Great and Holy Wednesday

"Blessed," it says, "are the poor." Not all the poor are blessed, for poverty is neutral. The poor can be either good or evil, unless, perhaps, the blessed pauper is to be understood as he whom the prophet described, saying, "A righteous poor man is better than a rich liar." Blessed is the poor man who cried and whom the Lord heard. Blessed is the man poor in offense. Blessed is the man poor in vices. Blessed is the poor man in whom the prince of this world finds nothing. Blessed is the poor man who is like that poor Man who, although he was rich, became poor for our sake. Matthew fully revealed this when he said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." One poor in spirit is not puffed up, is not exalted in the mind of his own flesh. This beatitude is first, when I have laid aside every sin, and I have taken off all malice, and I am content with simplicity, destitute of evils. All that remains is that I regulate my conduct. For what good does it do me to lack worldly goods, unless I am meek and gentle?

Let us see how St. Luke encompassed the eight blessings in the four. We know that there are four cardinal virtues: temperance, justice, prudence and fortitude. One who is poor in spirit is not greedy. One who weeps is not proud but is submissive and tranquil. One who mourns is humble. One who is just does not deny what he knows is given jointly to all for us. One who is merciful gives away his own goods. One who bestows his own goods does not seek another's, nor does he contrive a trap for his neighbor. These virtues are interwoven and interlinked, so that one who has one may be seen to have several, and a single virtue befits the saints. Where virtue abounds, the reward too abounds.… Thus temperance has purity of heart and spirit, justice has compassion, patience has peace, and endurance has gentleness.

But being about to utter His divine oracles, He begins to rise higher; although He stood in a low place, yet as it is said, He lifted up his eyes. What is lifting up the eyes, but to disclose a more hidden light?

Now Luke mentions only four blessings, but Matthew eight; but in those eight are contained these four, and in these four those eight. For the one has embraced as it were the four cardinal virtues, the other has revealed in those eight the mystical number. For as the eighth 1 is the accomplishment of our hope, so is the eighth also the completion of the virtues. But each Evangelist has placed the blessings of poverty first, for it is the first in order, and the purest, as it were, of the virtues; for he who has despised the world shall reap an eternal reward. Now can any one obtain the reward of the heavenly kingdom who, overcome by the desires of the world, has no power of escape from them? Hence it follows, He said, Blessed are the poor.

In that He says, Blessed are the poor, thou hast temperance; which abstains from sin, tramples upon the world, seeks not vain delights. In Blessed are they that hunger, thou hast righteousness; for he who hungers suffers together with the hungry, and by suffering together with him gives to him, by giving becomes righteous, and his righteousness abideth for ever. In Blessed are they that weep now (Ps. 112:9.), thou hast prudence; which is to weep for the things of time, and to seek those which are eternal. In Blessed are ye when men hate you, thou hast fortitude; not that which deserves hatred for crime, but which suffers persecution for faith. For so thou wilt attain to the crown of suffering, if thou slightest the favour of men, and seekest that which is from God. Temperance therefore brings with it a pure heart; righteousness, mercy; prudence, peace; fortitude, meekness. The virtues are so joined and linked to one another, that he who has one seems to have many; and the Saints have each one especial virtue, but the more abundant virtue has the richer reward. What hospitality in Abraham, what humility, but because he excelled in faith, he gained the preeminence above all others. To every one there are many rewards because many incentives to virtue, but that which is most abundant in a good action, has the most exceeding reward.

(in Ps. 33.) But not every one oppressed with poverty is blessed, but he who has preferred the commandment of Christ to worldly riches. For many are poor in their possessions, yet most covetous in their disposition; these poverty does not save, but their affections condemn. For nothing involuntary deserves a blessing, because all virtue is characterized by the freedom of the will. Blessed then is the poor man as being the disciple of Christ, Who endured poverty for us. For the Lord Himself has fulfilled every work which leads to happiness, leaving Himself an example for us to follow.

And he, lifting his eyes towards his disciples, said, Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. And although he speaks generally to all, yet he more specifically lifts his eyes towards the disciples, so that to those who perceive the word with the attentive ear of the heart, he may more broadly reveal the light of inward savor. This is similar to what Matthew says: And when he sat down, his disciples came to him, and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit (Matt. V). For those to whom he opens his mouth while sitting on the mountain to hear lofty things, he directs his eyes standing in the plain, so that they may plainly understand what they have heard. Therefore, blessed are the poor. Certainly not all, but only those who regard all the heights of the present age as nothing, even if they may seem lofty. Who are rightly deemed worthy of the gift of the heavenly kingdom, because they are found to be stripped of the desire for human delight. Such poverty as King David, declaring the poverty he endured, said: But I am poor and needy. And elsewhere, not only considering earthly things as trivial, but even the heavenly ones for the Lord's sake, saying: For what is there for me in heaven, and what have I desired on earth besides thee (Psalm LXXII)? Soon, when he had fixed the anchor of his hope, he manifests by adding: But for me it is good to cling to God, to put my trust in the Lord God. Otherwise, some in the most wretched condition of poverty, both here lack the joys of the world due to the scarcity of things, and there lack the kingdom of God due to the wickedness of their deeds.

And although He speaks in a general way to all, yet more especially He lifts up His eyes on His disciples; for it follows, on his disciples, that to those who receive the word listening attentively with the heart, He might reveal more fully the light of its deep meaning.

Concerning the promise of the beatitudes, note that he promises four things, namely the kingdom, which consists in participation in divine power; fullness, which consists in the taste of divine goodness; laughter, which consists in the contemplation of divine truth; and a great reward, which consists in the duration of eternity. And these four are designated in Ephesians three: "That you may be able," he says, "to comprehend with all the Saints what is the length, breadth, height, and depth"; the length of eternity, the breadth of goodness, the height of power, and the depth of wisdom or truth. Moreover, he promises these four things to four kinds of merits that raise us to God and build up our free will. For the kingdom of wealth is promised to those who despise temporal goods, such as are the poor; the banquet of abundance to those who desire spiritual things, and these are called the hungry; the laughter of delight to those who detest the evils of sin, and these are called the weeping; the multitude of reward to those who endure the evils of punishment, and these are the patient. In these four is enclosed the perfection of the human will with respect to a twofold good and with respect to a twofold evil.

First, therefore, he promises to the poor the kingdom of wealth on account of their contempt of temporal things, and such were the disciples, and therefore he says: And he, lifting up his eyes upon his disciples, said: Blessed are the poor, etc. By lifting up his eyes he calls them blessed, because "the eyes of the Lord are upon the just," and especially upon the poor: Ecclesiasticus eleven: "There is a man who is feeble and in need of recovery, lacking in strength and abounding in poverty, and the eye of the Lord looked upon him for good." Moreover, he calls these poor blessed because they are prepared for beatitude. And therefore he adds: For yours is the kingdom of God, which indeed is very great. For in the Psalm: "Your kingdom, O Lord, is a kingdom of all ages." This he says belongs to the poor, because the poor are its heirs, according to that passage in James two: "Has not God chosen the poor in this world, rich in faith, heirs of the kingdom which God has promised to those who love him?" "Better therefore is the poor man who walks in his simplicity than the rich man who twists his lips and is foolish," Proverbs nineteen.

And note that he says is in the present tense, either on account of the certainty of the promise, or also because the truly poor now in a certain way begin to be kings, according to that passage in 2 Corinthians 6: "As having nothing and yet possessing all things." "For their deep poverty has abounded unto the riches of simplicity," as is said in 2 Corinthians 8. Whence the evangelical or voluntary poor are now to be reckoned as already blessed, not wretched. Seneca: "No one is born rich: whoever comes forth into the light is commanded to be content with bread and milk." "No one is poor amid these things: among which if anyone has enclosed his desire, he will be able to contend with Jupiter concerning happiness." And note that he begins from poverty, because, as Ambrose says there, "poverty is the first parent of virtues, because he who has despised worldly things will merit eternal things," an imitator of that poor one "who, though he was rich, became poor for our sake," 2 Corinthians 8.

Of poverty--the affliction which actually or potentially includes all other afflictions--I would not dare to speak as from myself; and those who reject Christianity will not be moved by Christ's statement that poverty is blessed. But here a rather remarkable fact comes to my aid. Those who would most scornfully repudiate Christianity as a mere "opiate of the people" have a contempt for the rich, that is, for all mankind except the poor. They regard the poor as the only people worth preserving from "liquidation", and place in them the only hope of the human race. But this is not compatible with a belief that the effects of poverty on those who suffer it are wholly evil; it even implies that they are good. The Marxist thus finds himself in real agreement with the Christian in those two beliefs which Christianity paradoxically demands--that poverty is blessed and yet ought to be removed.

After the ordination of the Apostles, the Saviour directed His disciples to the newness of the evangelical life.

In the Gospel according to St. Matthew it is said, Blessed are the poor in spirit, that we should understand the poor in spirit to be one of a modest and somewhat depressed mind. Hence our Saviour says, Learn from me, for I am meek and lowly of heart. But Luke says, Blessed are the poor, without the addition of spirit, calling those poor who despise riches. For it became those who were to preach the doctrines of the saving Gospel to have no covetousness, but their affections set upon higher things.

But when the celestial kingdom is considered in the many gradations of its blessings, the first step in the scale belongs to those who by divine instinct embrace poverty. Such did He make those who first became His disciples; therefore He says in their person, For yours is the kingdom of heaven, as pointedly addressing Himself to those present, upon whom also He lifted up His eyes.

The poor have many other vices, but, at least, they are never realistic. The poor are melodramatic and romantic in grain; the poor all believe in high moral platitudes and copy-book maxims; probably this is the ultimate meaning of the great saying, "Blessed are the poor." Blessed are the poor, for they are always making life, or trying to make life like an Adelphi play.

There remains always this great boast, perhaps the greatest boast that is possible to human nature. I mean the great boast that the most unhappy part of our population is also the most hilarious part. The poor can forget that social problem which we (the moderately rich) ought never to forget. Blessed are the poor; for they alone have not the poor always with them. The honest poor can sometimes forget poverty. The honest rich can never forget it.

But in a deeper sense, as they who partake of bodily food vary their appetites according to the nature of the things to be eaten; so also in the food of the soul, by some indeed that is desired which depends upon the opinion of men, by others, that which isessentially and of its own nature good. Hence, according to Matthew, men are blessed who account righteousness in the place of food and drink; by righteousness I mean not a particular but an universal virtue, which he who hungers after is said to be blessed.

