the former do so for righteousness' sake, yet the latter suffer them not on the same behalf.

And He added, "Because they know not Him that sent me." This is to be understood as spoken of that knowledge of which it is also elsewhere recorded, "But to know Thee is perfect intelligence." For those who with such a knowledge know the Father, by whom Christ was sent, can in no wise persecute those whom Christ is gathering; for they also themselves are being gathered by Christ along with the others.

(Tract. lxxxviii. 2) All these things, viz. what He had mentioned, that the world would hate them, persecute them, despise their word. For My Name's sake, i. e. in you they will hate Me, in you persecute Me, your word they will not keep, because it is mine. They who do these things for His name's sake are as miserable, as they who suffer them are blessed: except when they do them to the wicked as well; for then both they who do, and they who suffer, are miserable. But how do they do all these things for His name's sake, when they do nothing for Christ's name's sake, i. e. for justice sake? We shall do away with this difficulty, if we take the words as applying to the righteous; as if it were, All these things will ye suffer from them, for My name's sake. If, for My name's sake, mean this, i. e. My name which they hate in you, justice which they hate in you; of the good, when they persecute the wicked, it may be said in the same way, that they do so both for righteousness' sake, which they love, which love is their motive in persecuting, and for unrighteousness' sake, the unrighteousness of the wicked, which they hate. Because they know not Him that sent Me, i. e. know not according to that knowledge of which it is said, To know Thee is perfect righteousness. (Wisd. 15:3)

And worldly men also persecute the head and the members; they do not persecute the head on account of the members, but conversely; whence he says: But all these things they will do to you for my name's sake, namely to destroy it, for which you are blessed: whence Matthew fifth chapter: "Blessed are you when men shall persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you, lying, for my sake." The reason for this is the blindness of unbelief; whence: because they know not him who sent me: above in the eighth chapter: "You know neither me nor my Father"; and below in the seventeenth chapter: "Just Father, the world has not known you."

He declares that those who choose to act impiously against His holy disciples will do it on no other plea than "My Name" only. For this is a reproach against those who honour God, and an excuse for setting themselves against them on the part of those who do not know Him. But since it is clear to all that no one would suffer anything for the sake of God without reward, for a glorious crown will await them, He incites them again to courage, and makes their spirit steadfast, thrusting aside the misery of that which they expect by the hope of the return. He points out then that the very perils they endure are gain and an object of prayer, and rids of all its terrors that, the very prospect of the occurrence of which might stupefy some, and exhorts His disciples to welcome it with the greatest eagerness. And indeed when they were once summoned before the impious Council of the Jews, and had been severely buffeted with stripes for the sake of Christ, they went forth from the presence of the council, rejoicing, according to the Scripture, that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonour for the Name of the Lord. And of a truth they earnestly exhort us to endure suffering in this cause, and in no way to be dismayed by it, even if we have to encounter any pain for Christ's sake. For let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evil-doer: but if a man suffer as a Christian let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this Name. Most pleasant then is suffering for Christ's sake, and sweet is peril when its presence is occasioned by love towards God.

But consider how here again, showing Himself as One with His Father, He says that neither the Jews nor those who were about to persecute the preachers of the Name of Christ, knew either the Father or the Son. For he who deems it his duty to dishonour the Son is avowedly a hater of the Father; not indeed as transgressing against another nature, but as insulting the true dignity of His natural Divinity. For none could be convicted of insolence against the Son, if he respected the nature of the Father. And if he were at all acquainted with the actual nature of the Father, how came he to be ignorant that He was begotten by Him? And will not he who spoils the fruit produced from it injure the parent tree? Sin against the Son therefore is a convincing proof of ignorance of God the Father.

But whereas He did not say, Because they know not My Father, but Him that sent Me, I think He wished to hint at something of this kind. His aim, as it seems, was to show that those who practised persecution against His devoted servants, plainly tied their heads as it were in a noose of a double transgression. For not merely, He says, will they be convicted of ignorance of My origin, or be justly condemned on he charge of atheism, but will actually be found rebuking the true wisdom of God the Father. For if He sent His own Son to raise that which had fallen away, to renew that which was worn out, to set forth life to all in the world, while those in the world set themselves against and impiously oppose such as choose to preach Him the Saviour of the world, they will be very clearly convicted of ignorance and of fighting against Him that sent Me. For by the expression "being sent," He introduces a clear proof of His Incarnation. But he that is ignorant of Him that sent Me, shows by this very fact his ignorance of God, and dishonours the mystery of My mission.

"But all these things will they do unto you for My Name's sake, because they know not Him that sent Me."

That is, "they insult Him also." Besides this, depriving those others of excuse, and putting also another source of comfort, He saith, "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin."

Showing that they shall do unjustly both what they do against Him and against them.

But this is not so. They will keep neither My word nor yours. But all that they will do to you on account of Me. Therefore, if you love Me, endure what you suffer for My sake, Whom, by your own words, you love. Here is yet another reason for consolation. They, by wronging you, insult at the same time also Him Who sent Me. Therefore, if nothing else, then this very fact—that the same people are enemies to you and to Me and to My Father—should serve as your consolation.

2043 Now he amplifies on the second consideration that would console them, which is based on the reason for their being hated. The apostles were chosen and raised above the world insofar as they had been made sharers of divinity and joined to God. This is why the world hated them. From this it follows that the world rather hated God in them than hated them. The reason for this hatred was that the world lacked the true knowledge of God which comes from the true faith and devoted love. If they did have this knowledge and recognized that the apostles were friends of God, they would not have persecuted them. Thus he says, all this they will do to you, that is, hate and persecute you, on my account. And so this should be your glory: "Let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or a wrongdoer, or a mischief-maker; yet if one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but under that name let him glorify God" (1 Pet 4:14). On my account, not because they love me, but because they hate me; just as, on the contrary, you will suffer on my account because you love me.

They will do these things to you because they do not know him who sent me: "If you knew me, you would perhaps know my Father also" [8:19]. For they did not know that God would be pleased by their accepting Christ. Note that he is speaking here of a perfect knowledge, which consists in a faith which perfects the intellect and joins the affections to God. We read of this kind of knowledge: "Let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me" (Jer 9:24); "To know you is complete righteousness" (Wis 15:3).

The mystery of Christ is so great that even angels stood amazed and bewildered before it. This is why, then, it is your duty to worship him and, as a servant, this is why you should not detract from your Lord. You cannot plead ignorance because establishing your faith is why he came down in the first place. If you do not believe, he has not come down for you or suffered for you. "If I had not come," says the Scripture, "and spoken to them, they would not have sin. But now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also." Who, then, hates Christ, if not the one who speaks to his dishonor? For just as it is love's part to render honor, so it is hate's part to withdraw honor. The one who hates calls into question Christ's honor; the one who loves, pays reverence.

The Lord had said above to His disciples, "If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not Him that sent me." And if we inquire of whom He so spake, we find that He was led on to these words from what He had said before, "If the world hate you, know ye that it hated me before it hated you;" and now in adding, "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin," He more expressly pointed to the Jews. Of them, therefore, He also uttered the words that precede, for so does the context itself imply. For it is of the same parties that He said, "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin;" of whom He also said, "If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also; but all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not Him that sent me;" for it is to these words that He also subjoins the following: "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin." The Jews, therefore, persecuted Christ, as the Gospel very clearly indicates, and Christ spake to the Jews, not to other nations; and it is they, therefore, that He meant to be understood by the world, that hateth Christ and His disciples; and, indeed, not those alone, but even these latter were shown by Him to belong to the same world. What, then, does He mean by the words, "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin"? Was it that the Jews were without sin before Christ came to them in the flesh? Who, though he were the greatest fool, would say so? But it is some great sin, and not every sin, that He would have to be understood, as it were, under the general designation. For this is the sin wherein all sins are included; and whosoever is free from it, has all his sins forgiven him: and this it is, that they believed not on Christ, who came for the very purpose of enlisting their faith. From this sin, had He not come, they would certainly have been free. His advent has become as much fraught with destruction to unbelievers, as it is with salvation to those that believe; for He, the Head and Prince of the apostles, has Himself, as it were, become what they declared of themselves, "to some, indeed, the savour of life unto life; and to some the savor of death unto death."

But when He went on to say, "But now they have no excuse for their sin," some may be moved to inquire whether those to whom Christ neither came nor spake, have an excuse for their sin. For if they have not, why is it said here that these had none, on the very ground that He did come and speak to them? And if they have, have they it to the extent of thereby being barred from punishment, or of receiving it in a milder degree? To these inquiries, with the Lord's help and to the best of my capacity, I reply, that such have an excuse, not for every one of their sins, but for this sin of not believing on Christ, inasmuch as He came not and spake not to them. But it is not in the number of such that those are to be included, to whom He came in the persons of His disciples, and to whom He spake by them, as He also does at present; for by His Church He has come, and by His Church He speaks to the Gentiles. For to this are to be referred the words that He spake, "He that receiveth you, receiveth me;" and, "He that despiseth you, despiseth me." "Or would ye," says the Apostle Paul, "have a proof of Him that speaketh in me, namely Christ."

It remains for us to inquire, whether those who, prior to the coming of Christ in His Church to the Gentiles and to their hearing of His Gospel, have been, or are now being, overtaken by the close of this life, can have such an excuse? Evidently they can, but not on that account can they escape damnation. "For as many as have sinned without the law, shall also perish without the law; and as many as have sinned in the law, shall be judged by the law." And these words of the apostle, inasmuch as his saying, "they shall perish," has a more terrible sound than when he says, "they shall be judged," seem to show that such an excuse can not only avail them nothing, but even becomes an additional aggravation. For those that excuse themselves because they did not hear, "shall perish without the law."

But it is also a worthy subject of inquiry, whether those who met the words they heard with contempt, and even with opposition, and that not merely by contradicting them, but also by persecuting in their hatred those from whom they heard them, are to be reckoned among those in regard to whom the words, "they shall be judged by the law," convey somewhat of a milder sound. But if it is one thing to perish without the law, and another to be judged by the law; and the former is the heavier, the latter the lighter punishment: such, without a doubt, are not to have their place assigned in that lighter measure of punishment; for, so far from sinning in the law, they utterly refused to accept the law of Christ, and, as far as in them lay, would have had it altogether annihilated. But those that sin in the law, are such as are in the law, that is, who accept it, and confess that it is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good; but fail through infirmity in fulfilling what they cannot doubt is most righteously enjoined therein. These are they in regard to whose fate there may perhaps be some distinction made from the perdition of those who are without the law: and yet if the apostle's words, "they shall be judged by the law," are to be understood as meaning, they shall not perish, what a wonder if it were so. For his discourse was not about infidels and believers to lead him to say so, but about Gentiles and Jews, both of whom, certainly, if they find not salvation in that Saviour who came to seek that which was lost, shall doubtless become the prey of perdition; although it may be said that some shall perish in a more terrible, others in a more mitigated sense; in other words, that some shall suffer a heavier, and others a lighter penalty in their perdition. For he is rightly said to perish as regards God, whoever is separated by punishment from that blessedness which He bestows on His saints, and the diversity of punishments is as great as the diversity of sins; but the mode thereof is accounted too deep by divine wisdom for human guessing to scrutinize or express. At all events, those to whom Christ came, and to whom He spake, have not, for their great sin of unbelief, any such excuse as may enable them to say, We saw not, we heard not: whether it be that such an excuse would not be sustained by Him whose judgments are unsearchable, or whether it would, and that, if not for their entire deliverance from damnation, at least for its partial alleviation.

(Tract. lxxxix. 1) Christ spoke to the Jews only, not to any other nation. In them then was that world which hated Christ and His disciples; and not only in them, but in us also. Were the Jews then without sin before Christ came in the flesh, because Christ had not spoken to them? By sin here He means not every sin, but a certain great sin, which includes all, and which alone hinders the remission of other sins, viz. unbelief. They did not believe in Christ, who came that they might believe on Him. This sin then they would not have had, had not Christ come; for Christ's advent, as it was the salvation of the believing, so was the perdition of the unbelieving. But now they have no cloke for their sin. If those to whom Christ had not come or spoken, had not an excuse (προφασιν, excusationem Vulg. cloke E. T.) for their sin, why is it said here that these had no excuse, because Christ had come and spoken to them? If the first had excuse, did it do away with their punishment altogether, or only mitigate it? I answer, that this excuse covered, not all their sin, but only this one, viz. that they did not believe in Christ. But they are not of this number to whom Christ came by His disciples: they are not to be let off with a lighter punishment, who altogether refused to receive Christ's love, and, as far as concerned them, wished its destruction. This excuse they may have who died before they heard of Christ's Gospel; but this will not shield them from damnation. For whoever are not saved in the Saviour, who came to seek what was lost, shall without doubt go to perdition: though some will have lighter, others severer punishments. He perishes to God, who is punished with an exclusion from that happiness which is given to the saints. But there is as great a diversity of punishments, as there is of sins: though how this is settled is a matter known to the Divine Wisdom indeed, but too deep for human conjecture to examine or pronounce upon.

If I had not come. Here now in the third place the malice of those who hate and persecute is shown. He shows therefore their malice to be inexcusable both through what they heard and through what they saw: through what they heard: whence he says: If I had not come and had not spoken to them, namely the words of faith and instruction, they would not have sin, supply: so grave and inexcusable, because, Luke twelfth chapter, "the servant who knew the will of his lord and did not do it shall be beaten with many stripes; but he who did not know shall be beaten with few"; and therefore, if they had not heard, they would be excusable in some way through ignorance. But now they have no excuse for their sin; because they do not believe not from ignorance but from hatred, which hatred redounds upon the Father.

There is a question about what he says: If I had not come and had not spoken to them, they would not have sin.

1. Therefore, according to this reasoning, those who do not hear and do not believe are not condemned for unbelief; which is manifestly false, because no one is saved without faith.

2. Likewise, according to this, the Tyrians and Sidonians, who did not believe, will not be condemned: which is manifestly false by the testimony of the Gospel.

I respond: It must be said that by way of eminence, different kinds of sins are given to be understood under the general name of sin, but chiefly among others the sin against the Holy Spirit, which is purely sin, admitting no excuse. By the name of sin, therefore, is understood here the sin against the Holy Spirit, which was added to the sin of unbelief: and this the Jews would not have had, but would only have remained in unbelief, if the Lord had not manifested himself to them through open signs.