The phrase "lift up your eyes" occurs in many places in Scripture. By this expression, the divine Word admonishes us to exalt and lift up our thoughts. It invites us to elevate the insight that lies below in a rather sickly condition and is stooped and completely incapable of looking up. For instance, it is written in Isaiah, "Lift up your eyes on high and see. Who has made all these things known?"The Savior too, when he is about to deliver the Beatitudes, lifts up his eyes to the disciples and says "blessed" are such and such.

"Wherefore, girding up your loins," "serve the Lord in fear" and truth, as those who have forsaken the vain, empty talk and error of the multitude, and "believed in Him who raised up our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, and gave Him glory," and a throne at His right hand. To Him all things in heaven and on earth are subject. Him every spirit serves. He comes as the Judge of the living and the dead. His blood will God require of those who do not believe in Him. But He who raised Him up from the dead will raise up us also, if we do His will, and walk in His commandments, and love what He loved, keeping ourselves from all unrighteousness, covetousness, love of money, evil speaking, false witness; "not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing," or blow for blow, or cursing for cursing, but being mindful of what the Lord said in His teaching: "Judge not, that ye be not judged; forgive, and it shall be forgiven unto you; be merciful, that ye may obtain mercy; with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again;" and once more, "Blessed are the poor, and those that are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of God."

"Then Caiaphas attempted to impugn the doctrine of Jesus, saying that He spoke vain things, for He said that the poor are blessed; and promised earthly rewards; and placed the chief gift in an earthly inheritance; and promised that those who maintain righteousness shall be satisfied with meat and drink; and many things of this sort He is charged with teaching. Thomas, in reply, proves that his accusation is frivolous; showing that the prophets, in whom Caiaphas believes, taught these things much more, and did not show in what manner these things are to be, or how they are to be understood; whereas Jesus pointed out how they are to be taken. And when he had spoken these things, and others of like kind, Thomas also held his peace."

But even now you have the Lord's sayings, as examples taking away from you all excuse. For what is it you say? "I shall be in need." But the Lord calls the needy "happy." "I shall have no food.

"Blessed are the needy" (for no less than this is required for interpreting the word in the Greek, "because theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Now this very fact, that He begins with beatitudes, is characteristic of the Creator, who used no other voice than that of blessing either in the first fiat or the final dedication of the universe: for "my heart," says He, "hath indited a very good word.

"Blessed are the needy, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven." "He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted.

To a Christian believer it is irksome to wed a believer inferior to herself in estate, destined as she will be to have her wealth augmented in the person of a poor husband! For if it is "the pour," not the rich, "whose are the kingdoms of the heavens," the rich will find more in the poor (than she brings him, or than she would in the rich).

Purify yourself with your tears. Wash yourselves with mourning. If you weep for yourself, another will not weep for you.… One who is a sinner weeps for himself and rebukes himself, that he may become righteous, for just people accuse themselves of sin. Let us pursue order, because it is written, "Set in order love in me." I have laid down sin. I have tempered my conduct. I have wept for my transgressions. I begin to hunger. I hunger for righteousness. The sick, when he is seriously ill, does not hunger, because the pain of the illness excludes hunger. What is the hunger for righteousness? What is the bread of which it is said, "I have been young and am old, and I have not seen the righteous man forsaken, nor his seed begging bread"? Surely one who is hungry seeks increase of strength. What greater increase of virtue is there than the rule of righteousness?

If you propose a choice between these two things, which is better, to laugh or to cry? Is there anybody who wouldn't prefer to laugh? Because repentance involves a beneficial sorrow, the Lord presented tears as a requirement and laughter as the resulting benefit. How? When he says in the Gospel, "Blessed are those who cry, because they shall laugh." So crying is a requirement, laughter the reward, of wisdom. He wrote laughter to mean joy. He did not mean howling with laughter but jumping for joy.

(Hom. de Grat. act.) But He promises laughing to those who weep; not indeed the noise of laughter from the mouth, but a gladness pure and unmixed with aught of sorrow.

Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Matthew explains what it means to hunger, that is, to thirst for righteousness. He teaches us very clearly that we should never consider ourselves sufficiently righteous, but should always love and even burn for daily progress in righteousness. The Psalmist, burning with desire for heavenly things, shows that perfect satisfaction cannot come in this age but in the future, saying: As for me, I shall appear in righteousness before your face; I shall be satisfied when your glory is revealed (Psalm 17:15). It can also simply be understood: Blessed are you who hunger now, who discipline your body and make it a slave (1 Corinthians 9:27), who give yourselves to the word in hunger and thirst (2 Corinthians 11:27), because you will then enjoy the fullness of heavenly joys.

Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Those who weep not for the losses of temporal goods but for the detriment of spiritual virtues will be consoled by eternal bliss. Here we are commanded not only to weep for our own sins but also for the sins of our neighbors. If we love them as ourselves, we must consequently rejoice at their progress and grieve at their failings; and not only grieve but be moved to tears. Thus Samuel and David mourned the sin and death of Saul. Thus the Lord Himself wept over the sinful city, and, moved with compassion for the grieving sisters, wept over Lazarus, whom He was to resurrect by His divine majesty, showing human pity first. Mystically, this signifies that those who are dead in sin should be mourned by their neighbors so that they may revive. The promise that those who weep now will laugh should not be understood childishly; in the language of Scripture, laughter signifies inner exaltation and joy of the mind. As Sarah said: God has brought me laughter (Genesis 21:6). And in Job it is said: The lips of the truthful shall be filled with laughter. By these names, as I said, the inward joy of the soul is depicted.

That is, blessed are ye who chasten your body and subject it to bondage, who in hunger and thirst give heed to the word, for then shall ye receive the fulness of heavenly joys.

Plainly instructing us, that we ought never to account ourselves sufficiently righteous, but always desire a daily increase in righteousness, to the perfect fulness of which the Psalmist shows us that we can not arrive in this world, but in the world to come. I shall be satisfied when thy glory shall be made manifest (Ps. 17:15.). Hence it follows, For ye shall be filled.

Secondly, he promises to those who hunger the banquet of abundance on account of the desire for spiritual things: and this he indicates when he adds: Blessed are you who now hunger, namely for the food of justice, according to what is said in the Gloss on Matthew 5. For you shall be satisfied, through the banquet of abundance. Ambrose: "He who hungers seeks an increase of strength," according to that passage in Ecclesiasticus 24: "Those who eat me will hunger still more, and those who drink me will thirst still more." Those hunger for justice who can say with Jesus that word in John 4: "My food is to do the will of my Father." Those also hunger for justice who for love of justice willingly endure hunger: and these can say with the Apostle that word in 1 Corinthians 4: "Even unto this hour we hunger and thirst." Such were those holy Fathers, of whom in Hebrews 11 it is said that "they went about in sheepskins, destitute, afflicted, tormented," etc. Such shall be satisfied by the Lord, because, Revelation 7, "they shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore, nor shall the sun fall upon them, nor any heat, for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall rule them." And this will be in the divine glory, according to what is said in the Psalm: "I shall be satisfied when your glory shall appear"; and again: "They shall be inebriated with the abundance of your house, and you shall give them to drink of the torrent of your pleasure." And so is fulfilled that word in 1 Kings 2: "The hungry were filled." Nor is this surprising, because, Isaiah 25, "the Lord of hosts shall make for all peoples on this mountain a feast of vintage, of rich things full of marrow, of refined vintage"; and again, according to that word of the Psalm: "He fed them with the fat of wheat, and from the rock he satisfied them with honey."

Third, he promises the laughter of joy to those who weep on account of repentance for the evil of sin, when he adds: Blessed are you who now weep, namely for evils committed, as Hezekiah, "turning to the wall," "wept with great weeping," as is said in Isaiah thirty-eight; as also Peter, of whom in Matthew twenty-six after the denial it is said that "going out he wept bitterly"; and Job thirty: "My harp is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of those who weep." Or for the sins of others, as David over Saul, II Kings one; so Christ over Jerusalem, below in chapter nineteen: "Seeing the city, he wept over it." Or: you now weep, namely for the miseries of others: Job thirty: "I wept once over him who was afflicted"; Romans twelve: "Weep with those who weep." Or: You who now weep, for escaping the temptations of sins and their consequences: in Judges two it is said that "when the Angel of the Lord spoke to the children of Israel, they lifted up their voice and wept. And the name of that place was called the place of weepers—or of tears." And this place is the state of the present life, which lasts only until now. And therefore he says: You who now weep: I Peter one: "Though now for a little while, if need be, you are made sorrowful in various temptations, that the testing of your faith, much more precious than gold which is tried by fire, may be found unto praise," etc. Or: You who now weep, namely from desire for eternal things, and this is the proper understanding: John sixteen: "You shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice, and you shall be sorrowful; but your sorrow shall be turned into joy"; and the Psalm: "My tears have been my bread day and night, while it is said to me daily: Where is your God?" To these he says: you are blessed, because you shall laugh, with a spiritual laughter, which consists in the joy of the mind through the contemplation of truth: Job eight: "Your mouth shall be filled with laughter, and your lips with rejoicing"; for it is said in Proverbs thirty-one: "Strength and beauty are her clothing, and she shall laugh in the last day." This laughter shall be over one's own goods and those of others, according to what is said of Sarah in Genesis twenty-one: "The Lord has made laughter for me, and whoever hears of it will laugh with me."

After having commanded them to embrace poverty, He then crowns with honour those things which follow from poverty. It is the lot of those who embrace poverty to be in want of the necessaries of life, and scarcely to be able to get food. He does not then permit His disciples to be fainthearted on this account, but says, Blessed are ye who hunger now.

But poverty is followed not only by a want of those things which bring delight, but also by a dejected look, because of sorrow. Hence it follows, Blessed are ye that weep. He blesses those who weep, not those who merely drop tears from their eyes, (for this is common to the believing and unbelieving, when sorrow befals them,) but rather He calls those blessed, who shun a careless life, mixed up with sin, and devoted to carnal pleasures, and refuse enjoyments almost weeping from their hatred of all worldly things.

(de Beat. orat. 4.) But in a deeper sense, as they who partake of bodily food vary their appetites according to the nature of the things to be eaten; so also in the food of the soul, by some indeed that is desired which depends upon the opinion of men, by others, that which is essentially and of its own nature good. Hence, according to Matthew, men are blessed who account righteousness in the place of food and drink; by righteousness I mean not a particular but an universal virtue, which he who hungers after is said to be blessed.

(ubi sup.) For to those who hunger and thirst after righteousness He promises abundance of the things they desire. For none of the pleasures which are sought in this life can satisfy those who pursue them. But the pursuit of virtue alone is followed by that reward, which implants a joy in the soul that never faileth.

(Hom. 18. ad pop. Ant.) But godly sorrow is a great thing, and it worketh repentance to salvation. Hence St. Paul when he had no failings of his own to weep for, mourned for those of others. Such grief is the source of gladness, as it follows, For ye shall laugh. For if we do no good to those for whom we weep, we do good to ourselves. For he who thus weeps for the sins of others, will not let his own go unwept for; but the rather he will not easily fall into sin. Let us not be ever relaxing ourselves in this short life, lest we sigh in that which is eternal. Let us not seek delights from which flow lamentation, and much sorrow, but let us be saddened with sorrow which brings forth pardon. We often find the Lord sorrowing, never laughing.

For even if you suppose that the promises of the Creator were earthly, but that Christ's are heavenly, it is quite clear that heaven has been as yet the property of no other God whatever, than Him who owns the earth also; quite clear that the Creator has given even the lesser promises (of earthly blessing), in order that I may more readily believe Him concerning His greater promises (of heavenly blessings) also, than (Marcion's god), who has never given proof of his liberality by any preceding bestowal of minor blessings. "Blessed are they that hunger, for they shall be filled." I might connect this clause with the former one, because none but the poor and needy suffer hunger, if the Creator had not specially designed that the promise of a similar blessing should serve as a preparation for the gospel, that so men might know it to be His.

Meanwhile the promise of fulness to the hungry is a provision of God the Creator. "Blessed are they that weep, for they shall laugh." Turn again to the passage of Isaiah: "Behold, my servants shall exult with joy, but ye shall be ashamed; behold, my servants shall be glad, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart.

"Blessed are they that hunger, for they shall be filled." I might connect this clause with the former one, because none but the poor and needy suffer hunger, if the Creator had not specially designed that the promise of a similar blessing should serve as a preparation for the gospel, that so men might know it to be His.

"Blessed are they that weep, for they shall laugh." Turn again to the passage of Isaiah: "Behold, my servants shall exult with joy, but ye shall be ashamed; behold, my servants shall be glad, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart.

How unworthy, also, is the way in which you interpret to the favour of your own lust the fact that the Lord "ate and drank" promiscuously! But I think that He must have likewise "fasted" inasmuch as He has pronounced, not "the full; "but "the hungry and thirsty, blessed: " (He) who was wont to profess "food" to be, not that which His disciples had supposed, but "the thorough doing of the Father's work; " teaching "to labour for the meat which is permanent unto life eternal; " in our ordinary prayer likewise commanding us to request "bread," not the wealth of Attalus therewithal.

Do you also rejoice when ye suffer such things, for ye shall be blessed in that day.

Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they separate you, and reproach you. He who for the sake of the wealth of the inheritance of Christ in the saints, for the sake of the bread of eternal life, and for the hope of the heavenly joys, desires to suffer weeping, hunger, and poverty, is blessed. But much more blessed is he who does not fear to keep these virtues amidst adversities. For although men may hate with a wicked heart, they cannot harm the beloved heart of Christ. Let them separate and expel from the synagogue, Christ will find and strengthen. Let them reproach the name of the Crucified, He Himself raises the dead with Him and makes them sit in the heavenly places (Ephesians II).

And they will cast out your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. The name he says signifies the name of Christians, which, as far as their memory goes, has very often been erased and cast out by the Gentiles and Jews, with no longer any cause for hatred except for the Son of Man, because, evidently, believers would want to make the name of Christ their own surname; and therefore the persecutors of the highest name are, not unjustly, marked by the name of men. Blessed (He says) are you when men hate you, teaching them that they will be harassed by men, but will be blessed beyond men.

He then who on account of the riches of the inheritance of Christ, for the bread of eternal life, for the hope of heavenly joys, desires to suffer weeping, hunger, and poverty, is blessed. But much more blessed is he who does not shrink to maintain these virtues in adversity. Hence it follows, Blessed are ye when men shall hate you. For although men hate, with their wicked hearts they can not injure the heart that is beloved by Christ, It follows, And when they shall separate you. Let them separate and expel you from the synagogue. Christ finds you out, and strengthens you. It follows; And shall reproach you. Let them reproach the name of the Crucified, He Himself raises together with Him those that have died with Him, and makes them sit in heavenly places. It follows, And cast out your name as evil. Here he means the name of Christian, which by Jews and Gentiles as far as they were able was frequently erased from the memory, and east out by men, when there was no cause for hatred, but the Son of man; for in truth they who believed on the name of Christ, wished to be called after His name. Therefore He teaches that they are to be persecuted by men, but are to be blessed beyond men. As it follows, Rejoice ye in that day, and weep for joy, for behold your reward is great in heaven.

Fourth, he promises to those who suffer the greatness of the reward on account of endurance in the evil of punishment, when he adds: Blessed shall you be, when men shall hate you, namely with respect to the act of the heart. Most fittingly he says: men, that is, those who are animal-like and bestial, because "man, when he was in honor, did not understand: he was compared to senseless beasts and was made like unto them"; First Corinthians 3: "Whereas there is among you jealousy and contention, are you not carnal, and do you not walk according to man"? according to that man, namely, of whom it is said in Sirach 28: "Man reserves wrath for man." These hate the servants of Christ: Proverbs 19: "The brothers of the poor man hate him"; and Matthew 10: "You shall be hated by all men for my name's sake."

With respect to the act of deed he adds: And when they shall separate you, namely by casting you out of the synagogues, according to that passage in John 9: "The Jews had already conspired that if anyone should confess him to be the Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue," and thus would be separated from others in reproach, even from his own household members, just as the Lord foretold would come to pass for his disciples: Matthew 10: "I have come to set a man against his father"; and afterward it is added: "And a man's enemies shall be those of his own household."

With respect to the act of the mouth he adds: And shall reproach you, reviling you, and shall cast out your name as evil, by defaming; First Peter 4: "If you are reproached in the name of Christ, you shall be blessed"; James 2: "They blaspheme the good name that has been invoked over you," because they call good evil, according to that passage in Matthew 5: "They shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake." And because not just any punishment makes a Martyr unless the proper cause is present, therefore he adds: On account of the Son of Man: First Peter 3: "If you suffer anything for the sake of justice, you shall be blessed," that is, for the sake of Christ, "who was made by God wisdom and justice and sanctification." And for this threefold justice Paul wished to suffer; Acts 21: "I am prepared not only to be bound, but also to be killed in Jerusalem for the sake of Christ Jesus."

And, "Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, when they shall separate you, when they shall cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake;" if we do not detest our persecutors, and undergo punishments at their hands, not hating them under the idea that we have been put to trial more tardily than we looked for; but knowing this also, that every instance of trial is an occasion for testifying.

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."

But how can they follow Christ, who are held back by the chain of their wealth? Or how can they seek heaven, and climb to sublime and lofty heights, who are weighed down by earthly desires? They think that they possess, when they are rather possessed; as slaves of their profit, and not lords with respect to their own money, but rather the bond-slaves of their money. These times and these men are indicated by the apostle, when he says, "But they that will be rich, fall into temptation, and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and in perdition. For the root of all evil is the love of money, which, while some have coveted, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." But with what rewards does the Lord invite us to contempt of worldly wealth? With what compensations does He atone for the small and trifling losses of this present time? "There is no man," saith He, "that leaves house, or land, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, but he shall receive seven fold even in this time, but in the world to come life everlasting." If we know these things, and have found them out from the truth of the Lord who promises, not only is not loss of this kind to be feared, but even to be desired; as the Lord Himself again announces and warns us, "Blessed are ye when men shall persecute you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall cast you out, and shall speak of 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."

What hope and reward remains for the righteous and for martyrs after the conflicts and sufferings of this present time, The Holy Spirit shows and predicts by Solomon, saying: "And although in the sight of men they suffered torments, yet their hope is full of immortality. And having been troubled in a few things, they shall be in many happily ordered, because God has tried them, and has found them worthy of Himself. As gold in the furnace, He hath tried them; and as whole burnt-offerings of sacrifice, He hath received them, and in its season there will be respect of them. They will shine and run about as sparks in a place set with reeds. They shall judge the nations, and have dominion over the peoples; and their Lord shall reign for ever." In the same also our vengeance is described, and the repentance of those who persecute and molest us is announced. "Then," saith he," shall the righteous stand in great constancy before such as have afflicted them, and who have taken away their labours; when they see it, they shall be troubled with a horrible fear: and they shall marvel at the suddenness of their unexpected salvation, saying among themselves, repenting and groaning for anguish of spirit, These are they whom we had sometime in derision and as a proverb of reproach. We fools counted their life madness, and their end to be without honour. How are they numbered among the children of God, and their lot is among the saints! Therefore have we erred from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness hath not shined unto us, and the sun hath not risen upon us. We have been wearied in the way of unrighteousness and perdition, and have walked through hard deserts, but 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 like a shadow." Likewise in the cxvth Psalm is shown the price and the reward of suffering: "Precious," it says, "in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. In the cxxvth Psalm also is expressed the sadness of the struggle, and the joy of the retribution: "They who sow," it says. "in tears, shall reap in joy. As they walked, they walked and wept, casting their seeds; but as they come again, they shall come in exultation, bearing their sheaves." And again, in the cxviiith Psalm: "Blessed are those that are undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who search His testimonies, and seek Him out with their whole heart." Moreover, the Lord in the Gospel, Himself the avenger of our persecution and the rewarder of our suffering, says: "Blessed are they who suffer persecution for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." And again: "Blessed shall ye be when men shall hate you, and shall separate you, and shall expel you, and shall revile 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." And once more: "Whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it." Nor do the rewards of the divine promise attend those alone who are reproached and slain; but if the passion itself, be wanting to the faithful, while their faith has remained sound and unconquered, and having forsaken and contemned all his possessions, the Christian has shown that he is following Christ, even be also is honoured by Christ among the martyrs, as He Himself promises and says: "There is no man that leaveth house, or land, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, but shall receive seven times as much in this present time, and in the world to come eternal life." In the Apocalypse also He says the same thing: "And I saw," saith he, "the souls of them that were slain for the name of Jesus and the word of God." And when he had placed those who were slain in the first place, he added, saying: "And whosoever had not worshipped the image of the beast, neither had received his mark upon their forehead or in their hand; "all these he joins together, as seen by him at one time in the same place, and says, "And they lived and reigned with Christ." He says that all live and reign with Christ, not only who have been slain; but even whosoever, standing in firmness of the faith and in the fear of God, have not worshipped the image of the beast, and have not consented to his deadly and sacrilegious edicts.