We may take in two ways the meaning of the words before us. For if any one should suppose that this passage was directed against Greeks and Jews alike, we say that unless the Divine and heavenly message, I mean the Gospel, had come to all that are on the earth, pointing out to each individual the way of salvation and making plain the works of righteousness, their complete ignorance of what is pleasing to God would perhaps have been a strong reason in each case for the pardon of those who are not eager in pursuing virtue. This ignorance of theirs makes them seem worthy of pardon. But whereas the word of the Gospel has been directed to all men, what reason for pardon is there, or with what words should any one address Him that judgeth, when accused after knowledge of the worst crimes? But if the Lord is saying this concerning the Jews only, as having very often listened to His teaching, and as being in no way ignorant of what He commanded them to think and do, let Him illustrate it thus: They will not endure your teaching, He says, but will bring upon you trials and persecutions, and will devise against you every kind of terror, and from their bitterness will be consumed with an unjust hatred against you, not able indeed to charge you with any wickedness, but blaming only your love towards Me. But searching as it were for an excuse for the cruelty of their madness, and diminishing the baseness of their love of self-gratification, they will actually cite Moses and the books of Moses, and will pretend that I was an opponent of their ancestral laws. But if I had not come and set forth commands superior to the Law given by Moses; if I had not fulfilled it by many words, showing that it was now high time to pass beyond mere types, and that there had been enough of patterns and shadows, but that the hour had come in which the truth itself should shine forth; if I had not shown this from the Law itself, saying in the clearest language, If ye believed Moses, ye would believe Me; for he wrote of Me; if I had not made it clear that My word harmonized with the testimonies of the prophets, and that the power of My Presence had already been predicted and proclaimed, they would have had reasonable grounds for their madness against Me and you. Since nothing has been left out, but everything that was essential has been said, the reason which they have devised to cover the nakedness of their sin is vain.

This consideration then I think should harmonize with the words of the Saviour; but in showing the terrible charges that will be brought against those who injure them, and in saying that those who dare to do such things will one day be chastised, He removes the greater part of their grief and wisely withdraws that which was likely to cause them no small pain. For the conviction that the workers of wickedness will pay the penalty of their crimes sometimes makes it possible to those who are injured to endure their wickedness. And, knowing this, the Master of all things says: Vengeance belongeth unto Me; I will recompense, saith the Lord. Nay, even the blessed Paul himself, when struck by one of the high priests, had no other consolation for the bitterness of suffering than this that we have mentioned. For what did he say?----God shall smite thee, thou whited wall. This then is a medicine for human weakness----I mean the expectation of the punishment of those who have chosen to act unjustly. Our Lord, however, is superior to and above human littleness. When He was reviled, He reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not, according to the Scripture. But when struck on the face, He made no angry remark, nor threatened the man who dared to strike Him, but answered indeed with the greatest mildness and forbearance, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why smitest thou Me? The word then of the prophet is true: Who shall be made equal to the Lord in the clouds, or who shall be likened to the Lord among the sons of God?

Besides this, depriving those others of excuse, and putting also another source of comfort, He saith, "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin." Showing that they shall do unjustly both what they do against Him and against them. "Why then didst Thou bring us into such calamities? Didst Thou not foreknow the wars, the hatred?" Therefore again He saith,...

That declaration in the Gospel, "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin," makes it clear to all who are rational just how long a time a person is without sin and just when he is liable to sin. By participating in the word or reason, people are said to have sinned, that is, from the time they are capable of understanding, from the time that the reason implanted within them suggests to them the difference between good and evil. After they have begun to know what evil is, they are liable for any sin they commit.This is the meaning of the expression that "people have no excuse for their sin," namely, that from the time the divine word or reason has begun to show them internally the difference between good and evil, they ought to avoid and guard against evil: "For to the one who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin."

Is it really just that they do this? They hate both Me and My Father and you? Did they really find in My words or deeds a reason for such behavior? No, their sin is unforgivable. For did I not come and teach? If I had not come, if I had not spoken, they could have said "we did not hear." But now their malice is inexcusable.

2044 Before, when our Lord said that the Jews would persecute his disciples, he gave as the reason that the Jews did not know the one who sent him. Now, since ignorance usually excuses one, he here shows that they are inexcusable. He does this in two ways: first, because of the things he personally did and taught them; secondly, because of what will occur when he is no longer present (v 26). In regard to the first he does two things: first, he shows that they were without excuse because of the truth he taught; secondly, because of the witness of the works he performed (v 24). He does three things about the first: first, he shows what could have excused them; secondly, that they did not have this excuse (v 22); thirdly, he shows the real source of their persecution (v 23).

2045 He had said: "But all this they will do to you on my account." Yet they might have had an excuse. If I had not come and spoken to them, that is, if I had not shown myself personally and taught them personally, they would not have sin.

2046 How does this reconcile with Romans (3:23) which states that "All have sinned"? We should say that our Lord is not speaking here of just any sin, but of the sin of disbelief, that is, they do not believe in Christ. This is called here simply "sin" because it is a prime example of sin, because as long as this sin lasts, no other sin can be remitted; for no sin is remitted except by faith in Jesus Christ through whom we are justified, as we read in Romans (5:1). Consequently, they would not have sin means that they would not be charged with not believing in him. This is primarily because "faith comes from what is heard" (Rom 10:17). So, if Christ had not come and had not spoken to them, they could not have believed. And no one is charged with a sin for not doing what he can't do at all.

2047 Yet some could say that they were bound to believe and could have believed even if Christ had not come, since he had been foretold to them by the prophets: "which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son" (Rom 1:2). I answer that of themselves the Jews could not believe and understand the words of the prophets unless they were shown by divine help: "The words are shut up and sealed until the appointed time" [Dan 12:9]. Thus the eunuch said: "How can I understand, unless some one guides me?" (Acts 8:31).

Therefore, if Christ had not come, they would not have this sin, the sin of disbelief, although they would have had other actual sins for which they would have been punished. And a similar reasoning holds for all those whom the preaching of God's word could not reach. For this reason they cannot be charged with the sin of disbelief for their condemnation; but they will be condemned, because deprived of God's favors because of their other actual sins and original sin.

2048 Note that Christ's coming and teaching resulted in good for many, that is, for those who accepted him and kept his word. And for many it turned out bad, that is, for those who decided neither to listen to him nor believe him. "He will become... a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem" (Is 8:14); "This child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel" (Lk 2:34).

2049 He has just stated what could have excused them from unbelief. But they don't have this excuse because Christ showed himself to them in person and taught them. Thus he says, but now, since I have come and spoken to them, they have no excuse, that of ignorance, for their sin. "So they are without excuse; for although they knew God they did not honor him as God" (Rom 1:20). But they did know Christ, as is clear from Matthew (21:38): "This is the heir; come, let us kill him." However, they knew that he was the Christ promised in the law, but they did not know that he was God, because "If they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Cor 2:8). And so their ignorance is no excuse, because they did not do this from ignorance but from another root, that is, from hatred and a certain malice.

For as he who loves the Son, loves the Father also, the love of the Father being one with that of the Son, even as their nature is one: so he who hateth the Son, hateth the Father also.

The Lord says, as you have just been hearing, "He that hateth me, hateth my Father also:" and yet He had said a little before, "These things will they do unto you, because they know not Him that sent me." A question therefore arises that cannot be overlooked, how they can hate one whom they know not? For if it is not God as He really is, but something else, I know not what, that they suspect or believe Him to be, and hate this; then assuredly it is not God Himself that they hate, but the thing they conceive in their own erroneous suspicion or baseless credulity; and if they think of Him as He really is, how can they be said to know Him not? It may be the case, indeed, with regard to men, that we frequently love those whom we have never seen; and in this way it can, on the other hand, be none the less impossible that we should hate those whom we have never seen. The report, for instance, whether good or bad, about some preacher, leads us not improperly to love or to hate the unknown. But if the report is truthful, how can one, of whom we have got such true accounts, be spoken of as unknown? Is it because we have not seen his face? And yet, though he himself does not see it, he can be known to no one better than to himself. The knowledge of any one, therefore, is not conveyed to us in his bodily countenance, but only lies open to our apprehension when his life and character are revealed. Otherwise no one would be able to know himself, because unable to see his own face. But surely he knows himself more certainly than he is known to others, inasmuch as by inward inspection he can the more certainly see what he is conscious of, what he desires, what he is living for; and it is when these are likewise laid open to us, that he becomes truly known to ourselves. And as these, accordingly, are commonly brought to us regarding the absent, or even the dead, either by hearsay or correspondence, it thus comes about that people whom we have never seen by face (and yet of whom we are not entirely ignorant), we frequently either hate or love.

But in such cases our credulity is frequently at fault; for sometimes even history, and still more ordinary report, turns out to be false. Yet, it ought to be our concern, in order not to be misled by an injurious opinion, seeing we cannot search into the consciences of men, to have a true and certain sentiment about things themselves. I mean, that in regard to this or that man, if we know not whether he is immodest or modest, we should at all events hate immodesty and love modesty: and if in regard to some one or other we know not whether he is unjust or just, we should at any rate love justice and abhor injustice; not such things as we erroneously fancy to ourselves, but such as we believingly perceive according to God's truth, the one to be desired, the other to be shunned; so that, when in regard to things themselves we do desire what ought to be desired, and utterly avoid what ought to be avoided, we may find pardon for the mistaken feelings which we at times, yea, at all times, entertain regarding the actual state of others which is hidden from our eyes. For this, I think, has to do with human temptation, without which we cannot pass through this life, so that the apostle said, "No temptation should befall you but such as is common to man." For what is so common to man as inability to inspect the heart of man; and therefore, instead of scrutinizing its inmost recesses, to suspect for the most, part something very different from what is going on therein? And although in these dark regions of human realities, that is, of other people's inward thoughts, we cannot clear up our suspicions, because we are only men, yet we ought to restrain our judgments, that is, all definite and fixed opinions, and not judge anything before the time, until the Lord come, and bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall every man have praise of God. When, therefore, we are falling into no error in regard to the thing itself, so that there is an accordance with right in our reprobation of vice and approbation of virtue; surely, if a mistake is committed in connection with individuals, a temptation so characteristic of man is within the scope of forgiveness.

But amid all these darknesses of human hearts, it happens as a thing much to be wondered at and mourned over, that one, whom we account unjust, and who nevertheless is just, and in whom, without knowing it, we love justice, we sometimes avoid, and turn away from, and hinder from approaching us, and refuse to have life and living in common with him; and, if necessity compel the infliction of discipline, whether to save others from harm or bring the person himself back to rectitude, we even pursue him with a salutary harshness; and so afflict a good man as if he were wicked, and one whom unknowingly we love. This takes place if one, for example's sake, who is modest is believed by us to be the opposite. For, beyond doubt, if I love a modest person, he is himself the very object that I love; and therefore I love the man himself, and know it not. And if I hate an immodest person, it is on that account, not him that I hate: for he is not the thing that I hate; and yet to that object of my love, with whom my heart makes continual abode in the love of modesty, I am ignorantly doing an injury, erring as I do, not in the distinction I make between virtue and vice, but in the thick darkness of the human heart. Accordingly, as it may so happen that a good man may unknowingly hate a good man, or rather loves him without knowing it (for the man himself he loves in loving that which is good; for what the other is, is the very thing that he loves); and without knowing it, hates not the man himself, but that which he supposes him to be: so may it also be the case that an unjust man hates a just man, and, while he opines that he loves one who is unjust like himself, unknowingly loves the just man; and yet so long as he believes him to be unjust, he loves not the man himself, but that which he imagines him to be. And as it is with another man, so is it also with God. For, to conclude, had the Jews been asked if they loved God, what other answer would they have given but that they did love Him, and that not with any intentional falsehood, but because erroneously fancying that they did so? For how could they love the Father of the truth, who were filled with hatred to the truth itself? For they do not wish their own conduct to be condemned, and it is the truth's task to condemn such conduct; and thus they hated the truth as much as they hated their own punishment, which the truth awards to such. But they know not that to be the truth which lays its condemnation on such as they: therefore they hate that which they know not; and hating it, they certainly cannot but also hate Him of whom it is born. And in this way, because they know not the truth, by whose judgment they are condemned, as that which is born of God the Father; of a surety also they both know not, and hate the Father Himself. Miserable men! who, because wishing to be wicked, deny that to be the truth whereby the wicked are condemned. For they refuse to own that to be what it is, when they ought themselves to refuse to be what they are; in order that, while it remains the same, they may be changed, lest by its judgment they fall into condemnation.

"He that hateth me," He says, "hateth my Father also." Here it may be said to us, Who can hate one whom he knows not? And certainly before saying, "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin," He had said to His disciples, "These things will they do unto you, because they know not Him that sent me." How, then, do they both know not, and hate? For if the notion they have formed of Him is not that which He is in Himself, but some unknown conjecture of their own, then certainly it is not Himself they are found to hate, but that figment which they devise or rather suspect in their error. And yet, were it not that men could hate that which they know not, the Truth would not have asserted both, namely, that they both know not, and hate His Father. But such a possibility, if by the Lord's help we are able to show it, cannot be demonstrated at present, as this discourse must now be brought to a close.

(Tr. xc. 1) But He has just said, Because they know not Him that sent Me. How could they hate one whom they did not know? For if they hated God, believing Him to be something else, and not God, this was not hatred of God. In the case of men, it often happens that we hate or love persons whom we have never seen, simply in consequence of what we have heard of them. But if a man's character is known to us, he cannot properly be said to be unknown. And a man's character is not shown by his face, but by his habits and way of life: else we should not be able to know ourselves, for we cannot see our own face. But history and fame sometimes lie; and our faith is imposed upon. We cannot penetrate into men's hearts; we only know that such things are right, and others wrong; and if we escape error here, to be mistaken in men is a venial matter. A good man may hate a good man ignorantly, or rather love him ignorantly, for he loves the good man, though he hates the man whom he supposes him to be. A bad man may love a good man, supposing him to be a bad man like himself, and therefore not, properly speaking, loving him, but the person whom he takes him to be. And in the same way with respect to God. If the Jews were asked whether they loved God, they would reply that they did love Him, not intending to lie, but only being mistaken in so saying. For how could they who hated the Truth, love the Father of the Truth? They did not wish their actions to be judged, and this the Truth did. They hated the Truth then, because they hated the punishment which He would inflict upon such as they. But at the same time they did not know that He was the Truth, who came to condemn them. They did not know that the Truth was born of God the Father, and therefore they did not know God the Father Himself. Thus they both hated, and also knew not, the Father.

Whoever hates me hates my Father also; raised up by their own pride, according to that of the Psalm: "The pride of those who hate you ascends continually." Because therefore they refused to hear out of malice, they were inexcusable; Matthew twelve: "The Queen of the South will rise up in judgment with this generation and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon"; Romans two: "You are inexcusable, O every man who judges: for in that you judge another, you condemn yourself."

He makes a definite charge of atheism against those who choose, in the impiety of their minds and the estrangement of their hearts, to hate Him. And the charge is a true one. For those who dishonour the Son will not be guiltless of transgression against the Father, convinced of the justice of their hatred. For just as those who depreciate the shining of the sun, because it appears and exists for no necessary purpose, bring charges of uselessness, and direct their censure also against its Author; and just as whoever sees fit to despise the scent of flowers will cast reproach on this account against that from whence it was derived----the case will be the same, I suppose, with respect to the Only-begotten and His Father. For it is impossible for those who censure what proceeds from anything else to praise its author. For this reason Christ said to the Jews: A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit: neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit; when He further told them to make this accurate and unexceptionable distinction in this matter: Either make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt. For whatever one could truly predicate of one of such things as these, that I suppose he must necessarily make applicable to both. For when there is one nature, surely the attributes are entirely common even though they are capable of separate manifestation; and whatever a man might do against what proceeds from any fountain, that he would plainly do against the fountain itself. Wherefore Christ says that he that hateth Me, hateth My Father also. And He appropriately attributes a reference to the Person of the Father to any charges that men may make against Himself. And He will none the less satisfy us by this discourse that He is not distinct from Him by reason of the complete identity of Their Natures. And besides He terrifies His hearers by showing how very perilous it is to choose to transgress by hating Him, and He assures them that the man who rejects His worship will be defenceless and an easy prey to his enemies, inasmuch as he insults the Person of the Father Himself. For since insolence against His Son affects Him too, He will also be offended.

Is it not quite clear that the reception of this belief raised the confidence of His holy disciples? At the same time, Christ illustrated another essential and profound truth----I mean this of which I will speak. Some thought in their unparalleled madness and excessive folly, that when they were transgressing against the Son, and opposing the words of the Saviour, they were giving pleasure to God, Who was the Giver of the Law; and while they continued to confer the meed of victory on the prophetic dispensation of Moses, they showed themselves true guardians of the love of God. It was necessary therefore to show the falsity of their boast, and to teach the world that those who act counter to the laws of the Saviour set themselves as it were against the entire Divine Nature, insulted in the Person of the Son by their contumacy, and by their persistent and inexcusable disobedience, which He clearly declares is not merely aimed against His own Person, but also affects all who preach the Word for Him and through Him. He then that enters upon opposition against the holy Apostles themselves is an enemy of God, and shows insolence towards Him, and is altogether hostile to the ineffable and unspeakable Nature of the Divine Being, for the Apostles do not preach themselves, but the God and Lord of all, that is. Christ.

"Hates my Father also." This my is the assertion of a relation to the Father that is shared by no one else.… He condemns the man who claims God as his Father and does not love the Son as using a wrongful liberty with the Father's name, since he who hates him, that is, the Son, must hate the Father also. And none can be devoted to the Father except those who love the Son. For the one and only reason that he gives for loving the Son is his origin from the Father. The Son, therefore, is from the Father, not by his advent but by his birth. And love for the Father is only possible to those who believe that the Son is from him.

"He that hateth Me, hateth My Father also."

From this also proclaiming beforehand no small punishment against them. For, since they continually pretended that they persecuted Him on account of the Father, to deprive them of this excuse He spake these words. "They have no excuse. I gave them the teaching which is by words, that by works I added, according to the Law of Moses, who bade all men obey one speaking and doing such things, when he should both lead to piety, and exhibit the greatest miracles." And He spake not simply of "signs," but...

Ye think, indeed, under a pretence of piety, to avenge the glory of God, not understanding that he that despiseth Me despiseth My Father also.

Then, since they everywhere appealed to nothing other than the claim that they were defending the Father (for they say: "This man is not from God," and the like (John 9:16)), He therefore adds: "He who hates Me hates My Father also." Thus, even this serves in no way to justify them.

2050 This is why he adds, He who hates me hates my Father also. This is like saying: Their sin is not ignorance of me, but hatred for me, and this involves hatred for the Father. Since the Son and the Father are one in essence, truth and goodness, and since all knowledge of anyone is through the truth which is in him, whoever loves the Son loves the Father also; and whoever knows the one knows the other also; and whoever hates the Son hates the Father also.

2051 Two problems arise here. First, whether anyone can hate God? We should say that no one can hate God as God. Since God is the pure essence of goodness, and since this is lovable in itself, it is impossible that God be hated in himself. This is the reason why it is impossible for an evil person to see God. For it is impossible for God to be seen without being loved; and one who loves God is good. So these two things are incompatible, namely, to see God and be evil.

Yet one can hate God from a particular point of view. For example, one who loves lustful pleasures hates God as forbidding the enjoyment of lust, and one who wants to be free from all punishment hates the justice of God when it punishes.

2052 The second problem arises because no one can hate what he does not know. But the Jews did not know the Father: "They do not know him who sent me" (15:21). Therefore, what he says here does not seem to be true, that they hate my Father also. We can say, according to Augustine, that a person can love or hate something that was never seen nor truly known. This can happen in two ways. In one way, I can hate or love a person according as I know him; or, according to what I am told about him. For example, if I hear that someone is a thief I hate him, not because I know or hate this very person, but because in general I hate all thieves. So, if he were a thief and I did not know it, I would hate him without knowing that I hated him. Now the Jews hated Christ and the truth that he preached. Since the very truth that Christ preached and the works he performed were in the will of God the Father, then just as they hated Christ, so also they hated the Father, even though they did not know that these things were in the will of the Father.

The Lord had said, "He that hateth me, hateth my Father also." For of a certainty he that hateth the truth must also hate Him of whom the truth is born; on which subject we have already spoken, as we were granted ability. And then He added the words on which we have now to discourse: "If I had not done among [in] them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin." To wit, that great sin whereof He also says before, "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin." Their sin was that of not believing on Him who thus spake and wrought. For they were not without sin before He so spake to them and did such works among them; but this sin of theirs, in not believing on Him, is thus specially mentioned because really inclusive in itself of all sins besides. For had they been clear of this one, and believed on Him, all else would also have been forgiven.

But what is meant when, after saying, "If I had not done among them works," He immediately added, "which none other man did"? Of a certainty, among all the works of Christ, none seem to be greater than the raising of the dead; and yet we know that the same was done by the prophets of olden time. For Elias did so; and Elisha also, both when alive in the flesh, and when he lay buried in his sepulchre. For when certain men, who were carrying a dead person, had fled thither for refuge from an onset of their enemies, and had laid him down therein, he instantly came again to life. And yet there were some works that Christ did which none other man did: as, when He fed the five thousand men with five loaves, and the four thousand with seven; when He walked on the waters, and gave Peter power to do the same; when He changed the water into wine; when He opened the eyes of a man that was born blind, and many besides, which it would take long to mention. But we are answered, that others also have done works which even He did not, and which no other man has done. For who else save Moses smote the Egyptians with so many and mighty plagues, as when He led the people through the parted waters of the sea, when he obtained manna for them from heaven in their hunger, and water from the rock in their thirst? Who else save Joshua the son of Nun divided the stream of the Jordan for the people to pass over, and by the utterance of a prayer to God bridled and stopped the revolving sun? Who save Samson ever quenched his thirst with water flowing forth from the jawbone of a dead ass? Who save Elias was carried aloft in a chariot of fire? Who save Elisha, as I have just mentioned, after his own body was buried, restored the dead body of another to life? Who else besides Daniel lived unhurt amid the jaws of famishing lions, that were shut up with him? And who else save the three men Ananias, Azariah, and Mishael, ever walked about unharmed in flames that blazed and did not burn?

I pass by other examples, as these I consider to be sufficient to show that some of the saints have done wonderful works, which none other man did. But we read of no one whatever of the ancients who cured with such power so many bodily defects, and bad states of the health, and troubles of mortals. For, to say nothing of those individual cases which He healed, as they occurred, by the word of command, the Evangelist Mark says in a certain place: "And at even, when the sun had set, they brought unto Him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. And all the city was gathered together at the door. And He healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils." And Matthew, in giving us the same account, has also added the prophetic testimony, when he says: "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sickness." In another passage also it is said by Mark: "And whithersoever He entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought Him that they might touch if it were but the border of His garment: and as many as touched Him were made whole." None other man did such things in them. For so are we to understand the words in them, not among them, or in their presence; but directly in them, because He healed them. For He wished them to understand the works as those which not only occasioned admiration, but conferred also manifest healing, and were benefits which they ought surely to have requited with love, and not with hatred. He transcends, indeed, the miracles of all besides, in being born of a virgin, and in possessing alone the power, both in His conception and birth, to preserve inviolate the integrity of His mother: but that was done neither before their eyes nor in them. For the knowledge of the truth of such a miracle was reached by the apostles, not through any onlooking that they had in common with others, but in the course of their separate discipleship. Moreover, the fact that on the third day He restored Himself to life from the very tomb, in the flesh wherein He had been slain, and, never thereafter to die, with it ascended into heaven, even surpasses all else that He did: but just as little was this done either in the Jews or before their eyes; nor had it yet been done, when He said, "If I had not done among them the works which none other man did."

(Tr. xci. 1) The sin of not believing Him, notwithstanding His doctrine and His miracles. But why does He add, Which none other man did? Christ did no work greater than the raising of the dead, which we know the ancient Prophets did before Him. Is it that He did some things which no one else did? But others also did what neither He nor any one else did. True: yet none of the ancient prophets, that we read of, healed so many bodily defects, sicknesses, infirmities. For to say nothing of single cases, Mark says, that whithersoever He entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought Him that they might touch if it were but the border of His garment: and as many as touched Him were made whole. (Mark 6:56) Such works as these no one else had done in them. In them, meaning, not amongst them, or before them, but within them. But even where particular works, like some of these, had been done before, whoever worked such did not really do them; for He did them through them; whereas He performs these miracles by His own power. For even if the Father or the Holy Spirit did them, yet it was none other than He; for the Three Persons are of one substance. For these benefits then they ought to have returned Him not hatred, but love. And this He reproaches them with; But now they have both seen and hated both Me and My Father.

The Jews are also inexcusable on account of what they saw: therefore he says: If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have sin, namely so great a sin of not believing; because, as above in chapter five, "the works that I do bear witness concerning me." But now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father: and therefore they knowingly and out of malice refuse to believe and persecute: for this reason they are inexcusable: Matthew eleven: "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Nevertheless I say to you: it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you."

There is a question about what he says: If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, etc.

1. This seems false, because we read of greater and more wondrous signs in the Old Testament. For we read that the Red Sea was divided, and the Jordan, that men were fed from heaven for forty years, that the dead were raised, and many such things.

2. Likewise, the Lord himself says: He who believes in me will do greater things than these: therefore the sign of works was not a certain sign nor a singular one that he was the Christ.

To this the Gloss responds that it is not understood of miraculous works, but of wondrous works, such as that a woman encompassed a man, and that he was born of a Virgin, and similar things.

But that does not solve it, because these things were not known to them.

Therefore it must be said otherwise: either that this is said with respect to the multitude and diversity of works, because no one had ever performed so many miracles, and so varied and diverse, as Christ did.

Or emphasis must be placed on what he says: I had done, which no one else did, because no other was God, but miracles were done at his invocation: Christ, however, did them as one who was omnipotent.

There is a question about what he says: They have now both seen and hated me and my Father.

Against this: 1. Because, as Augustine says, "no one's conscience can hate God" — how then did they hate the Father?

2. Likewise, no one hates except what he knows; but He Himself says that they have not known the Father, both now and in many places; therefore they did not hold God in hatred.

To this the response is twofold: first, hatred must be distinguished: for there is true hatred, which consists in the opposition of the affections against someone, and in this way no one can hate God. And there is interpretive hatred, when someone conducts himself in the manner of one who hates. Thus someone is said to hate his own soul when he acts against his own salvation; thus also one is said to hate God when he opposes His will.

Otherwise it is said that God can be considered as the highest good, from whom every good comes; and He can be considered as just in His works. No one can hate God nor does anyone hate Him in Himself; yet one hates Him insofar as He is just.

1. As to what is objected from Augustine, it must be said that Augustine retracts that statement; nevertheless that statement is true if hatred is taken as it has been explained above.

2. As to the objection that they did not know Him: it must be said that there is knowledge of certitude and clarity through the species, and by this no one knows God unless he is a comprehensor. And there is knowledge of certitude but through an enigma; and by this no one knows God unless he is faithful. And there is knowledge of estimation, and by this the unfaithful and many wicked people know Him. And thus they knew the Father and consequently can hate Him.

Christ none the less shows by these words that no excuse was left to the Jews why they should not encounter the doom of punishment and meet irretrievable damnation For clearly nothing that could profit them is left undone, as both a long discourse is vouchsafed them which might easily have put them on the way of salvation, and miracles were shown to them which no one in the world had ever seen before. For what saint ever vied with the Saviour in working miracles? As then the desire of honouring Him was so far repugnant to the Jews that they even preferred to hate Him in the impiety of their minds, will not the burden of the charge weigh most grievously upon them? For it would be better for them that they should never have heard His wise words or witnessed His unspeakable wonder-working power; for perhaps then they might have devised some such specious plea as this for pardon: "We never heard any of the truths essential to salvation, nor did we see anything to induce faith in us," But since it was not from one of the holy prophets, but from Christ Himself Who came from above and was sent to us, that they got their information; and since they also saw strange miracles with their own eyes, for Christ opened the eyes of the blind although no other man had ever before been able to do this; what can excuse the madness of the Jews, or what plea can extricate them from punishment? For though they had heard and seen, they hated both the Son and the Father; they both dishonoured the Word sent from the Father through the Son, and also, rejecting the honour due to the works of the Divine Nature, stood convicted of glaring impiety against the entire Nature of God, which was the agent. For the Father Himself certainly co-operated with the Son when He worked His wonders, not as doing marvellous works by an external instrument, but as being in the Son through the identity of Their Nature and the immutability of Their Substance. The wretched Jews then showed ingratitude, and lie under the grievous charge of gross contumacy, since they held as of no account the incomparable teaching of the Saviour, and besides dishonoured through the Son and in the Son the Nature of the Father, although that Nature was shown to be the worker of exceeding great miracles to them, which ought to have drawn and attracted the most stubborn and unteachable into ability to think what was right and what conduced to the glory of God.

(xxv. Moral.) It is one thing not to do good, another to hate the teacher of goodness; as there is a difference between sudden and deliberate sins. Our state generally is that we love what is good, but from infirmity cannot perform it. But to sin of set purpose, is neither to do nor to love what is good. As then it is sometimes a heavier offence to love than to do, so is it more wicked to hate justice than not to do it. There are some in the Church, who not only do not do what is good, but even persecute it, and hate in others what they neglect to do themselves. The sin of these men is not that of infirmity or ignorance, but deliberate wilful sin.