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." Of this same matter, according to Matthew: "Blessed are they which shall suffer persecution for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Also in the same place: "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him which is able to kill the soul and body in Gehenna." Also in the same place: "Whosoever shall confess me before men, him also will I confess before my Father which is in heaven; but he who shall deny me before men, him also will I deny before my Father which is in heaven. And he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved." Of this same thing, according to Luke: "Blessed shall ye be when men shall hate you, and shall separate you (from their company), and shall drive you out, and shall speak evil of your name, as wicked, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice in that day, and exult; for, lo, your reward is great in heaven." Also in the same place: "Verily I say unto you, There is no man that leaveth house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, and does not receive seven times as much in this present time, but in the world to come life everlasting." Of this same thing in the Apocalypse: "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar of God the souls of them that were slain on account of the word of God and His testimony. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And unto every one of them were given white robes; and it was said to them, that they should rest still for a short time, until the number of their fellow-servants, and of their brethren, should be fulfilled, and they who shall afterwards be slain, after their example." Also in the same place: "After these things I saw a great crowd, which no one among them could number, from every nation, and from every tribe, and from every people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb; and they were clothed with white robes, and palms were in their hands. And they said with a loud voice, Salvation to our God, that sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb. And one of the elders answered and said to me, What are these which are clothed with white robes? who are they, and whence have they come? And I said unto him, My lord, thou knowest. And he said unto me, These are they who have come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sitteth upon the throne shall dwell among them. They shall neither hunger nor thirst ever; and neither shall the sun fall upon them, nor shall they suffer any heat: for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall protect them, and shall lead them to the fountains of the waters of life; and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes." Also in the same place: "He who shall overcome I will give him to eat of the tree of life, which as in the paradise of my God." Also in the same place: "Be thou faithful even unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." Also in the same place: "Blessed shall they be who shall watch, and shall keep their garments, lest they walk naked, and they see their shame." Of this same thing, Paul in the second Epistle to Timothy: "I am now offered up, and the time of my assumption is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. There now remains for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me in that day; and not only to me, but to all also who love His appearing." Of this same thing to the Romans: "We are the sons of God: but if sons and heirs of God, we are also joint-heirs with Christ; if we suffer together, that we may also be magnified together." Of this same thing in the cxviiith Psalm: "Blessed are they who are undefiled in the way, and walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who search into His testimonies."

The Lord mentioned persecution already, even before the apostles had been sent on their mission. The Gospel anticipated what would happen. So he forewarns them for their benefit, that even the assault of things grievous to bear will bring its reward and advantage to them. They shall scold you, he says, as deceivers do, and try to mislead you. They shall separate you from them, even from their friendship and society. Let none of these things trouble you, he says. What harm will their intemperate tongue do a well-established mind? The patient suffering of these things will not be without fruit, he says, to those who know how to endure piously. It is the pledge of the highest happiness. Besides, he points out for their benefit, nothing strange will happen to them, even when suffering these things. On the contrary, they will resemble those who before their time were the bearers to the Israelites of the words that came from God above. These prophets were persecuted. They were sawn in two. They perished slain by the sword. They endured blame unjustly cast on them. He would have them also understand that they shall be partakers with those whose deeds they have imitated. They shall not fail in winning the prophet's crown, after having traveled by the same road.

The Christian who has advanced by means of good discipline and the gift of the Spirit to the measure of the age of reason experiences glory and pleasure and enjoyment that is greater than any human pleasure. These come to one after grace is given to him, after being hated because of Christ, being driven, and enduring every insult and shame in behalf of his faith in God. For such a person, whose entire life centers on the resurrection and future blessings, every insult and scourging and persecution and the other sufferings leading up to the cross are all pleasure and refreshment and surety of heavenly treasures. For Jesus says, "Blessed are you when men reproach you and persecute you and, speaking falsely, say all manner of evil against you; for my sake rejoice and exult because your reward is great in heaven."

I beg you to remember in your entire present contest the great reward laid up in heaven for those who are persecuted and reviled for righteousness' sake. Be glad and leap for joy on account of the Son of man, just as the apostles once rejoiced when they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for his name.

Now since Christ, as soon as He entered on His course, fulfilled such a ministration as this, He is either, Himself, He who predicted His own coming to do all this; or else if he is not yet come who predicted this, the charge to Marcion's Christ must be a ridiculous one (although I should perhaps add a necessary one), which bade him say, "Blessed shall ye be, when men shall bate you, and shall reproach you, and shall cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake." In this declaration there is, no doubt, an exhortation to patience.

If the tongue's bitterness break out in malediction or reproach, look back at the saying, "When they curse you, rejoice." The Lord Himself was "cursed" in the eye of the law; and yet is He the only Blessed One.

For the Jews persecuted the prophets even to death.

(Hom. 6. in Hex.) Again, great has sometimes a positive signification, as the heaven is great, and the earth is great; but sometimes it has relation to something else, as a great ox or great horse, on comparing two things of like nature. I think then that great reward will be laid up for those who suffer reproach for Christ's sake, not as in comparison with those things in our power, but as being in itself great because given by God.

Rejoice in that day, and exult. For behold, your reward is great in heaven. This command can be fulfilled not by anyone suffering, but by him who suffers solely with a view to the heavenly reward. Thus, amidst the hatred of hearts, amidst the insults of tongues, amidst the very hands of persecutors, one can remain with an equally, or even more joyful heart. Not to this are those like us capable, but those who went rejoicing from the presence of the council, because they were deemed worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of Jesus (Acts V). Therefore, whoever endures many adversities on earth for Christ, will receive many gifts in heaven from Christ. However, how many javelins of words did the false prophets endure from Elijah, who, mocking them, said: Shout with a louder voice: For Baal is a god, perhaps he is talking, or he is in an inn, or on a journey, or certainly he is sleeping, so that he must be awakened (1 Kings XVIII). What a great massacre did those who were eight hundred and fifty in number suffer when they were all killed! But because Baal and not Christ was the cause, neither did the mocked ones rejoice, nor did the slain ones deserve a palm, but an eternal punishment.

For such things their fathers did to the prophets. He encouraged well by example, because those who speak the truth usually suffer persecution. Nevertheless, the ancient prophets did not fail in their preaching of truth out of fear of persecution. It should be noted indeed that just as Matthew, through the eight beatitudes he set forth, insinuates the eighth as the perfection of our hope dedicated to the glory of the resurrection, so Luke embraces the four cardinal virtues. For blessed are the poor, who are restrained from the enticements of the world through temperance. Blessed are the hungry, who, reminded by their own hunger, show mercy to the hungry, and themselves show mercy through justice as much as they can. For the alms which we give to Christ, not out of our own, but as His, the Psalmist rightly testifies as being called justice, saying: He has distributed to the poor; his justice endures forever (Psalm 111). For it is justice when we give what is rightfully due to each, owing no one anything except to love each other. Blessed are those who, through prudence, discern good from evil, who mourn for what is transitory, and long for what is eternal. Blessed are those who, through fortitude of faith, are able to endure all hardships. Thus, those who are not yet able to ascend the pinnacle of consummate virtue, are to be cherished with the blessedness of general perfection. So that, progressing gradually from good to better, while they willingly listen to the Lord who stands on the plain, they may someday ascend to Him who sits on the mountain in sublimity. For those whose hearts He is still taming and instructing, He addresses them as one standing, which is the position of laboring. But those He finds ready and teachable from long spiritual exercise, He, in the freedom and dignity of the teacher, seated as the peaceful Savior, imparts mystical things of the higher realms. This difference in spiritual progress is beautifully expressed in the attire of the Israelite people. Where all the common folk, using whatever garments, are commanded to make for themselves fringes of blue in the four corners of their garments. Priests are to have four garments, distinguished in wonderful variety by as many mystical colors. And high priests are to bear both what the priests have and four other kinds of garments, of the same colors, but with greater dignified grace, interspersed with glittering gold, and bearing the name of the patriarchs and of the Lord Himself. To explain or even to merely present these details pertains to the diligence of its own work.

They who speak the truth commonly suffer persecution, yet the ancient prophets did not therefore from fear of persecution turn away from preaching the truth.

Thus he gladdens the patient through reward, when he adds: Rejoice and exult: behold, your reward is great in heaven: rejoice, namely from recompense: Romans twelve: "Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation." Which was fulfilled in Acts five: "The Apostles went rejoicing from the presence of the council, because they were counted worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus." This, moreover, the consideration of reward brings about; Jeremiah thirty-one: "Let your voice cease from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work." A reward, I say, great, because "great peace have they that love your law" etc., as it is said in the Psalm: and perpetual, because it is in heaven; Wisdom five: "But the just shall live forever, and their reward is with the Lord." And this is what Bede says: "Amid the hatreds of hearts, amid the reproaches of tongues, amid the hands of persecutors, dwell with a more joyful heart in contemplation of the heavenly reward." And because this work is most arduous, namely to rejoice in tribulations: therefore he not only promises a reward, but adds an example, when he continues: For according to these things did their fathers do to the Prophets: according to what is said in Matthew twenty-three: "You are witnesses against yourselves, that you are the sons of those who killed the Prophets"; and Acts seven: "Stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. Which of the Prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One." He sets these forth as an example on account of their constancy: James, last chapter: "Take as an example, brothers, of patience, labor, and long-suffering, the Prophets"; who were not moved from the truth on account of scourges. Whence concerning Elisha, Sirach forty-eight: "In his days he did not fear the prince, and in power no one overcame him, nor did any man surpass him." All these evils the Prophets endured on account of the reward, which they promise to others: Sirach thirty-six: "Give a reward, O Lord, to those who wait for you, that your Prophets may be found faithful." Whence that eminent Prophet John, after all the tribulations of the Church, adds at the end of Apocalypse twenty-two: "Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to render to each one according to his works."