For, since they continually pretended that they persecuted Him on account of the Father, to deprive them of this excuse He spake these words. "They have no excuse. I gave them the teaching which is by words, that by works I added, according to the Law of Moses, who bade all men obey one speaking and doing such things, when he should both lead to piety, and exhibit the greatest miracles." And He spake not simply of "signs," but, "Which none other man did." And of this they themselves are witnesses, speaking in this way; "It was never so seen in Israel"; and, "Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind"; and the matter of Lazarus was of the same kind, and all the other acts the same, and the mode of wonder-working new, and all beyond thought.

"Why then," saith one, "do they persecute both Thee and us?" "Because ye are not of the world. If ye were of the world, the world would love its own." He first remindeth them of the words which He spake also to His own brethren; but there he spake more by way of a reflection, lest He should offend them, while here, on the contrary, He revealed all. "And how is it clear that it is on this account that we are hated?" "From what was done to Me. For, tell Me, which of My words or deeds could they lay hold on, that they would not receive Me?" Then since the thing would be astounding to us, He telleth the cause; that is, their wickedness. And He stayeth not here either, but introduceth the Prophet, showing him proclaiming before of old time, and saying, that, "They hated Me without a cause."

I did not merely deliver teaching, but also performed works such as no one else had done—for example, the miracle with the blind man, with Lazarus, and other similar ones. What justification, then, do they have? For My part, I delivered teaching in words and added the proof of works. And Moses (Deut. 18:18–22) commands to heed the one who performs miracles and teaches piety. But they have now both seen such works and yet hated both Me and My Father.

2053 Now he shows they are without excuse because of the witness of his signs. They could say that they were not convinced by the words he spoke in opposition to them. So he corroborates his words with marvelous actions, saying, If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin. First, he shows that they could be somewhat excused; secondly, he reveals the root of their sin (v 24b); thirdly, he cites an authority (v 25).

2054 There are two questions about the first point. One is about the truth of the antecedent statement, If I had not done among them the works which no one else did. Did Christ perform certain good works among them that no one else had done? It seems not. If we say that Christ raised the dead, Elijah and Elisha also did this. If Christ walked on the water, Moses parted the waters. Again, Joshua did something greater [than Christ] for he made the sun stand still. So it seems that Christ should not use this as an argument, and thus the conclusion is not true.

I answer that we can say, according to Augustine, that our Lord is not speaking of the miracles he worked among them, that is, merely in their sight, but of those he worked "among" them, that is, on their very persons. In curing the sick, although others did it, no one did it so much as Christ, because no other was made God and no one was born of a virgin but Christ. So in healing the sick he performed among them works which no one else performed; and this in three ways. First, because his works were so great: for he raised a person who had been dead for four days; he gave sight to a man who was born blind, which had never been heard of before, as we read above (9:32). Secondly, because of the great number of his works, for he healed all who were sick (Mt 14:35), and no one else did this. Thirdly, because of the way he did these works: others did these things by praying for help, which showed that they were not doing this by their own power; but Christ did it by command, for he did it by his own power: "What is this? A new teaching! With authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him" (Mk 1:27).

Therefore, although others have raised the dead and have accomplished other miracles which Christ did, they did not do it in the same manner as Christ, nor by their own power, as Christ did. Further, making the sun stand still is less than what the dying Christ did, when he made the moon move backwards and changed the whole course of the heavens, as Dionysius says.

2055 The second question is about the truth of the conditional statement, that if Christ had not done among them works which no one else did, the Jews would not have the sin of disbelief. My reply is that if we speak of any of the miracles indiscriminately, the Jews would have been excusable if they had not been done among them by Christ. For no one can come to Christ by faith unless he is drawn: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (6:44). So the spouse says in the Song (1:4): "Draw me after you." Therefore, if there were no one who had drawn them to the faith, they would have an excuse for their disbelief. Note that Christ drew by words and by signs, both visible and invisible, that is, by inciting and stirring hearts from within: "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord" (Prv 21:1). And so an inner impulse to act well is the work of God, and those who resist it sin. If not, Stephen would have no reason to say: "You always resist the Holy Spirit" (Acts 7:51). And Isaiah (50:5) says: "The Lord has opened my ear," that is, the ear of my heart, "and I was not rebellious." When our Lord said, If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, we have to understand this as referring not only to visible works but also to the interior impulses and attractions to his teaching. If these had not been done among them, they would not have sin. It is now clear how they could have been excused, that is, if he had not accomplished miraculous works among them.

2056 Now he shows the root of their sin of disbelief, namely, their hatred, because of which they did not believe the works they saw. He says, but now they have seen, the works he did among them, and hated both me and my Father: "Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord" (Prv 1:29). As Gregory says, there are some in the Church who not only do not do good works, but they even persecute those who do, so that what they fail to do they detest in others. Thus their sin is not one of weakness or ignorance, but is committed of set purpose.

The works, then, are doubtless those miracles of healing in connection with their bodily complaints which He exhibited to such an extent as no one before had furnished amongst them: for these they saw, and it is in reproaching them therewith that He proceeds to say, "But now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father: but this cometh to pass that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause." He calls it, their law, not as invented by them, but given to them: just as we say, "Our daily bread;" which, nevertheless, we ask of God in conjoining the words "Give us." But one hates gratuitously who neither seeks advantage from the hatred nor avoids inconvenience: so do the wicked hate the Lord; and so also is He loved by the righteous, that is to say, gratuitously, inasmuch as they expect no other gifts beyond Himself, for He Himself will be all in all. But whoever would be disposed to look for something more profound in the words of Christ, "If I had not done among them the works which none other man did" (for although such were done by the Father, or the Holy Spirit, yet no one else did them, for the whole Trinity is one and the same in substance), he will find that it was He who did it even when some man of God did something similar. For in Himself He can do everything by Himself; but without Him no one can do anything. For Christ with the Father and the Holy Spirit are not three Gods, but one God, of whom it is written, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things." No one else, therefore, really himself did the works which He did amongst them; for any one else who did any such works, did them only through His doing. But He Himself did them without any doing on their part.

(xv. de Trin. c. xvii) Under the name of the Law, the whole of the Old Testament is included: and therefore our Lord says here, That is written in their law; the passage being in the Psalms.

(Tr. xci. 4) Their law, He says, not as made by them, but as given to them. A man hates without a cause, who seeks no advantage from his hatred. Thus the ungodly hate God; the righteous love Him, i. e. looking for no other good but Him: He is their all in all.

And this malignity of the Jews is expressed in Scripture: therefore he says: But that the word may be fulfilled which is written in their Law — Law is taken broadly, insofar as it comprehends the Psalms — because they hated me without cause: it is written in the Psalm: "Those who oppose me unjustly, who hate me without cause and wink with their eyes"; and in another Psalm: "While I spoke to them, they attacked me without cause." That hatred was prefigured in Genesis thirty-seven, where it is said that "the brothers of Joseph hated him and could not speak peaceably to him."

And He shows clearly that this was not unforeseen by the Law, which predicted all that was to come to pass; but we say that it. was not for this reason that the Law predicted these latter days that the Jews when they visited with hatred both the Father and the Son might be convicted of injustice, but, inasmuch as They were destined to be so hated by them, the Divine and Sacred Law presaged it, showing that the Spirit was in no way ignorant of the future. For it was written in the Book of Psalms, as spoken by the Person of Christ, as rebuking the madness of the Jews and saying, They hated Me with an unjust hatred. For surely the hatred was unjust. Certainly they were exasperated against Him without a cause, who so far from having their hatred justified, in regard at any rate to the character of the works that were done among them, ought rather to have loved Him with surpassing devotion and have delighted in a willingness to follow Him. For let any one who wishes to excuse the disobedience of the Jews come forward and tell us what ground for hatred any one could have against Him. Was any one of the works of Christ deserving of hatred or enmity? His deliverance of them from death and corruption? His emancipation of them from the tyranny of the devil, and destruction of the dominion of sin, and restoration of that which was enslaved to sonship with God? His lifting up into righteousness (by His love of mankind and forgiveness of injuries) those who were dead in sin? His allowing them to participate in the Holy Spirit an the Divine Nature, and throwing open unto us even the dwelling-place of the holy angels, and granting men an access unto heaven? How was it just, that He Who provided and ordained all this for us should incur hatred, and not rather be requited by the silence of unspoken thanksgivings and with the boon of ceaseless gratitude at our hands? Nothing, however, could I think convert the stubborn Jew to willingness to think aright. For he hated without a cause Him Whom he ought rather to have loved with his whole heart and adorned with the honour of obedience. But herein our Lord well shows that He was not unaware of the stubborn temper of the Jews, but had foretold and foreknew that it would be so with them, but still treated them with mildness and forgiveness, as became His Divine Nature. For He set before them, ill-suited as they were to receive it, the Word which called them to salvation; even to confirming the confession of their faith by miracles, if there were any men among them of a good and suitable disposition. Herein too He gives His disciples no small benefit, to the intent that in a forgiving spirit they might extend the preaching of salvation even to those who offered them insult, and might even in this be seen to walk in the track of that excellence which first was conspicuous in Him. For if there be any good thing, it is seen in Christ first, and shown to us-ward; and from Him all blessings flow.

Here our Lord clearly shows that he is not unaware of the stubborn temper of the Jews but rather, he had foretold and knew in advance how they would respond. However, he still treated them with mildness and forgiveness as was befitting his divine nature. For he set before them the Word that called them to salvation even though they were ill disposed to receive it. And if any of them did have a good and suitable disposition, he even confirmed their faith by miracles. Here too he gives his disciples considerable benefit, with the goal that in a forgiving spirit they might extend the preaching of salvation even to those who offered them insults and might even in this be seen to walk in the path of excellence which was first revealed in Christ.

But those persons sinned intentionally, of whom the Master Himself said, "If I had not come, and spoken unto them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin." And a little after, "They have both seen, and hated, both Me and My Father." For not to do good is one thing, to hate a teacher of goodness another: as it is one thing to sin from precipitancy, and another thing to sin deliberately. For a sin is often committed from precipitation, which yet is condemned on thought and deliberation. For it frequently happens that a man through infirmity loves what is right, and cannot perform it. But to sin deliberately is neither to love nor to do what is good. As it is therefore sometimes a heavier offence to love sin than to commit it, it is, in like manner, more sinful to hate righteousness, than not to have performed it. There are some then in the Church, who so far from doing good, even persecute it, and who even detest in others, what they neglect to do themselves. The sin of these persons is in truth not committed from infirmity or ignorance, but of intention alone.

This Spirit, (according to the apostle's showing, ) meant not that the service of these gifts should be in the body, nor did He place them in the human body); and on the subject of the superiority of love above all these gifts, He even taught the apostle that it was the chief commandment, just as Christ has shown it to be: "Thou shalt love the Lord with all thine heart and soul, with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbour as thine own self." When he mentions the fact that "it is written in the law," how that the Creator would speak with other tongues and other lips, whilst confirming indeed the gift of tongues by such a mention, he yet cannot be thought to have affirmed that the gift was that of another god by his reference to the Creator's prediction. In precisely the same manner, when enjoining on women silence in the church, that they speak not for the mere sake of learning (although that even they have the right of prophesying, he has already shown when he covers the woman that prophesies with a veil), he goes to the law for his sanction that woman should be under obedience.

[Jesus says], If I was not engaged in dialogue with them in deed and in word, they would have something to say. But now, since they do not accept my words, they are clearly condemned for their enmity toward me and the Father. Through the prophecy he also shows that their hatred of him was irrational.

Then He refers to the testimony of the prophet: "They hated Me without a cause" (Ps. 68:5). Their hatred was born from malice alone, and from no other reason. By "Law," as we have often said, He means not only the Law of Moses, but also the Books of the Prophets, as here He called the Book of David "Law." David, by the Holy Spirit, foretold what their malice would do; and they, without doubt, out of malice fulfilled what the prophet had predicted, and thereby confirmed the truth of the prophecy.

2057 Yet some could say: If it is true that the Jews hated you and your Father, why did you perform miracles among them? He answers and says It is to fulfill the word that is written in their law. Here we could ask why he says that this was written in their law when it was written in the Psalms? We can say to this that the "law" is understood in three ways in scripture. Sometimes it is taken for the entire Old Testament; and this is the way it is understood here, because the entire teaching of the Old Testament is directed to the observance of the law: "Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom" (Lk 23:42). Sometimes it is taken as distinguished from the histories and the prophets: "that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms" (in which the histories are sometimes included) "must be fulfilled" (Lk 24:44). And sometimes the law is taken as distinct only from the prophets, and then the histories are included in the prophets. He says, It is to fulfill what is written in their law, that is, in the Psalms (35:19) "They hated me without a cause," and not to gain some benefit or avoid some trouble (for this is why people hate). Indeed, Christ gave them opportunities to love him when he healed and taught them: "He went about doing good" (Acts 10:38); "Is evil a recompense for good? They have dug a pit for my life" (Jer 18:20); "What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me" (Jer 2:5).

If the Spirit proceeds from a place and passes to a place, the Father also will be found in a place, and so will the Son. If he goes out of a place, whom the Fathers sends, or the Son, surely the Spirit passing and proceeding from a place seems to leave both the Father and the Son as a body, according to impious interpretations. I declare this with reference to those who say that the Spirit has motion by descending. But neither is the Father circumscribed in any place, who is over all things not only of a corporeal nature but also of invisible creation, nor is the Son enclosed by the places and times of his works, who as the worker of all creation is over every creature. Nor is the Spirit of truth, namely, the Spirit of God, circumscribed by any corporeal boundaries, who, since he is incorporeal, is over all rational creation by the ineffable fullness of the Godhead, having the power of breathing where he wishes and of inspiring as he wishes over all things.

Come, Holy Spirit, who ever One Are with the Father and the Son, It is the hour, our souls possess With your full flood of holiness.

Let flesh, and heart, and lips and mind, Sound forth our witness to humankind; And love light up our mortal frame, Till others catch the living flame.

Grant this, O Father, ever One With Christ, your sole begotten Son And Holy Spirit we adore, Reigning and blest forevermore. Amen.

So the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and bears witness of the Son. A witness, both faithful and true, bears witness also of the Father. There is no more complete expression of the divine majesty, nothing more clear regarding the unity of divine power than this, since the Spirit knows the same as the Son, who is the witness and the inseparable sharer of the Father's secrets.

As the Son is an only-begotten offspring, so also the Spirit, being given and sent from the Son, is himself one and not many, nor one from among many, but Only Spirit. As the Son, the living Word, is one, so must the vital activity and gift by which he sanctifies and enlightens be one, perfect and complete. This [activity and gift] is said to proceed from the Father because it is from the Word, who is confessed to be from the Father, that it shines forth, is sent and is given. The Son is sent from the Father. For he says, "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son." The Son sends the Spirit. "If I go away," he says, "I will send the Paraclete." The Son glorifies the Father, saying, "Father, I have glorified you." The Spirit glorifies the Son, for he says, "He shall glorify me." The Son says, "The things I heard from the Father I speak unto the world." The Spirit takes of the Son. "He shall take of mine," he says, "and shall declare it unto you." The Son came in the name of the Father. "The Holy Spirit," says the Son, "whom the Father will send in my name."