Whence note that divine Scripture intimates to us the difference of rewards according to the diversities of merits. Whence there is found a reward that is safe, a reward that is great, worthy, full, timely, swift, faithful, abundant, perpetual. The reward is safe for the Angels who minister to us; great is given to prelates or those who preside; worthy, to the obedient; full, to the contemplatives; timely is given to workers; swift, to those making progress; faithful, to those who bring to perfection; much or abundant, to those who suffer; but perpetual, to those who persevere. Whence concerning the safe reward of the Angels, because the ministry which they exercise toward us is not defrauded of its prize, it is said in Tobit 5: "Seek some faithful man who may go with you, his reward being safe," says Tobias. Concerning the great reward of those who preside, it is said in Genesis 15 to Abraham, who bears the type of prelates: "I am your protector, and your reward exceedingly great." Concerning the worthy reward of the obedient, it is said in Esther 16: "Let all know that those who obey the Persians faithfully receive a worthy reward for their fidelity." Concerning the full reward of the contemplatives, it is said to Ruth, in chapter 2, who bears the type of contemplatives who relinquish all things for God, and is also interpreted as sheep, or seeing, so that the contemplative soul may be called sheep on account of the gentleness of affection, but seeing on account of the illumination of the intellect; whence Boaz says to her: "May you receive a full reward from the Lord God of Israel, to whom you have come and under whose wings you have taken refuge." Concerning the timely reward of workers, it is said in the last chapter of Sirach: "Work your work while there is time, and He will give you your reward in His time." Concerning the swift reward of those making progress, it is said in Sirach 11: "The blessing of God hastens toward the reward of the just." Concerning the faithful reward of the perfect, such as preachers and the like, it is said in Proverbs 11: "To the one sowing justice, a faithful reward." Concerning the abundant reward of those who suffer or those who struggle, it is said here and in Matthew 5: "For behold, your reward is abundant in the heavens." Concerning the perpetual reward indeed, which befits those who persevere, Sirach 18: "Do not be afraid to be justified even unto death, for the reward of God remains forever." Thus therefore, according to the diversities of merits, the differences of rewards are appropriated; and so "God will render to the just the reward of their labors," Wisdom 10.

He then fortifies His disciples against the attacks of their adversaries, which they were about to suffer as they preached through the whole world; adding, For in like manner did their fathers to the prophets.

Great and little are measured by the dignity of the speaker. Let us enquire then who promised the great reward. If indeed a prophet or an apostle, little had been in his estimation great; but now it is the Lord in whose hands are eternal treasures and riches surpassing man's conception, who has promised great reward.

(in lib. de Logic c. 49.) Those things which may be measured or numbered are used definitely, but that which from a certain excellence surpasses all measure and number we call great and much indefinitely; as when we say that great is the longsuffering of God.

It remains for us, lest ancient times may perhaps have had the sacrament (exclusively) their own, to review the modern Christian system, as though, being also from God, it might be different from what preceded, and besides, therefore, opposed thereto in its code of rules likewise, so that its Wisdom knows not to murder her own sons! Evidently, in the case of Christ both the divine nature and the will and the sect are different from any previously known! He will have commanded either no martyrdoms at all, or those which must be understood in a sense different from the ordinary, being such a person as to urge no one to a risk of this kind as to promise no reward to them who suffer for Him, because He does not wish them to suffer; and therefore does He say, when setting forth His chief commands, "Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The following statement, indeed, applies first to all without restriction, then specially to the apostles themselves: "Blessed shall ye be when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you, for my sake.

Let us listen, then, to the voice of the Cornerstone: "And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come that the Son of man should be glorified." Perhaps some one supposes here that He spake of Himself as glorified, because the Gentiles wished to see Him. Such is not the case. But He saw the Gentiles themselves in all nations coming to the faith after His own passion and resurrection, because, as the apostle says, "Blindness in part has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles should be come in." Taking occasion, therefore, from those Gentiles who desired to see Him, He announces the future fullness of the Gentile nations, and promises the near approach of the hour when He should be glorified Himself, and when, on its consummation in heaven, the Gentile nations should be brought to the faith. To this it is that the prediction pointed, "Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, and Thy glory above all the earth." Such is the fullness of the Gentiles, of which the apostle saith, "Blindness in part is happened to Israel, till the fullness of the Gentiles come in."

But the height of His glorification had to be preceded by the depth of His passion. Accordingly, He went on to add, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." But He spake of Himself. He Himself was the grain that had to die, and be multiplied; to suffer death through the unbelief of the Jews, and to be multiplied in the faith of many nations.

(Tr. li. 8) Listen we to the voice of the corner stone: And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Did He think Himself glorified, because the Gentiles wished to see? No. But He saw that after His passion and resurrection, the Gentiles in all lands would believe on Him; and took occasion from this request of some Gentiles to see Him, to announce the approaching fulness of the Gentiles, for that the hour of His being glorified was now at hand, and that after He was glorified in the heavens, the Gentiles would believe; according to the passage in the Psalm, Set up Thyself, O God, above the heavens, and Thy glory above all the earth. (Ps. 56, and 107) But it was necessary that His exaltation and glory should be preceded by His humiliation and passion; wherefore He says, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into they round and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. That corn was He; to be mortified in the unbelief of the Jews, to be multiplied in the faith of the Gentiles.

But Jesus answered them. Here is touched upon the third point, namely the condescension of the Lord, by which he satisfies the desire of the Gentiles, saying that the time has now come for manifesting himself to the nations. On account of which he says: The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified, that is, that he might be manifested to the nations, and through this his brightness and glory might be known. This is the hour of the passion and of our redemption, which was long awaited and desired. In this hour the Gentiles are called: on account of which the Apostle says in Romans 13: "It is the hour for us now to rise from sleep." This is the hour of which it was said above in chapter seven: "No one seized him, because his hour had not yet come."

Question III. Likewise it is asked: why does He now more than before manifest Himself to the Gentiles?

And it must be said that it was on account of the nearness of the Passion, in which was the salvation of the Gentiles. Another reason: because the Jews had already, through the conspiracy of Christ's death, rejected the grace of God; and therefore after their conspiracy the Lord turns to the Gentiles.

Seeing therefore that Gentiles are hastening in eager desire to see Him and to turn towards Him, on this account He says: The hour is come. For near at hand was the time of His Passion, after which the calling of the Gentiles immediately followed. And He calls the time now present "the hour," with the intention of showing that no other occasion can bring Him to the necessity of suffering, save only this season marked out by His own appointed limitations. For having done all things that were to lead men on to faith, and having preached the word of the kingdom of heaven, He now desires to pass onward to the very crowning point of His hope, namely to the destruction of death: and this could not otherwise be brought to pass, unless the Life underwent death for the sake of all men, that so in Him we all may live. For on this account also He speaks of Himself as glorified in His Death, and in suffering terrible things at the hands of the sinners who dishonour Him. Even though by the angels in heaven He had been glorified from everlasting, yet nevertheless His Cross was the beginning of His being glorified upon earth by the Gentiles as God. For after He had left to themselves the Jews who openly despised Him, He turned to the Gentiles and is glorified by them as God, being confidently expected to come again in the glory of the Father. And He declares not merely that the Word shall then be glorified, but, showing that He Who is ineffably to be regarded as sharing in humanity no less than Deity is One Only Son, He uses the title "Son of man:" for He is One Son and One Christ, capable since His Incarnation of no separation of Nature; but ever remaining and ever regarded as God, although clothed in flesh.

(From the Syriac.) [He is One Son and One Christ, capable since His Incarnation of no separation of Nature,] except so far as this, that we may say that we acknowledge separately the Nature of the Word and [the nature] of the flesh. And [we may say] that they are not the same in conception, for the one is of the Essence of God the Father, but the other had its root upon earth in the holy Virgin. Nevertheless there is only One Christ of the two, Who is not divided into a duality of Sons after the concourse of these Natures which have been mentioned, but remains and is regarded as in possession of the power of the Godhead, although clothed in Flesh.

[The Greeks say,] "We wish to see Jesus"—not so much in order to look him in his face, as to carry the cross. And therefore Jesus, having seen their intention, Openly said to those present: "The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified." Glorified—referring to the conversion of the Greeks; A glory that the Jews donned But that the nations put on. Therefore Jesus said concerning the Gentiles: "The hour has come For the Son of man to be glorified." Glorified—referring to the cross. For from it the power of the Lord was made known, Because it changed the shame into glory— the insult into honor, the curse into blessing, the gall into sweetness, the vinegar into milk, the slap in his face into freedom, death into life. The hour has come, For the Son of man to be glorified. Glorified—referring to the cross, For from it the cross is even now glorified. For the cross itself even now still glorifies kings, and gives radiance to priesthood, and preserves virginity, and establishes asceticism, and strengthens union, and guards widowhood, and protects orphans, and increases the blessing of children, and multiples the church, and enlightens the people, and preserves a spiritual lifestyle, and opens paradise, and guides the robber, and roots out enmity, and extinguishes hatred, and puts demons to flight, and drives the devil away.

What then does the Lord say? Since He had commanded the disciples "not to go in the way of the Gentiles" (Matt. 10:5), and now saw that the Gentiles were already coming to Him of their own accord (for the Greeks who wished to see Him were undoubtedly Gentiles), while the Jews were plotting against Him, He says: "The time has finally come to go to suffering, for the hour of the Cross has arrived, that the Son of Man may be glorified." What is the benefit of not receiving the Gentiles who come to us, and imposing ourselves on the Jews who hate and persecute? Therefore, since the Gentiles are coming to us, the time has now come to be crucified. So I will allow the Jews to complete their schemes and permit them to crucify Me, so that they may afterwards be without any excuse, since I will justly leave them as crucifiers and murderers and turn to the Gentiles, who have already begun to come to My teaching. For it would be very unjust to give nothing to the Gentiles who thirst for the word and salvation, and to give abundantly to the Jews who trample upon what is given to them and plot evil against their Benefactor.

Then, the passion of Christ is foretold: first, Christ foretells that the time of his passion is near; secondly, he intimates that his passion is necessary (v 24); and thirdly, he mentions the necessity for others to suffer (v 25).