That he is the Spirit of the Father is what the Son himself says: "He proceeds from the Father," and in another place, "For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you." That he is also the Spirit of the Son is what the apostle tells us: "God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying Abba, Father," that is, "making us cry." It is, after all, we who cry out but in him, that is to say, through his pouring out charity in our hearts, without which anyone who cries out, cries out in vain. That is why he also says, "Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ is not one of his." So to which person of the Trinity would communion in this companionship properly belong, if not to that Spirit who is common to Father and Son?

The Lord Jesus, in the discourse which He addressed to His disciples after the supper, when Himself in immediate proximity to His passion, and, as it were, on the eve of departure, and of depriving them of His bodily presence while continuing His spiritual presence to all His disciples till the very end of the world, exhorted them to endure the persecutions of the wicked, whom He distinguished by the name of the world: and from which He also told them that He had chosen, the disciples themselves, that they might know it was by the grace of God they were what they were, and by their own vices they had been what they had been. And then His own persecutors and theirs He clearly signified to be the Jews, that it might be perfectly apparent that they also were included in the appellation of that damnable world that persecuteth the saints. And when He had said of them that they knew not Him that sent Him, and yet hated both the Son and the Father, that is, both Him who was sent and Him who sent Him,-of all which we have already treated in previous discourses,-He reached the place where it is said, "This cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause." And then He added, as if by way of consequence, the words whereon we have undertaken at present to discourse: "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father, He shall bear witness of me: and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning." But what connection has this with what He had just said, "But now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father: but that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause"? Was it that the Comforter, when He came, even the Spirit of truth, convicted those, who thus saw and hated, by a still clearer testimony? Yea, verily, some even of those who saw, and still hated, He did convert, by this manifestation of Himself, to the faith that worketh by love. To make this view of the passage intelligible, we recall to your mind that so it actually befell. For when on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit fell upon an assembly of one hundred and twenty men, among whom were all the apostles; and when they, filled therewith were speaking in the language of every nation; a goodly number of those who had hated, amazed at the magnitude of the miracle (especially when they perceived in Peter's address so great and divine a testimony borne in behalf of Christ, as that He, who was slain by them and accounted amongst the dead, was proved to have risen again, and to be now alive), were pricked in their hearts and converted; and so became aware of the beneficent character of that precious blood which had been so impiously and cruelly shed, because themselves redeemed by the very blood which they had shed. For the blood of Christ was shed so efficaciously for the remission of all sins, that it could wipe out even the very sin of shedding it. With this therefore in His eye, the Lord said, "They hated me without a cause: but when the Comforter is come, He shall bear witness of me;" saying, as it were, They hated me, and slew me when I stood visibly before their eyes; but such shall be the testimony borne in my behalf by the Comforter, that He will bring them to believe in me when I am no longer visible to their sight.

(Tr. xcii. 2) As if He said, Seeing Me, they hated and killed Me: but the Comforter shall give such testimony concerning Me, as shall make them believe, though they see Me not. And because He shall testify, ye shall testify also: And ye also shall bear witness: He will inspire your hearts, and ye shall proclaim with your voices. And ye will preach what ye know; Because ye have been with Me from the beginning; which now ye do not do, because ye have not yet the fulness of the Spirit. But the love of God shall then be shed abroad in your hearts by the Spirit which shall be given you, and shall make you confident witnesses to Me. The Holy Spirit by His testimony made others testify; taking away fear from the friends of Christ's, and converting the hatred of His enemies into love.

(Tr. xcix. 6, et sq.) If it be asked here whether the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Son also, we may answer thus: The Son is the Son of the Father alone, and the Father is the Father of the Son only; but the Holy Spirit is not the Spirit of one, but of both; since Christ Himself saith, The Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. (Matt. 10:20) And the Apostle says, God hath sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts. (Gal. 4:6) This indeed, I think, is the reason why He is called peculiarly the Spirit. For both of the Father and the Son separately we may pronounce, that each is a Spirit. But what each is separately in a general sense, He who is not either one separately, but the union of both, is spiritually. But if the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Son, why should we not believe that He proceeds from the Son? Indeed if He did not proceed from the Son, Christ would not after the resurrection have breathed on His disciples, and said, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. (John 20:29) This too is what is meant by the virtue which went out of Him, and healed all. (Luke 6.) If the Holy Ghost then proceeds both from the Father and the Son, why does Christ say, Who proceedeth from the Father? He says it in accordance with His general way of referring all that He has to Him from whom He is; as where He says, My doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent Me. If the doctrine was His, which He says was not His own, but the Father's, much more does the Holy Spirit proceed from Him, consistently with His proceeding from the Father. From whom the Son hath His Godhead, from Him He hath it that the Holy Ghost proceedeth from Him. And this explains why the Holy Spirit is not said to be born, but to proceed. For if He were born, He would be the Son of both Father and Son, an absurd supposition; for if two together have a Son, those two must be father and mother. But to imagine any such relation as this between God the Father, and God the Son, is monstrous. Even the human offspring does not proceed from father or mother at the same time; when it proceeds from the father, it does not proceed from the mother. Whereas the Holy Spirit does not proceed from the Father into the Son, and from the Son into the creature to be sanctified; but proceeds from Father and Son at once. And if the Father is life, and the Son is life, so the Holy Ghost is life also. Just then as the Father when He had life in Himself, gave also to the Son to have life in Himself; so He gave to the Son also that life should proceed from Him, even as it proceeded from Himself.

But when he comes. Here fourthly he intimates his innocence, to be expressed by the testimony of the Holy Spirit and of the Apostles: on account of which he says: But when he comes: they persecuted me as though I were a wicked man and worthy of death; 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 concerning me: Acts five: "The Spirit is a witness, whom God has given to all who obey him"; and by bearing witness to my innocence, he will convict the world of malice: below in chapter sixteen: "When he comes, he will convict the world of sin, because it does not believe."

And [we believe] in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.

When He says that both He Himself and His Father were hated by the perverse Jews, this hatred of theirs being gratuitous and without justification, He with good reason makes mention of the Spirit. He thus at once adds to the Word the completion of the Holy Trinity, and also shows that it was dishonoured, to the intent that the spectators of His miracles, who were guilty of insult against the Son, might also be convicted of treating with contumely the power which so far excels every substance, not only by refusing to accept Christ, even though He had worked great marvels to convince them, but also by their actions against Him. For they treated Him with an impiety which is shocking even to think of; and yet one might say, O senseless Jew, Christ was a worker of wonders before you far exceeding the glory of Moses and the glory of every Saint. For the saying of the Lord, If I had not done among them the works which none other did, brings back a thought before our minds. While then you crown with honours so illustrious Moses, the servant and minister of lesser things than these, you do not blush when you so perversely reject Him Who is immeasurably superior and a worker of far nobler deeds; even though He brought to their long foretold fulfilment the oracles given by Moses, and terminated the shadow by the truth. Our Lord Jesus Christ therefore of necessity joined the mention of the Spirit to that of Himself and the Father. And He also shows what has been said to be true; that is, that if any one chooses to hate the Son, he will also utterly contemn the Father from Whom He proceeds. And how, or in what way, consider further.

For observe, when calling the Comforter "the Spirit of truth," that is, His own, He says that He comes from the Father. For as the Spirit naturally belongs to the Son, being in Him and proceeding through Him, so also He belongs to the Father. But the qualities of Their Substance cannot be distinct, where the Spirit is common to both. Let not then any of those who are accustomed impiously to employ the language of folly lead us to the perverted opinion that the Son, executing as it were a kind of ministerial service, vouchsafes the Spirit that is received from the Father to the creature. For some have not scrupled perversely to say this. But it is more consistent to believe that since the Spirit belongs to Him, as He also certainly belongs to God the Father, He sends Him to His holy disciples to sanctify them. For if they think that in making the Son in this also a minister and servant to us, they form and utter a shrewd conception, surely it follows that we say to them: Ye fools and blind; do you not perceive that you are going back, and diminishing the glory of the Only-begotten, when you string together miserable sophistries from the ignorance that is in you? For if the Son ministers the Spirit from the Father, being ranked as a servant, surely it is necessary to admit that the Spirit is utterly different in Essence from Him, and perhaps His superior and far above Him, if the case be as you in your ignorance suppose. For if the Son does not proceed from the Father, that is, from His Essence, as you think, surely the Spirit when compared with the Son would be regarded as superior to Him. What then say we, when we hear Christ himself saying of the Spirit: He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine and shall declare it unto you?

Now, besides what has been mentioned, this also will necessarily follow. For if you consider that the Son performs a ministerial service, providing us with That which is of another Nature, that is, the Spirit proceeding from God the Father Which is naturally holy, the Son is not by Nature holy, but only by participation, as we are. For by the ignorance of the impious He is declared to be different in Substance from the Father, from Whom also the Spirit provided unto us by Him proceeds. It will then be possible, since the Spirit does not belong to the Son, but He Himself is sanctified by adoption, as is the case with the creature, that He may fall away from the holiness that is in Him. For that which has been acquired as an addition might surely be removed, at the pleasure of Him Who has bestowed it. Who then will not flee away from such doctrines as these? I think, however, that our statement is more conformable to the truth.

The truth then is dear to us, as are the dogmas, expressing the truth; and we will not follow those heretics, but, pursuing the faith handed down by the holy fathers, we declare that the Comforter, that is, the Holy Spirit, belongs to the Son, and is not introduced from outside nor acquired in His case, as He is in that of those who receive sanctification, in whom though not originally innate He is implanted; but that the Son is of one Substance with the Spirit, as also He is with the Father. For if we take this view, the power of the doctrines of the Church will not be reduced in our case to a polytheistic mythology, but the Holy Trinity is united in the doctrine of a Single Divinity. Showing then that there is a Unity of Substance, I mean that of Himself and God the Father, in the same Being, in saying that the Comforter is the Spirit of truth He declares that He proceeds from the Father, and makes plain and beyond contradiction that the opposer of Christ is wholly at enmity with God. For he who in any degree allows himself to contemn the Son may be reasonably considered to transgress against Him from Whom He proceeds.

When then, He says, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, that is My Spirit, Which proceeds from the Father, is come, He will testify of Me. And how will He testify? By working marvels in you, and by you He will be a just and true witness of My Godlike authority, and of the greatness of My power. For He that works in you is My Spirit, and as He is My Spirit, so also is He That of God the Father. Therefore it is necessary to consider that they who, to confirm our faith, work marvels in us by the one good Spirit are alike insulted in the Person of Christ, in Whom dwelt, as Paul says, no mere part of the ineffable Divine Nature, but all the fulness [of the Godhead] bodily.

He is called the Comforter because he comforts and encourages us and helps our infirmities. We do not know what we should pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us, with groanings that cannot be uttered, that is, he makes intercession to God. Very often, someone has been outraged and dishonored unjustly for the sake of Christ. Martyrdom is at hand; tortures on every side, and fire, and sword, and savage beasts and the pit. But the Holy Spirit softly whispers to him, "Wait on the Lord." What is now happening to you is a small matter; the reward will be great. Suffer a little while, and you will be with angels forever. "The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory that shall be revealed in us." He portrays to the person the kingdom of heaven. He gives him a glimpse of the paradise of delight.

He does not say, "from God" or "from the Almighty" but "from the Father," because though the Father and God Almighty are the same, yet the Spirit of truth properly proceeds from God as the Father, the Begetter.… The Father and the Son together send the Spirit of truth: He comes by the will both of the Father and the Son.

(Didym. De Spir. Sanct.) The Holy Spirit He calls the Comforter, a name taken from His office, which is not only to relieve the sorrows of the faithful, but to fill them with unspeakable joy. Everlasting gladness is in those hearts, in which the Spirit dwells. The Spirit, the Comforter, is sent by the Son, not as Angels, or Prophets, or Apostles, are sent, but as the Spirit must be sent which is of one nature with the Divine wisdom and power that sends Him. The Son when sent by the Father, is not separated from Him, but abides in the Father, and the Father in Him. In the same way the Holy Spirit is not sent by the Son, and proceedeth from the Father, in the sense of change of place. For as the Father's nature, being incorporeal, is not local, so neither hath the Spirit of truth, Who is incorporeal also, and superior to all created things, a local nature.

(ut sup.) He does not say, from God, or, from the Almighty, but, from the Father: because though the Father and God Almighty are the same, yet the Spirit of truth properly proceeds from God, as the Father, the Begetter. The Father and the Son together send the Spirit of truth: He comes by the will both of the Father and the Son.

The Holy Spirit is truly Spirit, coming forth from the Father indeed, but not after the manner of the Son, for it is not by generation but by procession.… There is then one God in three, and these three are one.

The Holy Spirit always existed, and exists and always will exist, who neither had a beginning nor will have an end … ever being partaken but not partaking; perfecting, not being perfected; sanctifying, not being sanctified; deifying, not being deified … Life and Lifegiver; Light and Lightgiver; Absolute Good and Spring of Goodness … By whom the Father is known and the Son is glorified.… Why make a long discourse of it? All that the Father has the Son has also; except the being unbegotten. And all that the Son has the Spirit has also, except the generation.

Tell me, what position will you assign to that which proceeds, which has started up between the two terms of your distinctions [i.e., the terms begotten and unbegotten] and is introduced by a better theologian than you, namely, our Savior himself? Or perhaps you have taken that word out of your Gospels for the sake of your third testament: "The Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father." Because he proceeds from that source, he is no creature. And because he is not begotten, he is no son. And because he is between the unbegotten and the begotten, he is God. And so, escaping the labors of your syllogisms, he [i.e., the Spirit] has manifested himself as God, stronger than your distinctions. What then is procession? Tell me what the unbegottenness of the Father is, and I will explain to you the physiology of the generation of the Son and the procession of the Spirit, and we shall both of us be frenzy-stricken for prying into the mystery of God! And who are we to do these things, we who cannot even see what lies at our feet or number the sand of the sea, or the drops of rain, or the days of eternity, much less enter into the depths of God and supply an account of that nature that is so unspeakable and transcending all words?What then, they say, is there lacking to the Spirit that prevents him from being a Son, for if there were not something lacking he would be a Son? We assert that there is nothing lacking—for God has no deficiency. But the difference of manifestation, if I may so express myself, or rather of their mutual relations one to another, has caused the difference of their names. For indeed, there is no deficiency in the Son that prevents his being Father (for sonship is not a deficiency), and yet he is not Father. According to this line of argument there must be some deficiency in the Father, in respect of his not being Son. For the Father is not Son, and yet this is not due to either deficiency or subjection of essence. But the very fact of being unbegotten or begotten or proceeding has given the name of Father to the first, of the Son to the second, and of the third, him of whom we are speaking, of the Holy Spirit that the distinction of the three persons may be preserved in the one nature and dignity of the Godhead. For neither is the Son Father, for the Father is one, but he is what the Father is. Nor is the Spirit Son because he is of God, for the Only Begotten is one, but he is what the Son is. The three are one in Godhead, and the one three in properties, so that neither is the unity a Sabellian one, nor does the Trinity countenance the present evil distinction. What then? Is the Spirit God? Most certainly. Well then, is he consubstantial? Yes, if he is God.

The Advocate shall come, and the Son shall send him from the Father, and he is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father.… He will send from the Father the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father. [The Son] therefore cannot be the recipient, since he is revealed as the sender. It only remains to make sure of our conviction on the point, whether we are to believe an egress of a co-existent being or a procession of a being begotten.… If one believes that there is a difference between receiving from the Son and proceeding from the Father, surely to receive from the Son and to receive from the Father will be regarded as one and the same thing.… For when he says that all things whatever the Father has are his and that for this cause he declared that it must be received from his own, he teaches also that what is received from the Father is yet received from himself, because all things that the Father has are his.

Wherefore also the Lord promised to send the Comforter, who should join us to God. For as a compacted lump of dough cannot be formed of dry wheat without fluid matter, nor can a loaf possess unity, so, in like manner, neither could we, being many, be made one in Christ Jesus without the water from heaven. And as dry earth does not bring forth unless it receive moisture, in like manner we also, being originally a dry tree, could never have brought forth fruit unto life without the voluntary rain from above. For our bodies have received unity among themselves by means of that layer which leads to incorruption; but our souls, by means of the Spirit. Wherefore both are necessary, since both contribute towards the life of God, our Lord compassionating that erring Samaritan woman -who did not remain with one husband, but committed fornication by [contracting] many marriages-by pointing out, and promising to her living water, so that she should thirst no more, nor occupy herself in acquiring the refreshing water obtained by labour, having in herself water springing up to eternal life. The Lord, receiving this as a gift from His Father, does Himself also confer it upon those who are partakers of Himself, sending the Holy Spirit upon all the earth.

Which Paul doth also. For when many wondered how that the Jews believed not, he brings in Prophets foretelling it of old, and declaring the cause; that their wickedness and pride were the cause of their unbelief. "Well then; if they kept not Thy saying, neither will they keep ours; if they persecuted Thee, therefore they will persecute us also; if they saw signs, such as none other man wrought; if they heard words such as none other spake, and profited nothing; if they hate Thy Father and Thee with Him, wherefore," saith one, "hast Thou sent us in among them? How after this shall we be worthy of belief? which of our kindred will give heed to us?" That they may not therefore be troubled by such thoughts, see what sort of comfort he addeth.

"When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me. And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with Me from the beginning."

"He shall be worthy of belief, for He is the Spirit of Truth." On this account He called It not "Holy Spirit," but "Spirit of Truth." But the, "proceedeth from the Father," showeth that He knoweth all things exactly, as Christ also saith of Himself, that "I know whence come and whither I go", speaking in that place also concerning truth. "Whom will send." Behold, it is no longer the Father alone, but the Son also who sendeth. "And ye too," He saith, "have a right to be believed, who have been with Me, who have not heard from others." Indeed, the Apostles confidently rely on this circumstance, saying, "We who did eat and drink with Him." And to show that this was not merely said to please, the Spirit beareth witness to the words spoken.

We believe also in one Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and rests in the Son, the object of equal adoration and glorification with the Father and Son, since he is co-essential and co-eternal; the Spirit of God, direct, authoritative, the fountain of wisdom, and life and holiness; God existing and addressed along with Father and Son; uncreated, full, creative, all-ruling, all-effecting, all-powerful, of infinite power, Lord of all creation and not under any lord; deifying, not deified; filling, not filled; shared in, not sharing in; sanctifying, not sanctified; the intercessor, receiving the supplications of all; in all things like to the Father and Son: proceeding from the Father and communicated through the Son, participated in by all creation, through himself creating and investing with essence and sanctifying and maintaining the universe: having subsistence, existing in its own proper and peculiar subsistence, inseparable and indivisible from Father and Son, possessing all the qualities that the Father and Son possess, except that of not being begotten or born. For the Father is without cause and unborn; since he is derived from nothing but derives from himself his being, nor does he derive a single quality from another. Rather, he is himself the beginning and cause of the existence of all things in a definite and natural manner. But the Son is derived from the Father after the manner of generation, and the Holy Spirit likewise is derived from the Father, yet not after the manner of generation but after that of procession. And we have learned that there is a difference between generation and procession, but the nature of that difference we in no wise understand. Further, the generation of the Son from the Father and the procession of the Holy Spirit are simultaneous.

The name Paraclete seems to be understood in the case of our Savior as meaning intercessor. For he is said to intercede with the Father because of our sins. In the case of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete must be understood in the sense of comforter because he bestows consolation on the souls to whom he openly reveals the apprehension of spiritual knowledge.

Grant, then, that all have erred; that the apostle was mistaken in giving his testimony; that the Holy Ghost had no such respect to any one (church) as to lead it into truth, although sent with this view by Christ, and for this asked of the Father that He might be the teacher of truth; grant, also, that He, the Steward of God, the Vicar of Christ, neglected His office, permitting the churches for a time to understand differently, (and) to believe differently, what He Himself was preaching by the apostles,-is it likely that so many churches, and they so great, should have gone astray into one and the same faith? No casualty distributed among many men issues in one and the same result.

Or if, again, (the pseudo-prophetic spirit) has been eager to affect this (sentiment) in accordance with "the Spirit of truth," it follows that "the Spirit of truth" has indeed the power of indulgently granting pardon to fornicators, but wills not to do it if it involve evil to the majority.

Through the descent of the Spirit, he says, there will be a confirmation of what I said, that is, that they committed a serious offense against me and my Father. When in my name signs happen through the power of the Spirit, then the truth of my words will appear. It will be evident that the Father was despised with me because of the iniquity of my enemies. And then Jesus, wanting to emphasize their fault on the basis of the person who will testify, says, "who comes from the Father," that is, the one whose essence is from the nature of the Father. In fact, if the natural procession [of the Spirit] were not understood from the word comes but, for instance, a certain external sending, there would be uncertainty about the spirit he is talking about, because many spirits are sent on missions, as also the apostle Paul said, "Are not all angels spirits in the divine service, sent to serve?" Here also the fact that he mentions it by itself is sufficient to signify the one who proceeds from the Father and appropriately is called by the name of Spirit in the Holy Scripture.

The Lord said to the disciples: "You will be persecuted, your word will not be kept." They could have said: "Lord, why then are You sending us? How will they believe us? Who will heed us? Who will listen to us?" Lest they say this, the Lord adds: "When the Comforter comes, He will testify of Me." He is a trustworthy witness. Therefore, those convicted by the Spirit that they sin without excuse will accept your preaching. The words "Whom I will send" show His equality with the Father. For in another place He said that the Father will send the Spirit (John 14:26), but here He says that He Himself will send Him. By this He shows nothing other than equality. And lest they think that He rises up against the Father when He sends the Spirit by a different authority, He added "from the Father." I will send Him Myself, but "from the Father," that is, by the good pleasure of the Father, and I will send Him together with Him. For I do not bring forth the Spirit from My own bosom, but from the Father He is bestowed through Me. When you hear "proceeds," do not understand by procession a sending forth, as the ministering spirits are sent forth; rather, procession is the natural mode of being of the Spirit. If we were to understand procession not in this way, but as an external sending forth, it would not be clear which Spirit He is speaking of. For countless are the spirits "sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation" (Heb. 1:14). But here, procession is a certain particular and distinctive property belonging properly to the one Spirit alone. Therefore, by procession we must understand not a sending forth, but the natural mode of being from the Father.

Elsewhere He says that the Father sends the Spirit; now He says He does: Whom I will send unto you; thus declaring the equality of the Father and the Son. That He might not be thought however to be opposed to the Father, and to be another and rival source, as it were, of the Spirit, He adds, From the Father; i. e. the Father agreeing, and taking an equal part in sending Him. When it is said that He proceedeth, do not understand His procession to be an external mission, such as is given to ministering spirits, but a certain peculiar, and distinct procession, such as is true of the Holy Spirit alone. To proceed is not the same as being sent, but is the essential nature of the Holy Ghost, as coming from the Father.

2058 Now he shows that they are inexcusable because of what will come to pass after him: because they would have other testimonies, namely, those of the Holy Spirit and of the apostles. First, he states what was to come from the Holy Spirit; secondly, from the apostles (v 27). He indicates four things about the Spirit: his freedom, tenderness, procession and activity.

2059 He indicates his freedom, or power, when he says, But when the Paraclete comes. Strictly speaking that person is said to come who comes willingly and on his own authority; and this is true of the Holy Spirit, because "the Spirit blows where it wills" [3:8]; "I called upon God, and the Spirit of wisdom came to me" (Wis 7:7). Therefore, in saying, whom I shall send, he does not suggest force but origin.

2060 He touches on his tenderness when he says, the Paraclete, that is the Consoler. Since the Paraclete is the Love of God he makes us scorn earthly things and cling to God; and thus he takes away our pain and sadness and gives us joy in divine things: "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace" (Gal 5:22); and in Acts (9:31) we read that the Church was walking "in the comfort of the Holy Spirit."

2061 Thirdly, he touches on the twofold procession of the Holy Spirit. First, he mentions the temporal procession when he says, whom I shall send to you from the Father. Note that the Holy Spirit is said to be sent not because the Spirit is changing place, since the Spirit fills the entire universe, as we read in Wisdom (1:7), but because, by grace, the Holy Spirit begins to dwell in a new way in those he makes a temple of God: "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" (1 Cor 3:16). There is no disagreement in saying that the Holy Spirit is sent and that he comes. In saying that the Spirit comes the grandeur of his divinity is indicated: the "Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills" (1 Cor 12:11). And he is said to be sent to indicate his procession from another, for the fact that he sanctifies the rational creature by indwelling he has from that other, from whom he has it that he is, just as it is from another that the Son has whatever he does.

The Holy Spirit is sent by the Father and the Son together; and this is indicated in "He showed me the river of the water of life," that is, the Holy Spirit, "flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb," that is, of Christ (Rev 22:1). Therefore, when speaking of the sending of the Holy Spirit he mentions the Father and the Son, who send the Spirit by the same and equal power. Thus sometimes he mentions the Father as sending the Spirit, but not without the Son, as above (14:26): "The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name"; at other times he says that he himself sends the Holy Spirit, but not without the Father: as here, whom I shall send to you from the Father, because whatever the Son does he has from the Father: "The Son cannot do anything of himself" [5:19].

2062 He mentions the eternal procession of the Holy Spirit when he shows in a similar way that the Spirit is related both to the Father and the Son. He shows the Spirit as related to the Son when he says, the Spirit of truth, for the Son is the Truth: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (14:6). He shows the Spirit as related to the Father when he says, who proceeds from the Father. So to say that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, is the same as saying the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Son: "God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts" (Gal 4:6). And because the word "spirit" (spiritus) suggests a kind of impulse and every motion produces an effect in harmony with its source (as heating makes something hot), it follows that the Holy Spirit makes those to whom he is sent like the one whose Spirit he is. And since he is the Spirit of Truth "He will teach you all truth" [16:13]; "The inspiration of the Almighty gives understanding" [Job 32:8]. In the same way, because he is the Spirit of the Son, he produces sons: "You have received the spirit of sonship" (Rom 8:15). He says the Spirit of truth as contrasted with the spirit of lying: "The Lord has mingled within her the spirit of error" [Is 19:14]; "I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets" (1 Kgs 22:22).

2063 Because he says who proceeds from the Father and does not add "and from the Son," the Greeks say that the Holy Spirit does not proceed from the Son but only from the Father. But this absolutely cannot be. For the Holy Spirit could not be distinguished from the Son unless he either proceeds from the Son, or on the other hand, the Son proceeds from him (and no one claims this). For one cannot say that among the divine persons, who are entirely immaterial and simple, there is a material distinction based on a division of quantity, which matter underlies. Thus it is necessary that the distinction of the divine persons be by way of a formal distinction, which has to involve some kind of opposition. For if forms are not opposed they are compatible with one another in the same subject and do not diversify a supposit; for example, to be white and large. So among the divine persons, since "not subject to birth" and "fatherhood" are not opposed, they belong to one person. If, then, the Son and the Holy Spirit are distinct persons proceeding from the Father, they have to be distinguished by some properties that are opposed. These properties cannot be opposed like affirmation and negation or privation and possessing are opposed, because then the Son and the Holy Spirit would be related to one another like being and non-being and as the complete to the deprived, and this is repugnant to their equality. Nor can these properties be opposed like contraries are opposed, one of which is more perfect than the other. What remains is that the Holy Spirit is distinguished from the Son only by a relative opposition.

This kind of opposition rests solely on the fact that one of them is referred to the other. For the different relations of two things to some third thing are not directly opposed except accidentally, that is by some incidental consequence. So in order for the Holy Spirit to be distinguished from the Son, they must have relations that are opposed, by which they will be opposed to each other. No such relations can be found except relations of origin, insofar as one person is from the other. Thus it is impossible, granting the Trinity of persons, that the Holy Spirit not be from the Son.

2064 Some say that the Holy Spirit and the Son are distinguished by the different ways they proceed, insofar as the Son is from the Father by being born and the Holy Spirit by proceeding. But the same problem still returns which arose from the previous opinion, as to how these two processions differ. One cannot say that they are distinguished because of the diverse things received by their respective generations, like the generation of a human being and a horse differ because of the diverse natures that are communicated. For the very same nature is received by the Son by being born from the Father and by the Holy Spirit by proceeding. So we are left with the conclusion that they are distinguished only by the order of origin, that is to say, insofar as the birth of the Son is a principle of the procession of the Holy Spirit. And so, if the Holy Spirit were not from the Son, the Spirit would not be distinguished from the Son and procession would not be distinguished from birth.

Thus even the Greeks admit some order between the Son and the Holy Spirit. For they say that the Holy Spirit is of the Son, and that the Son acts through the Holy Spirit, but not conversely. And some even admit that the Holy Spirit is from the Son, but they will not concede that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son. Yet in this they are obviously imprudent. For we use the word "procession" in all cases in which one thing is from another in any way. And so this word, because it is so general, has been adapted to indicate the existence of the Holy Spirit as from the Son. We don't have any examples of this in creatures which would lead us to give it a specific name; while we do have examples which give us the special term of "generation" which is applied to the Son. The reason for this is that in creatures we do not find a person proceeding from will, as love, while we do find a person proceeding from nature, as son. Thus, however the Holy Spirit is ordered to the Son, it can be concluded that the Spirit proceeds from the Son.