He says, The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified. Here it should be noted that our Lord, seeing these Gentiles hastening to see him, and understanding that in them the conversion of the Gentiles was somehow beginning, foretold the imminence of his passion, somewhat like a person who sees a wheat field growing white says that the hour has come to use the sickle for the harvest" (4:35). This is the way the Lord speaks here. Since the Gentiles want to see me, he says, The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified.

Now there were three events where he was glorified. First, in his passion: "Christ did not exalt (glorify) himself to be made a high priest," on the altar of the cross, "but was appointed by him who said to him, 'Thou art my Son, today I have begotten thee,'" as we read in Hebrews (5:5). In reference to this he says, The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified, that is, to suffer, because the Gentiles will not be converted to him before his passion. Indeed, in his passion he was glorified both with visible signs, such as the sun becoming dark, the rending of the temple curtain and so forth, and with invisible signs, such as the victory by which in himself he overcame the powers of darkness, as stated in Colossians (2:15). Earlier he had said, "My hour has not yet come" (2:4), because the devotion of the Gentiles had not been as keen as it was now.

Secondly, he was glorified in his resurrection and ascension. For it was necessary for Christ to first rise and ascend into heaven, and thus glorified, to send the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, through whom the Gentiles were to be converted: "For as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified" (7:39); Christ "ascended to the heights: he captured his spoil" (Ps 69:19).

Thirdly, he was glorified by the conversion of the Gentiles: in Philippians (2:11) we read, "Every tongue will confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father."

We marvel that it has sprouted so quickly; how much greater are the miracles if you consider each individual thing, how seeds, once thrown into the earth, are dissolved and, unless they are dead, produce no fruit; but if they are dissolved by a kind of death, they rise again into more abundant fruitfulness. So the rotten grain receives the earth in its womb, and the scattered stalk holds it back, and as if it were nurtured in its mother's lap, it cherishes and compresses it. Then, when that grain has dissolved, it brings forth grass, a pleasant species of greenery itself, which immediately reveals the likeness of its cultivated kind; so that at the very beginning of its own line you can recognize what kind of herb it is, and in herbs the fruits appear.

He Himself, of the seed of the Patriarchs, was sown in the field of this world, that by dying, He might rise again with increase. He died alone; He rose again with many.

In the middle of time there was both regeneration and the ordering of the Church and spiritual nourishment: therefore Christ instituted these three Sacraments, namely of baptism, the eucharist, and orders, both completely and clearly: first by receiving baptism, then by giving the form and making it known to the rest; orders, indeed, by first giving the power of binding and loosing the sins of the human race and the power of confecting the Sacrament of the altar; the eucharist, indeed, by comparing himself to a grain of wheat and by confecting and giving to the disciples, with the passion imminent, the Sacrament of his body and blood. And therefore these three Sacraments ought to have been instituted by Christ distinctly and integrally and to have been prefigured in manifold ways in the old law, as the substantial Sacraments of the new testament and proper to the lawgiver, namely the incarnate Word.

Amen, amen, I say to you. After the prefiguration of the calling of the Gentiles has been described, here is set forth the prediction of the fruit of the Passion, and this indeed in the following manner. First, the fruitfulness of the Passion is foretold. Second, because the Passion has no effect except in the imitators of Christ, there is set forth an exhortation to imitation, at the words: He that loveth his life, etc. Third, because none imitate unless they are called by the Lord, the prayer made on their behalf is noted, at the words: Now is my soul troubled. Fourth, because He obtains all that He asks, the hearing of the prayer is noted, at the words: There came therefore a voice, etc.

First, therefore, the fruitfulness of the Passion is touched upon by the example of the grain; on account of which He says: Amen, amen, I say to you; speaking assertively to the Gentiles who had sought Him, in order to confirm them in faith: unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die: It itself remaineth alone. According to the letter, it is not multiplied unless it dies; First Corinthians 15: "Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die first." But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit: because then it produces a harvest.

So it is to be understood of Christ, who is a grain of wheat on account of its purity and abundance of richness, on account of which the best bread is made from it: so also the flesh of Christ, who is "the living bread that came down from heaven," above in the sixth chapter. Of this it is said in the Psalm: "He satisfies you with the fat of wheat." This grain, falling into the earth, through lowliness, died through the bitterness of the Passion; therefore it is said in the Psalm: "You have brought all your waves upon me. You have put my acquaintances far from me; they have made me an abomination to themselves." This grain brought forth much fruit, because it brought many sons into glory: Hebrews 2: "It was fitting for him who brought many sons into glory to perfect the author of their salvation through suffering"; Isaiah 60: "When the multitude of the sea shall be converted to you, the strength of the nations shall come to you."

Now, as soon as you have thought of this, this pattern of the huge dive down to the bottom, into the depths of the universe and coming up again into the light, everyone will see at once how that is imitated and echoed by the principles of the natural world; the descent of the seed into the soil, and its rising again in the plants. There are also all sorts of things in our own spiritual life where a thing has to be killed, and broken, in order that it may then become bright, and strong, and splendid. The analogy is obvious. In that sense the doctrine fits in very well, so well in fact that immediately there comes the suspicion, Is it not fitting in a great deal too well? In other words, does not the Christian story show this pattern of descent and reascent because that is part of all the nature religions of the world? We have read about it in The Golden Bough. We all know about Adonis, and the stories of the rest of those rather tedious people; is not this one more instance of the same thing, "the dying god"? Well, yes it is. That is what makes the question subtle. What the anthropological critic of Christianity is always saying is perfectly true. Christ is a figure of that sort. And here comes a very curious thing. When I first, after childhood, read the Gospels, I was full of that stuff about the dying god, The Golden Bough, and so on. It was to me then a very poetic, and mysterious, and quickening idea; and when I turned to the Gospels never will I forget my disappointment and repulsion at finding hardly anything about it at all. The metaphor of the seed dropping into the ground in this connection occurs (I think) twice in the New Testament, and for the rest hardly any notice is taken; it seemed to me extraordinary. How if the corn king is not mentioned in that book, because He is here of whom the corn king was an image? How if the representation is absent because here, at last, the thing represented is present? If the shadows are absent because the thing of which they were shadows is here? The corn itself is in its far-off way an imitation of the supernatural reality; the thing dying, and coming to life again, descending, and reascending beyond all Nature. The principle is there in Nature because it was first there in God Himself.

It was not for societies or states that Christ died, but for men. In that sense Christianity must seem to secular collectivists to involve an almost frantic assertion of individuality. But then it is not the individual as such who will share Christ's victory over death. We shall share the victory by being in the Victor. A rejection, or in Scripture's strong language, a crucifixion of the natural self is the passport to everlasting life. Nothing that has not died will be resurrected.

The thing you long for summons you away from the self. Even the desire for the thing lives only if you abandon it. This is the ultimate law--the seed dies to live, the bread must be cast upon the waters, he that loses his soul will save it. But the life of the seed, the finding of the bread, the recovery of the soul, are as real as the preliminary sacrifice.

The doctrine of death which I describe is not peculiar to Christianity. Nature herself has written it large across the world in the repeated drama of the buried seed and the re-arising corn. From nature, perhaps, the oldest agricultural communities learned it and with animal, or human, sacrifices showed forth for centuries the truth that "without shedding of blood is no remission"; and though at first such conceptions may have concerned only the crops and offspring of the tribe they came later, in the Mysteries, to concern the spiritual death and resurrection of the individual.

This is, I think, one little part of what Christ meant by saying that a thing will not really live unless it first dies. It is simply no good trying to keep any thrill: that is the very worst thing you can do. Let the thrill go — let it die away — go on through that period of death into the quieter interest and happiness that follow — and you will find you are living in a world of new thrills all the time. But if you decide to make thrills your regular diet and try to prolong them artificially, they will all get weaker and weaker, and fewer and fewer, and you will be a bored, disillusioned old man for the rest of your life. It is because so few people understand this that you find many middle-aged men and women maundering about their lost youth, at the very age when new horizons ought to be appearing and new doors opening all round them. It is much better fun to learn to swim than to go on endlessly (and hopelessly) trying to get back the feeling you had when you first went paddling as a small boy.

Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favourite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fibre of your being, and you will find eternal life... Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead.

Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone, but if it die, it beareth much fruit; as if he said: Why do they wish to see me now, when I am despicable in appearance and alone, like a grain of wheat; for except I die like a grain, and rise up like the wheat in ear and in the fulness of its bloom, having become incorruptible and immortal and immutable, and except mighty deeds and wonders shall be wrought in My name, they will not know My power and glory.

He not only foretells His suffering and the nearness of the time, but He also alleges the reason why He counted His suffering most precious, saying that the benefit of His passion would be great; for else He would not have chosen to suffer, for He suffered not unwillingly. For by reason of His clemency towards us, He displayed such great and tender kindness as deliberately to endure cruelties of all kinds for our sake. And even as a grain of wheat sown in the earth shoots forth many ears of corn, not receiving through them any loss to itself, but being present by its power in all the grains of every ear; for out of it they all shot forth: so also the Lord died, and opening the recesses of the earth, brought up with Himself the souls of men, Himself being in them all according to the doctrine of the faith, over and above His own separate and distinct existence. And it is not to the dead only that He has granted the power of receiving the fruits of the benefit He brings, but to the living also; if indeed the doctrine is made faithfully to correspond to the form of the parable. For the life of all men, both of dead and living, is a fruit of the sufferings of Christ. For the death of Christ became a seed of life.

Can it be then that the Divine Nature of the Word became capable of death? Surely it were altogether impious to say this. For the Word of God the Father is in His Nature Life: He raises to life, but He does not fall: He brings death to naught, He is not made subject to corruption: He quickens that which lacks life, but seeks not His own life from another. For even as light could not become darkness, so it is impossible that Life should cease to be life. How then is the same Person said to fall into the earth as a grain of wheat, and also to "go up" as "God with a shout?" Surely it is evident that to taste of death was fitting for Him, inasmuch as He became Man: but nevertheless to go up in the manner of God, was His own natural prerogative.

Christ is also symbolized by a sheaf of grain, as a brief explanation will show.The human race may be compared with stalks of wheat in a field rising, as it were, from the earth, awaiting their full growth and development, and then in time being cut down by the reaper, which is death. The comparison is apt, since Christ himself spoke of our race in this way when he said to his holy disciples, "Do you not say, 'Four months and it will be harvest time?' Look at the fields; I tell you, they are already white and ready for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving his wages and bringing in a crop for eternal life." … Now Christ became like one of us. He sprang from the holy Virgin like a stalk of wheat from the ground. Indeed, he spoke of himself as a grain of wheat when he said, "I tell you truly, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains as it was, a single grain, but if it dies its yield is very great." And so, like a sheaf of grain, the firstfruits, as it were, of the earth, he offered himself to the Father for our sake. For we do not think of a stalk of wheat in isolation any more than we do of ourselves. We think of it rather as part of a sheaf, which is a single bundle made up of many stalks. The stalks have to be gathered into a bundle before they can be used, and this is the key to the mystery they represent, the mystery of Christ, who, though one, appears in the image of a sheaf to be made up of many, as in fact he is. Spiritually, he contains in himself all believers. "As we have been raised up with him," writes Paul, "so we have also been enthroned with him in heaven." He is a human being like ourselves, and this had made us one body with him, the body being the bond that unites us. We can say, therefore, that in him we are all one, and indeed he himself says to God, his heavenly Father, "It is my desire that as you and I are one, so they also may be one in us."

It pretends to find something incomprehensible in the feelings that we all comprehend. Who does not find dreams mysterious, and feel that they lie on the dark borderland of being? Who does not feel the death and resurrection of the growing things of the earth as something near to the secret of the universe? Who does not understand that there must always be the savour of something sacred about authority and the solidarity that is the soul of the tribe? If there be any anthropologist who really finds these things remote and impossible to realise, we can say nothing of that scientific gentleman except that he has not got so large and enlightened a mind as a primitive man. To me it seems obvious that nothing but a spiritual sentiment already active could have clothed these separate and diverse things with sanctity.

When, therefore, the mingled cup and the manufactured bread receives the Word of God, and the Eucharist of the blood and the body of Christ is made, from which things the substance of our flesh is increased and supported, how can they affirm that the flesh is incapable of receiving the gift of God, which is life eternal, which [flesh] is nourished from the body and blood of the Lord, and is a member of Him?-even as the blessed Paul declares in his Epistle to the Ephesians, that "we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones." He does not speak these words of some spiritual and invisible man, for a spirit has not bones nor flesh; but [he refers to] that dispensation [by which the Lord became] an actual man, consisting of flesh, and nerves, and bones,-that [flesh] which is nourished by the cup which is His blood, and receives increase from the bread which is His body. And just as a cutting from the vine planted in the ground fructifies in its season, or as a corn of wheat falling into the earth and becoming decomposed, rises with manifold increase by the Spirit of God, who contains all things, and then, through the wisdom of God, serves for the use of men, and having received the Word of God, becomes the Eucharist, which is the body and blood of Christ; so also our bodies, being nourished by it, and deposited in the earth, and suffering decomposition there, shall rise at their appointed time, the Word of God granting them resurrection to the glory of God, even the Father, who freely gives to this mortal immortality, and to this corruptible incorruption, because the strength of God is made perfect in weakness, in order that we may never become puffed up, as if we had life from ourselves, and exalted against God, our minds becoming ungrateful; but learning by experience that we possess eternal duration from the excelling power of this Being, not from our own nature, we may neither undervalue that glory which surrounds God as He is, nor be ignorant of our own nature, but that we may know what God can effect, and what benefits man receives, and thus never wander from the true comprehension of things as they are, that is, both with regard to God and with regard to man. And might it not be the case, perhaps, as I have already observed, that for this purpose God permitted our resolution into the common dust of mortality, that we, being instructed by every mode, may be accurate in all things for the future, being ignorant neither of God nor of ourselves?

(Hom. lxvi. 2) He illustrates His discourse by an example from nature. A grain of corn produces fruit, after it has died. How much more then must the Son of God? The Gentiles were to be called after the Jews had finally offended; i. e. after His crucifixion. Now then that the Gentiles of their own accord offered their faith, He saw that His crucifixion could not be far off.

However, he says, my death must not upset you. As indeed a grain of wheat is just a single grain before falling into the earth, after it has fallen and decomposed, it sprouts forth in great glory and produces double fruit by showing before everyone its riches in its ears and displaying the spectacle of its beauty to those looking on. This is the same way you should think about me. Now I am alone, and just one more man among obscure people without any glory. But when I undergo the passion of the cross, I will be raised in great honor. And when I produce much fruit then everyone will know me—not only the Jews but also the people of the entire world will call me their Lord. Then, not even the spiritual powers will refuse to worship me.

Then, lest the disciples be scandalized that He dies at the very time when even the Gentiles had begun to come, He says: "This very thing, that is, My death, will increase the faith of the Gentiles all the more. For just as a grain of wheat bears much fruit when, having been sown, it dies, so also My death will bear much fruit for the faith of the Gentiles." Therefore, let no one be scandalized, because My death does not hinder the joining of the Gentiles, but by the example of the grain let him be convinced that My falling in My death will multiply the number of believers. For if this is what happens with a grain, how much more will it be with Me. For having died and risen, I shall through the resurrection manifest My power all the more, and then all will believe in Me as God.

Then when he says, I say to you, he intimates the necessity of his passion: first, he suggests its necessity; secondly the benefit it brings.

The necessity for Christ's passion is caused by the conversion of the Gentiles, which cannot take place unless the Son of man is glorified through his passion and resurrection. And this is what he asserts, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. In regard to the literal sense of this text, it should be noted that we use a grain of wheat either for bread or as a seed. In this text, we should understand that the wheat is taken as a seed, and not as the wheat used for bread, for in the latter case it would never grow and bear fruit. He says, dies, not because it loses its strength, but because it is then changed into something else: "What you sow does not come to life unless it dies" (1 Cor 15:36). Now just as the word of God, so far as it is clothed in a sound that can be heard, is a seed planted in a person's soul to produce the fruit of good works - "The seed is the word of God" (Lk 8:11) - so the Word of God, clothed in flesh, is a seed sent into the world to bring forth a great harvest; thus it is also compared to a grain of mustard seed, in Matthew (13:31).

So Christ is saying: I have come as a seed, to bear fruit; and so I truly say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone, that is, unless I die, the fruit of the conversion of the Gentiles will not follow. He compares himself to a grain of wheat because the reason he came was to refresh and nourish our spirits, which is principally done by bread made from wheat: "bread to strengthen man's heart" (Ps 104:15); "The bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh" (6:51).

But were the Gentiles to be converted only through the death of Christ? Considering God's power, they could have been converted without it; but according to God's decree they were to be converted through the death of Christ as the more fitting way: "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins," as is said in Hebrews (9:22); "if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you" (16:7).

The benefit produced by Christ's passion is given when he says, but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He is saying in effect: Unless this seed falls into the earth by the humiliation of the passion - "He humbled himself and became obedient unto death" (Phil 2:8) - there is no benefit, because it remains alone. But if it dies, that is, is put to death and slain by the Jews, it bears much fruit.

The first of these fruits is the remission of sin: "This is all the fruit, that sin is taken away" (Is 27:9). Truly, this fruit was brought forth by the passion of Christ: "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God" (1 Pet 3:18). The second of these fruits is the conversion of the Gentiles to God: "I appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide" (15:16). This fruit, too, was brought forth by the passion of Christ: "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself" (12:32). A third fruit is the fruit of glory: "The fruit of good labors is renowned (i.e., glorious)" (Wis 3:15); "He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life" (4:36). And again, the passion of Christ produced this fruit: "We have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way which he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh" (Heb 10:19-20).

Only a human being would ask, "How can someone who loves himself deny himself?" God … says to such a person, "Let him deny himself, if he loves himself." By loving himself, you see, he loses himself; by denying himself, he finds himself. "Whoever loves his soul," he says, "let him lose it." … It is a painful thing to lose what you love.…There is not anyone, after all, who does not love himself. But we have to look for the right sort of love and avoid the wrong sort. You see, anyone who loves himself by leaving God out of his life (and leaves God out of his life by loving himself), does not even remain in himself. He actually leaves his self. He goes away into exile from his own heart by taking no notice of what is inside and instead only loving what is outside.… For instance, let me ask you this: Are you money?… And yet, by loving money, you end up abandoning yourself. First you abandon and then later end up destroying yourself. Love of money, you see, has caused you to destroy yourself. You tell lies on account of money. … While looking for money, you have destroyed your soul. Bring out the scales of truth … and put on one side money, on the other the soul.… But do not weigh it yourself. You want to cheat yourself.… Let God do the weighing—the one who does not know how to deceive or be deceived.… Watch him weighing them and then listen to him announce the result: "What does it profit someone if he gains the whole world but suffers the loss of his own soul?".… You were willing to lose your soul in order to acquire the earth. This soul, however, outweighs heaven and earth combined. But you do this because by leaving God out of your life and loving yourself, you have also gone away from yourself. You end up valuing other things, which are outside you, more than yourself. Come back to yourself. But then turn upward when you have come back to yourself; do not stay in yourself. First come back to yourself from the things outside you, and then give yourself back to the one who made you, who looked for you when you were lost and found you when you were a runaway.

If you love [your soul], lose it. Sow it here, and you will reap it in heaven. If the farmer does not lose wheat in the seed, he does not love it in the harvest.… Do not love your soul so much that you lose it. People who are afraid to die seem to love their souls. If the martyrs had loved their souls like that, they would undoubtedly have lost them.… What good, after all, would it be to hold on to the soul on earth and lose it in heaven? And what does holding on to it amount to? Keeping it for how long? What you keep eventually vanishes from you. If you lose it, you find it in yourself.… The martyrs lost their souls at a great profit—losing straw, earning a crown. Earning a crown, I repeat, and keeping hold of life without end.

And now, by way of exhortation to follow in the path of His own passion, He adds, "He that loveth his life shall lose it," which may be understood in two ways: "He that loveth shall lose," that is, If thou lovest, be ready to lose; if thou wouldst possess life in Christ, be not afraid of death for Christ. Or otherwise, "He that loveth his life shall lose it." Do not love for fear of losing; love it not here, lest thou lose it in eternity. But what I have said last seems better to correspond with the meaning of the Gospel, for there follow the words, "And he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal." So that when it is said in the previous clause, "He that loveth," there is to be understood in this world, he it is that shall lose it. "But he that hateth," that is, in this world, is he that shall keep it unto life eternal. Surely a profound and strange declaration as to the measure of a man's love for his own life that leads to its destruction, and of his hatred to it that secures its preservation! If in a sinful way thou lovest it, then dost thou really hate it; if in a way accordant with what is good thou hast hated it, then hast thou really loved it. Happy they who have so hated their life while keeping it, that their love shall not cause them to lose it.