2065 Nevertheless some of the Greeks assert that one should not say that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son because for them the preposition "from" indicates a principle which is not from a principle, and this is so only of the Father. This is not compelling because the Son with the Father is one principle of the Holy Spirit, as also of creatures. And although the Son has it from the Father that the Son is a principle of creatures, still creatures are said to be from the Son; and for the same reason it can be said that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son.

Nor does it make any difference that we read here, who proceeds from the Father, instead of "from the Father and the Son," because in a similar way it is said, whom I shall send, and yet the Father is also understood to send, since there is added, from the Father. In a similar way because it says, the Spirit of truth, that is, the Spirit of the Son, we understand that the Spirit proceeds from the Son. For, as has been said, when the procession of the Holy Spirit is mentioned, the Son is always joined to the Father, and the Father to the Son; and so these different ways of expression indicate a distinction of persons.

2066 Fourthly, he mentions the activity of the Holy Spirit when he says, he will bear witness to me; and this in three ways. First, the Spirit will teach the disciples and give them the confidence to bear witness: "For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you" (Mt 10:20). Secondly, the Spirit will communicate his teaching to those who believe in Christ: "God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit" (Heb 2:4). Thirdly, the Spirit will soften the hearts of their hearers: "When you send forth your Spirit, they are created" (Ps 104:30).

"And ye also," He says," shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning." The Holy Spirit shall bear witness, and so also shall ye. For, just because ye have been with me from the beginning, they can preach what ye know; which ye cannot do at present, because the fullness of that Spirit is not yet present within you. "He therefore shall testify of me, and ye also shall bear witness:" for the love of God shed abroad in your hearts by the Holy Spirit, who shall be given unto you, will give you the confidence needful for such witness-bearing. And that certainly was still wanting to Peter, when, terrified by the question of a lady's maid, he could give no true testimony; but, contrary to his own promise, was driven by the greatness of his fear thrice to deny Him. But there is no such fear in love, for perfect love casteth out fear. In fine, before the Lord's passion, his slavish fear was questioned by a bond-woman; but after the Lord's resurrection, his free love by the very Lord of freedom: and so on the one occasion he was troubled, on the other tranquillized; there he denied the One he had loved, here he loved the One he had denied. But still even then that very love was weak and straitened, till strengthened and expanded by the Holy Spirit. And then that Spirit, pervading him thus with the fullness of richer grace, kindled his hitherto frigid heart to such a witness-bearing for Christ, and unlocked those lips that in their previous tremor had suppressed the truth, that, when all on whom the Holy Spirit had descended were speaking in the tongues of all nations to the crowds of Jews collected around, he alone broke forth before the others in the promptitude of his testimony in behalf of the Christ, and confounded His murderers with the account of His resurrection. And if any one would enjoy the pleasure of gazing on a sight so charming in its holiness, let him read the Acts of the Apostles: and there let him be filled with amazement at the preaching of the blessed Peter, over whose denial of his Master he had just been mourning; there let him behold that tongue, itself translated from diffidence to confidence, from bondage to liberty, converting to the confession of Christ the tongues of so many of His enemies, not one of which he could bear when lapsing himself into denial. And what shall I say more? In him there shone forth such an effulgence of grace, and such a fullness of the Holy Spirit, and such a weight of most precious truth poured from the lips of the preacher, that he transformed that vast multitude of Jews who were the adversaries and murderers of Christ into men that were ready to die for His name, at whose hands he himself was formerly afraid to die with his Master. All this did that Holy Spirit when sent, who had previously only been promised. And it was these great and marvellous gifts of His own that the Lord foresaw, when He said, "They have both seen and hated both me and my Father: that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of me: and ye also shall bear witness." For He, in bearing witness Himself, and inspiring such witnesses with invincible courage, divested Christ's friends of their fear, and transformed into love the hatred of His enemies.

Not only he, but you also, confirmed by him: whence: And you shall bear witness, because you are with me from the beginning: Acts 1: "Therefore, of these men who have been gathered together with us from the time when the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, one of them must be made a witness of his resurrection with us." The Apostles did not give this testimony before the coming of the Holy Spirit, but after. Whence Peter, who denied Christ at the voice of a maidservant, after the sending of the Holy Spirit responded with great authority to the chief priest, Acts 5: "We ought to obey God rather than men."

But when the Spirit bears witness, you yourselves also, He says, will bear witness with Him. For you have been eye-witnesses and spectators of what I have done among My own, being even with Me as My disciples.

In matters of belief, the very thing that gives one a right to be believed is the fact of having learned what you believe from eyewitnesses.… Therefore John also says, "I saw and bore record that this is the Son of God." … Accordingly, Jesus gave them permission to rest many details of their testimony on the fact of their having seen them when he said, "And you also are witnesses because you have been with me from the beginning." The apostles themselves also often speak in a similar way. … For they more readily received the testimony of people who had been his companions because the notion of the Spirit was as yet very much beyond them. Therefore John also at that time, in his Gospel, speaking of the blood and water, said, he himself saw it, making the fact of his having seen it equivalent to the highest testimony for them, although the witness of the Spirit is more certain than the evidence of sight, but not so with unbelievers.

When you speak, the Spirit, through its testimony, will confirm your words with evident signs, as also the apostle said, "My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power." The signs that happened through the power of the Spirit in the name of the Lord showed the greatness of him who underwent passion and, at the same time, the foolishness of those who dared crucify him.

And you who have been with Me from the beginning will also bear witness, that both by words and by deeds I have left them without excuse. Therefore, do not be troubled. The preaching will not be without testimony; but the Spirit will bear witness through signs and wonders, and His testimony will be trustworthy. For He is the Spirit of truth. As the Spirit of truth, He will bear witness to the truth. As proceeding from the Father, He knows all things precisely, for He is from the One from Whom all knowledge comes. This same Spirit will bear witness concerning the preaching. And you also will bear witness, because you did not hear from others, but you yourselves have been with Me from the very beginning. And the testimony of those who were with Him from the beginning is no small matter. The apostles themselves later said before the people: "Witnesses of His resurrection are we, who ate and drank with Him" (Acts 10:41). So the testimony is from two sides: both from you and from the Spirit. Concerning you, people might think that you testify to please Me; but the Spirit will in no way testify out of flattery.

2067 Finally, he mentions what lies ahead for the disciples when he says, and you also are witnesses, inspired by the Holy Spirit: "You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of this earth" (Acts 1:8). We read of this twofold testimony in Acts (5:32): "We are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him."

He adds why this testimony is appropriate when he says, because you have been with me from the beginning, that is, the beginning of my preaching and working of miracles, and so you can testify to what you have seen and heard: "That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you" (1 Jn 1:3). We can see from this that Christ did not perform miracles in his youth, as some apocryphal gospels relate, but only from the time he called his disciples.

In the words preceding this chapter of the Gospel, the Lord strengthened His disciples to endure the hatred of their enemies, and prepared them also by His own example to become the more courageous in imitating Him: adding the promise, that the Holy Spirit should come to bear witness of Him, and also that they themselves could become His witnesses, through the effectual working of His Spirit in their hearts. For such is His meaning when He saith, "He shall bear witness of me, and ye also shall bear witness." That is to say, because He shall bear witness, ye also shall bear witness: He in your hearts, you in your voices; He by inspiration, you by utterance: that the words might be fulfilled, "Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth." For it would have been to little purpose to have exhorted them by His example, had He not also filled them with His Spirit. Just as we see that the Apostle Peter, after having heard His words, when He said, "The servant is not greater than his lord: if they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you;" and seen that already fulfilled in Him, wherein, had example been sufficient, he ought to have imitated the patient endurance of his Lord, yet succumbed and fell into denial, as utterly unable to bear what He saw his Master enduring. But when he really received the gift of the Holy Spirit, he preached Him whom he had denied; and whom he had been afraid to confess, he had no fear now in openly proclaiming. Already, indeed, had he been sufficiently taught by example to know what was proper to be done; but not yet was he inspired with the power to do what he knew: he had got instruction to stand, but not the strength to keep him from falling. But after this was supplied by the Holy Spirit, he preached Christ even to the death, whom, in his fear of death, he had previously denied. And so the Lord in this succeeding chapter, on which we have now to address you, saith, "These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended." As it is sung in the psalm, "Great peace have they who love Thy law, and nothing shall offend them." Properly enough, therefore, with the promise of the Holy Spirit, by whose operation in their hearts they should be made His witnesses, He added, "These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended." For when the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit given unto us, they have great peace who love God's law, so that nothing may offend them.

(Tr. xciii) After the promise of the Holy Spirit, to inspire them with strength to give witness; He well adds, These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. (Rom. 5:5) For when the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us, then great peace have they that love God's law, and they are not offended at it. (Ps. 118.)

The Savior warned his disciples ahead of time that they would not only be driven away from fellowship with their fellow citizens but also that they would suffer death at their hands. The Jews thought that they were doing a service to God in pursuing the ministers of the new covenant with hatred and death. The apostle says, "For I bear witness to them that they have zeal for God, but not according to full knowledge." Here, it is as if he were saying, "You are going to suffer battles and tribulations from your fellow citizens, but accept them the more steadfastly in the realization that you are afflicted with them not so much out of hatred toward yourselves as out of zeal for the divine law." Mindful of this advice, the blessed martyr Stephen prayed for his slayers. Those zealous for the Law thought that they were doing a service to God when they were murdering the heralds of grace.

These things I have spoken to you etc. Here, fifth, he arms his disciples for patience, so that they may not fail on account of tribulations, but endure them; therefore he says: These things I have spoken to you, that you may not be scandalized: because, as Gregory says, "arrows that are foreseen strike less forcefully, and we endure the evils of the world more tolerably if we are fortified against them by the shield of foresight." Therefore he forearms them concerning future tribulation.

The Saviour, having clearly set before His disciples the madness of the Jews, was perhaps about to add to what He had said, that these misguided men would reach such a height of disobedience, and so stubbornly refuse to listen, and in their cowardice advance so far in hatred of God, that even if there should be two witnesses of His glory they would decline to admit it----and this though the Law openly declares that whatever is testified by two or three witnesses should be believed and received as unquestionably true. But He avoids mentioning this on the present occasion for good reasons. For His statement would thus have produced in them an immoderate grief, and, breaking the hearts of His disciples even to despair, would have made the entrance of faint-heartedness and cowardice into their hearts absolutely certain. For they might reasonably have questioned among themselves;----If the masses of the Jews would not only lend to no one a complete obedience, but also set at nought the Comforter though He astonished them with marvels passing description, and in spite of this would actually afterwards be found as guilty of hating Christ as they were before, and in hating Him of hating the Father, what necessity was there for spending their labour in vain? Why should they not rid themselves of their troubles, and choose silence in preference to teaching men unwilling to hear? Knowing then in all likelihood the thoughts that would agitate His disciples, He skilfully conceals what was too grievous to be told, and what would have been calculated to produce cowardice and faint-heartedness in the duty of teaching. But He rightly turns the drift of His speech into an exhortation to hold themselves in readiness and make vigorous preparation for the results that might be expected to follow in the future. For whatever comes to men suddenly and unexpectedly is likely to disturb even the mind that is stable. For the reception of that, the advent of which has been anticipated, the way is made smooth and its burden is lightened, since it has been already foreseen, and lost its edge by the expectation of certain suffering. Something of this kind, I think, Christ wishes to signify. For if, He says, I have already worked such marvels even before your eyes, the Comforter also will work marvels in you. And if the headstrong madness of the Jews is not diminished, and their conduct is the same as before, and even worse, be not offended, He says, when you find yourselves its victims. But keep ever in mind My words: A disciple is not above his master, nor a servant above his lord.

"These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended."

That is, "when ye see many disbelieve, and yourselves ill-treated."

I predicted these things to you, he says, so that when sudden unexpected tribulations would occur, your resolve might not turn and fail but instead, through constant meditation, you might be trained through these difficulties.

"I," He says, "told you about this before it came to pass, so that you would not be scandalized afterwards, when you see that many do not believe your preaching and that you yourselves will undergo afflictions, but so that, concluding from the fact that I told you about this before it came to pass, you would also accept My consolation with faith that I will not deceive you in this case, just as I did not lie in the prediction about the afflictions."

2068 Above, our Lord had used certain considerations to console his disciples over his leaving and against the persecutions and tribulations that would come upon them. Here he amplifies these considerations more clearly. First, he explains the considerations he gave before; and secondly, we see the effect of this explanation on the disciples (v 29).

If we pay close attention to what was said in the pervious two chapters, we can see that our Lord aimed at consoling his disciples against two things: his own leaving them, and the tribulations that would come upon them. But he here explains these two things in reverse order. He had consoled them first over his leaving because this would take place very soon and he had not yet foretold all the tribulations that would come upon them. But now, since they seemed to be more troubled by their own tribulations than by Christ's leaving, our Lord here consoles them first of all against their forthcoming trials, and then against his leaving (v 5). He does three things concerning the first: first, he gives his intention; secondly, he mentions the tribulations they will suffer from being persecuted (v 2); thirdly, he tells why they will be persecuted (v 3).

2069 He says: I have said that the Jews hate me and you, because they do not know who sent me. I have said that they are inexcusable and that you and the Holy Spirit will bear witness against them. Now I have said all this to you to keep you from falling away, that is, so you don't fall away when the tribulations I have foretold come upon you. And it is fitting that our Lord restrains them from falling after promising the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit is love ‑ "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Rom 5:5) ‑ and the Holy Spirit prevents stumbling: "Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble" (Ps 119:165). Now it is characteristic of friends that they disregard any loss for the sake of one another, as stated in Proverbs (12:26). So, for one who is a friend of God, to suffer punishment and loss is no reason to fall away. Yet because the disciples had not yet received the Holy Spirit before the death of Christ, they did fall away during his passion: "You will all fall away because of me this night" (Mt 26:31). But after the Holy Spirit came there was no falling away.

And then He expressly declares what they were to suffer: "They shall put you out of the synagogues." But what harm was it for the apostles to be expelled from the Jewish synagogues, as if they were not to separate themselves therefrom, although no one expelled them? Doubtless He meant to announce with reprobation, that the Jews would refuse to receive Christ, from whom they as certainly would refuse to withdraw; and so it would come to pass that the latter, who could not exist without Him, would also be cast out along with Him by those who would not have Him as their place of abode. For certainly, as there was no other people of God than that seed of Abraham, they would, had they only acknowledged and received Christ, have remained as the natural branches in the olive tree; nor would the Churches of Christ have been different from the synagogues of the Jews, for they would have been one and the same, had they also desired to abide in Him. But having refused, what remained but that, continuing themselves out of Christ, they put out of the synagogues those who would not abandon Christ? For having received the Holy Spirit, and so become His witnesses, they would certainly not belong to the class of whom it is said: "Many of the chief rulers of the Jews believed on Him; but for fear of the Jews they dared not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." And so they believed on Him, but not in the way He wished them to believe when He said: "How can ye believe, who expect honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God only?" It is, therefore, with those disciples who so believe in Him, that, filled with the Holy Spirit, or, in other words, with the gift of divine grace, they no longer belong to those who, "ignorant of the righteousness of God, and going about to establish their own, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God;" nor to those of whom it is said, "They loved the praise of men more than the praise of God:" that the prophecy harmonizes, which finds its fulfillment in their own case: "They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of Thy countenance: and in Thy name shall they rejoice all the day; and in Thy righteousness shall they be exalted: for Thou art the glory of their strength." Rightly enough is it said to such, "They shall cast you out of the synagogues;" that is, they who "have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge;" because, "ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own," they expel those who are exalted, not in their own righteousness, but in God's, and have no cause to be ashamed at being expelled by men, since He is the glory of their strength.

Finally, to what He had thus told them, He added the words: "But the hour 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." That is to say, they have not known the Father, nor His Son, to whom they think they will be doing service in slaying you. Words which the Lord added in the way of consolation to His own, who should be driven out of the Jewish synagogues. For it is in thus announcing beforehand what evils they would have to endure for their testimony in His behalf, that He said, "They will put you out of the synagogues." Nor does He say, And the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. What then? "But the hour cometh:" just in the way He would have spoken, were He foretelling them of something good that would follow such evils. What, then, does He mean by the words, "They will put you out of the synagogues: but the hour cometh"? As if He would have gone on to say this: They, indeed, will scatter you, but I will gather you; or, They shall, indeed, scatter you, but the hour of your joy cometh. What, then, has the word which He uses, "but the hour cometh," to do here, as if He were going on to promise them comfort after their tribulation, when apparently He ought rather to have said, in the form of continuous narration, And the hour cometh? But He said not, And it cometh, although predicting the approach of one tribulation after another, instead of comfort after tribulation. Could it have been that such a separation from the synagogues would so discompose them, that they would prefer to die, rather than remain in this life apart from the Jewish assemblies? Far surely would those be from such discomposure, who were seeking, not the praise of men, but of God. What, then, of the words, "They will put you out of the synagogues: but the hour cometh;" when apparently He ought rather to have said, And the hour cometh, "that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service"? For it is not even said, But the hour cometh that they shall kill you, as if implying that their comfort for such a separation would be found in the death that would befall them; but "The hour cometh," He says, "that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service." On the whole, I do not think He wished to convey any further meaning than that they might understand and rejoice that they themselves would gain so many to Christ, by being driven out of the Jewish congregations, that it would be found insufficient to expel them, and they would not suffer them to live for fear of all being converted by their preaching to the name of Christ, and so turned away from the observance of Judaism, as if it were the very truth of God. For so ought we to understand the reference of His words to the Jews, when He said of them, "They will put you out of the synagogues." For the witnesses, in other words, the martyrs of Christ, were likewise slain by the Gentiles: they, however, thought not that it was to the true God, but to their own false deities, that they were doing service when they so acted. But every Jew that slew the preachers of Christ reckoned that he was doing God service; believing as he did that all who were converted to Christ were deserting the God of Israel. For it was also by the same reasoning that they were incited to the murder of Christ Himself: because their own words on this subject have also been put on record. "Ye perceive that the whole world is gone after him:" "If we let him live, the Romans will come, and take away both our place and nation." And those of Caiaphas: "It is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish." And accordingly in this address He sought by His own example to stimulate His disciples, to whom He had just been saying, "If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you;" that as in slaying Him they thought they had done God a service, so also would it be in reference to them.

(Tr. xciii) But what evil was it to the Apostles to be put out of the Jewish synagogues, which they would have gone out of, even if none had put them out? Our Lord wished to make known to them, that the Jews were about not to receive Him, while they on the other hand were not going to desert Him. There was no other people of God beside the seed of Abraham: if they acknowledged Christ, the Churches of Christ would be none other than the synagognes of the Jews. But inasmuch as they refused to acknowledge Him, nothing remained but that they should put out of the synagogue those who would not forsake Christ. He adds: But the time cometh, that whoever killeth you, will think that he doeth God service. Is this intended for a consolation, as if they would so take to heart their expulsion from the synagogues, that death would be a positive relief to them after it? God forbid that they who sought God's glory, not men's, should be so disturbed. The meaning of the words is this: They shall put you out of the synagogue, but do not be afraid of being left alone. Separated from their assemblies, ye shall assemble so many in my name, that they fearing that the temple and rites of the old law will be deserted, will kill you, and think to do God service thereby, having a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. These who kill, are the same with those who put out of the synagogues, viz. the Jews. For Gentiles would not have thought that they were doing God service, by killing Christ's witnesses, but their own false gods; whereas every one of the Jews, who killed the preacher of Christ, thought he was doing God service, believing that whoever were converted to Christ, deserted the God of Israel.

They will put you out of the synagogues: Acts 8: "There arose a great persecution against the Church which was at Jerusalem, and they were all dispersed through the regions of Judea and Samaria." And the reason for this bitter persecution is added: But the hour comes, that whoever kills you will think that he is offering service to God. That hour was the time of the preaching of the Apostles; then, by killing them, they thought they were doing well; whence there is an example in Paul, Acts 9, who "asked for letters from the chief priests to Damascus, that if he found any" etc. But such thinking has its origin in unbelief; and therefore he says:

There is a question about what He says: The hour comes when everyone who kills you will think he is offering service to God.

Therefore according to this, those who were killing the Apostles were killing with good intention; therefore they were meriting.

If you say that it could not be done with good intention, that is false, because things evil in genus, which are not evil in themselves, can be done well; and such is killing.

I respond: It must be said that certain works can in no way be done well, such as lying, as Augustine says, because "as soon as they are named they are joined to evil," as the Philosopher says. But certain works can immediately be done well when good intention is present, as are those good in genus. Certain works are not made good by intention alone, unless there is present a cause and due order, and such are killing and similar acts. Whence whenever a man kills another for God, unless there is present the order of judgment and a cause, it is in no way done well. In such a manner it was done against the Apostles, because just cause and due inquiry were lacking.

Which things must all now be considered by us, that no one may desire anything from the world that is now dying, but may follow Christ, who both lives for ever, and quickens His servants, who are established in the faith of His name. For there comes the time, beloved brethren, which our Lord long ago foretold and taught us was approaching, saying, "The time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things they will 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, ye may remember that I told you of them." Nor let any one wonder that we are harassed with constant persecutions, and continually tried with increasing afflictions, when the Lord before predicted that these things would happen in the last times, and has instructed us for the warfare by the teaching and exhortation of His words. Peter also, His apostle, has taught that persecutions occur for the sake of our being proved, and that we also should, by the example of righteous men who have gone before us, be joined to the love of God by death and sufferings. For he wrote in his epistle, and said, "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is thing happened unto you; but as often as ye partake in Christ's sufferings, rejoice in all things, that when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached in the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the name of the majesty and power of the Lord resteth on you, which indeed on their part is blasphemed, but on our part is glorified." Now the apostles taught us those things which they themselves also learnt from the Lord's precepts and the heavenly commands, the Lord Himself thus strengthening us, and saying, "There is no man that hath left house, or land, or parents, or brethren, or sisters, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive sevenfold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting." And again He says, "Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and shall separate you from their company, and shall cast you out, and shall reproach your name as evil for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy; for, behold your reward is great in heaven."

That it was before predicted that the world would hold us in abhorrence, and that it would stir up persecutions against us, and that no new thing is happening to the Christians, since from the beginning of the world the good have suffered, and the righteous have been oppressed and slain by the unrighteous. The Lord in the Gospel forewarns and foretells, saying: "If the world hates you, know that it first hated me. If ye were of the world, the world would love what is its own: but because ye are not of the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I spoke unto you, The servant is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you also." And again: "The hour will come, that every one that killeth you will think that he doeth, God service; but they will do this because they have not known the Father nor me. But these things have I told you, that when the hour shall come ye may remember them, because I told you." And again: "Verily, verily, I say unto yon, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice; ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy." And again: "These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye may have peace; but in the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good confidence, for I have overcome the world."

Of the benefits of martyrdom. In the Proverbs of Solomon: "The faithful martyr delivers his soul from evils." Also in the same place: "Then shall the righteous stand in great boldness against them who have afflicted them, and who took away their labours. When they see them, they shall be disturbed with a horrible fear; and they shall wonder at the suddenness of their unhoped-for salvation, saying among themselves, repenting and groaning with distress of spirit, These are they whom some time we had in derision, and in the likeness of a proverb; we fools counted their life madness, and their end without honour. How are they reckoned among the children of God, and their lot among the saints! Therefore we have wandered from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness has not shined upon us, and the sun has not risen upon us. We have been wearied in the way of iniquity and of perdition, and we have walked through difficult solitudes; but we have not known the way of the Lord. What hath pride profited us? or what hath the boasting of riches brought to us? All these things have passed away as a shadow." Of this same thing in the cxvth Psalm: "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." Also in the cxxvth Psalm: "They who sow in tears shall reap in joy. Walking they walked, and wept as they cast their seeds; but coming they shall come in joy, raising up their laps." Of this same thing in the Gospel according to John: "He who loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall find it to life eternal." Also in the same place: "But when they shall deliver you up, take no thought what ye shall speak; for it is not ye who speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you." Also in the same place: "The hour shall come, that every one that killeth you shall think he doeth service to God l but they shall do this also because they have not known the Father nor me."

He extends His forewarning of danger to that which is the most dreadful of all terrors, but not with the intention of arousing in His disciples an unmanly panic. For this would not harmonise with His anxiety to stimulate them to a fearless proclamation of the heavenly message. His object rather was that, thrusting aside the extremity of fear, as already anticipated and for this reason having lost its edge, they might gain a complete victory over every evil, and consider even the possible approach of intolerable evils as of no account whatsoever. For what loss could the lesser evil inflict on those who do not even dread the greater? And how could those who know how to be superior to the worst objects of fear be dismayed by any of the rest? In order then that they might have their minds bent on enduring everything with a cheerful courage, and to convince them of the necessity of so far withstanding the malice of the Jews as not even to fear an immediate and cruel death, He not only tells them that these things will continually happen, and the devices or opposition of the Jews not be satisfied with merely turning them out of the synagogues, but forewarns them that their impiety will reach such a height of cruelty as to make them consider their extreme inhumanity towards them to be the path of piety towards God. It must be plain that those who held fast to the love of Christ actually were cast out of the synagogues by the Jews, and endured this punishment at the outset of their work----when we are told by the Evangelist that nevertheless even of the rulers many believed on Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; and again: For the Scribes and Pharisees had agreed already, that if any man should confess Him to be the Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. But if, He says, any are indisposed to endure the malice of the Jews, let them then know that their devices against you will not stop here. For be not at all alarmed, He says, even though you must endure this suffering. Their audacity will reach such a pitch of wickedness as to make them suppose your death to be as an actual service towards God. And this we shall find happening in the case of the holy Stephen, the first of the martyrs, and in that of the inspired Paul. For involving Stephen in a charge of blasphemy, and simulating herein the zeal that loves God, they slew him by stoning him. And some of the Jews were so enraged against the holy and wise Paul that they bound themselves under a curse neither to eat nor to drink till they had slain him. For we shall find this recorded in the Acts of the holy Apostles. Excellent then and profitable is His prediction, moderating by anticipation their fear of what was dreadful, and forging His disciples anew (as having as it were already suffered), into a courageous disposition. For the foreknowledge in the minds of the sufferers of the dreadfulness of their danger will give them strength beforehand, while it deprives the approach of evil of its power.

"They shall put you out of the synagogues."

(For "the Jews had already agreed, that if any one should confess Christ, he should be put out of the synagogues".)

"Yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service."

"They shall so seek after your murder, as of an action pious and pleasing to God." Then again He addeth the consolation.

What the Savior said in prophesying to the disciples … was originally fulfilled in his own case. For those who required that he should die thought they were offering a service to God and had gone up to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves.

"They will put you out of the synagogues," they will excommunicate you from their assemblies and honored places and deprive you of all fellowship. For "they had already agreed that if anyone should confess Him to be the Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue" (John 9:22). Not only will you be expelled from the synagogues, but you will also receive death, and a shameful death, for you will be killed as harmful people, enemies of God. And everyone who kills you will so strive for your murder that "he will think that he is thereby serving God," that is, he will think that he is performing a deed pleasing to God and holy.

2070 The disciples might say: Don't we have reason to fall away? Many troubles will come upon us: first, that of rejection; secondly, we will be killed.

2071 They will be rejected from the society of the Jews; so he says, They will put you out of the synagogues: "The Jews had already agreed that if any one should confess him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue" (9:22). This was so successful that for this reason some of the Jewish authorities who did believe in Christ were afraid to profess him publicly, as we read above (12:42). Christ foretold this rejection: "Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man" (Lk 6:22).

2072 Was it an evil for the apostles to be cast out of the Jewish synagogues, since they were going to leave them in any case? The answer, according to Augustine, is that it was a trial for them, because this was our Lord's way of telling them that the Jews would not accept Christ. For if they had received Christ, the synagogue of the Jews and the Church of Christ would have been the same; and those who would be converted to the Church of Christ would have been converted to the synagogue of the Jews.

2073 The other trial is that of being killed: indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. We can take these words as spoken to console the disciples, so that the indeed signifies a contrary train of thought and the sense would be: indeed, you ought to be consoled by what they will do to you, for the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. How is it a consolation for them that whoever kills them thinks he is serving God? The answer, according to Augustine, is that in saying, they will put you out of the synagogues, we are to understand that those converted to Christ would be immediately killed by the Jews. And so to console his disciples our Lord tells them that they would win so many to Christ, who would be expelled from the Jewish synagogues, that they could not all be killed, and so the Jews would try to kill the apostles so they would not convert all the people to the name of Christ by their preaching.

Or, we could say that here Christ is simply telling them beforehand that they will be killed.

2074 He says, whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God, and not to the gods, to show that he is speaking only of persecution from the Jews: "I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify" (Mt 23:34). The martyrs of Christ were killed by the gentiles, and they did not consider that they were serving God but only their own gods. It was the Jews who, when they killed those who were preaching Christ, thought this was a service to God. For they had zeal for God, but without knowledge, since they believed that anyone who converted to Christ was deserting God. We read of this killing: "For your sake we are slain all the day long, and accounted as sheep for the slaughter" (Ps 44:22).