But beware of harboring the notion that thou mayest court self-destruction by any such understanding of thy duty to hate thy life in this world. For on such grounds it is that certain wrong-minded and perverted people, who, with regard to themselves, are murderers of a specially cruel and impious character, commit themselves to the flames, suffocate themselves in water, dash themselves against a precipice, and perish. This was no teaching of Christ's, who, on the other hand, met the devil's suggestion of a precipice with the answer, "Get thee behind me, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." To Peter also He said, signifying by what death he should glorify God, "When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not;" where He made it sufficiently plain that it is not by himself but by another that one must be slain who follows in the footsteps of Christ. And so, when one's case has reached the crisis that this condition is placed before him, either that he must act contrary to the divine commandment or quit this life, and that a man is compelled to choose one or other of the two by the persecutor who is threatening him with death, in such circumstances let him prefer dying in the love of God to living under His anger, in such circumstances let him hate his life in this world that he may keep it unto life eternal.

(Tr. li. 10) This may be understood in two ways: 1. If thou lovest it, lose it: if thou wouldest preserve thy life in Christ, fear not death for Christ. 2. Do not love thy life here, lest thou lose it hereafter. The latter seems to be the more evangelical (evangelicus) sense; for it follows, And he that hateth his life in this world, shall keep it unto life eternal.

(Tr. li. 10) But think not for an instant, that by hating thy soul, is meant that thou mayest kill thyself. For wicked and perverse men have sometimes so mistaken it, and have burnt and strangled themselves, thrown themselves from precipices, and in other ways put an end to themselves. This did not Christ teach; nay, when the devil tempted Him to cast Himself down, He said, Get thee hence, Satanb. But when no other choice is given thee; when the persecutor threatens death, and thou must either disobey God's law, or depart out of this life, then hate thy life in this world, that thou mayest keep it unto life eternal.

For what else sounded to you from the lecture hall of Christ, when just a little while ago it was proclaimed: "He who loves his soul shall lose it"? (Jn 12:25.) "He shall lose it," he said, whether by laying it down as a martyr, or by afflicting it as a penitent. Although it is a kind of martyrdom to mortify the deeds of the flesh by the spirit; milder indeed in horror than that in which the limbs are cut by the sword, but more troublesome by reason of its duration. Do you see that by this judgment of my Master the wisdom of the flesh is condemned, through which either one flows away into the excess of pleasure, or even a good state of bodily health is desired beyond what is fitting? Indeed, that true wisdom does not flow out into pleasures, you have heard from the Wise Man, that it is "not even to be found in the land of those who live pleasantly" (Job 28:13). But he who found it says: "Beyond health and all beauty I loved wisdom" (Wis 7:10). If beyond health and beauty, how much more beyond pleasure and baseness?

He who loves his soul. Here the second point is touched upon, namely the exhortation to imitate the Passion: and he exhorts by setting forth the advantage and the example. On account of the advantage and disadvantage he says: He who loves his soul will lose it: and by soul he means the bodily life, just as below in the thirteenth chapter Peter said: "I will lay down my soul for you." And he who hates his soul in this world, that is, by giving it for Christ, keeps it unto eternal life; Matthew 16: "He who would save his soul will lose it, and he who loses it for my sake will find it." Augustine: "If you desire to hold life with Christ, do not fear death for Christ. Happy are those who keep their life by losing it, lest they lose it by loving it."

Question I. But the question is raised concerning what he says: He who loves his soul shall lose it.

But all love their soul, because it is said in Ephesians 5: No one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes it, etc.: therefore much less does one hate one's soul.

It is answered that soul gives us to understand life according to a threefold distinction: and in one way this is called the carnal life, according to what is said, that the natural man does not perceive the things that are of the Spirit of God. And this is not to be loved, because in this way it implies vice: whence Ecclesiasticus 18: If you grant your soul its desires, it will make you a joy to your enemies.

In another way, soul is called the natural life, according to that passage below in chapter 13: I will lay down my life for you.

In the third way, spiritual life, according to that passage of the Psalm: He who loves iniquity hates his own soul.

Now it is said of life insofar as it connotes vice.

But this does not resolve the matter, because the Lord exhorts to death: therefore he wills that a man give himself over to death, and thus hate his natural life. If this is so, those who kill themselves in order to obey Christ would seem to merit reward.

But this is manifestly false, because it is permitted to no one to kill himself, as is proved in the first book of the City of God.

I respond: It must be said that he understands this of the life of nature. But it must be noted that to love and to hate are not to be taken absolutely, but in relation, so that he is said to love his life who loves it more than fulfilling the divine commandment; but to hate it, he who prefers to fulfill the commandment rather than to preserve his life. Hence no one is bound to die or to kill himself, nor ought he to cast himself into death; whence Augustine says: "If a man is compelled to choose one or the other, with a persecutor threatening death, let him rather choose to die for the beloved God than to live having offended him."

Whatever you love is either the same as yourself, below you or above you. If what you love is beneath you, love it to comfort it, care for it and to use it but not to cling to it. For example, you love gold. Do not become attached to the gold, for how much better are you than gold? Gold, indeed, is a shining piece of earth, while you have been made in the image of God in order that you may be illumined by the Lord. Although gold is a creature of God, still God did not make it according to his own image, but you he did. Therefore, he put the gold beneath you. This kind of love should be despised. Those things are to be acquired for their usefulness, but we should not cling to them with the bond of love as if with glue. Do not make for yourself members over which, when they have begun to be cut away, you will grieve and be afflicted. What then? Rise from that love with which you love things that are lower than you, and begin to love your equals, that is, things that are what you are.… The Lord himself has told us in the Gospel and clearly showed us in what order we may have true love and charity. For he spoke in this way, "You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul and with your whole strength. And your neighbor as yourself." Therefore, first love God and then yourself. After these, love your neighbor as yourself.

And, in fine, the Lord's discipline draws the soul away gladly from the body, even if it wrench itself away in its removal. "For he that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life shall find it," if we only join that which is mortal of us with the immortality of God. It is the will of God that we should attain the knowledge of God, which is the communication of immortality.

Nor let any one of you, beloved brethren, be so terrified by the fear of future persecution, or the coming of the threatening Antichrist, as not to be found armed for all things by the evangelical exhortations and precepts, and by the heavenly warnings. Antichrist is coming, but above him comes Christ also. The enemy goeth about and rageth, but immediately the Lord follows to avenge our sufferings and our wounds. The adversary is enraged and threatens, but there is One who can deliver us from his hands. He is to be feared whose anger no one can escape, as He Himself forewarns, and says: "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell." And again: "He that loveth his life, shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world, shall keep it unto life eternal." And in the Apocalypse He instructs and forewarns, saying, "If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand, the same also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, mixed in the cup of His indignation, and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torments shall ascend up for ever and ever; and they shall have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image."

That God is so angry against idolatry, that He has even enjoined those to be slain who persuade others to sacrifice and serve idols. In Deuteronomy: "But if thy brother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or thy wife which is in thy bosom, or thy friend which is the fellow of thine own soul, should ask thee secretly, saying, Let us go anti serve other gods, the gods of the nations, thou shalt not consent unto him, and thou shalt not hearken unto him, neither shall thine eye spare him, neither shalt thou conceal him, declaring thou shalt declare concerning him. Thine hand shall be upon him first of all to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people; and they shall stone him, and he shall die, because he hath sought to turn thee away from the Lord thy God." And again the Lord speaks, and says, that neither must a city be spared, even though the whole city should consent to idolatry: "Or if thou shalt hear in one of the cities which the Lord thy God shall give thee, to dwell there, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, slaying thou shalt kill all who are in the city with the slaughter of the sword, and bum the city with fire, and it shall be without habitation for ever. Moreover, it shall no more be rebuilt, that the Lord may be turned from the indignation of His anger. And He will show thee mercy, and He will pity thee, and will multiply thee, if thou wilt hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt observe His precepts." Remembering which precept and its force, Mattathias slew him who had approached the altar to sacrifice. But if before the coming of Christ these precepts concerning the worship of God and the despising of idols were observed, how much more should they be regarded since Christ's advent; since He, when He came, not only exhorted us with words, but with deeds also, but after all wrongs and contumelies, suffered also, and was crucified, that He might teach us to suffer and to die by His example, that there might be no excuse for a man not to suffer for Him, since He suffered for us; and that since He suffered for the sins of others, much rather ought each to suffer for his own sins. And therefore in the Gospel He threatens, and says: "Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I also 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." The Apostle Paul also says: "For if we die with Him, we shall also live with Him; if we suffer, we shall also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us." John too: "Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father; he that acknowledgeth the Son, hath both the Son and the Father." Whence the Lord exhorts and strengthens us to contempt of death, saying: "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him which is able to kill soul and body in Gehenna." And again: "He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he who hateth his life in this world, shall keep it unto life eternal."

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." Of this same matter, according to Matthew: "Blessed are they which shall suffer persecution for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Also in the same place: "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him which is able to kill the soul and body in Gehenna." Also in the same place: "Whosoever shall confess me before men, him also will I confess before my Father which is in heaven; but he who shall deny me before men, him also will I deny before my Father which is in heaven. And he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved." Of this same thing, according to Luke: "Blessed shall ye be when men shall hate you, and shall separate you (from their company), and shall drive you out, and shall speak evil of your name, as wicked, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice in that day, and exult; for, lo, your reward is great in heaven." Also in the same place: "Verily I say unto you, There is no man that leaveth house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, and does not receive seven times as much in this present time, but in the world to come life everlasting." Of this same thing in the Apocalypse: "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar of God the souls of them that were slain on account of the word of God and His testimony. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And unto every one of them were given white robes; and it was said to them, that they should rest still for a short time, until the number of their fellow-servants, and of their brethren, should be fulfilled, and they who shall afterwards be slain, after their example." Also in the same place: "After these things I saw a great crowd, which no one among them could number, from every nation, and from every tribe, and from every people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb; and they were clothed with white robes, and palms were in their hands. And they said with a loud voice, Salvation to our God, that sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb. And one of the elders answered and said to me, What are these which are clothed with white robes? who are they, and whence have they come? And I said unto him, My lord, thou knowest. And he said unto me, These are they who have come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sitteth upon the throne shall dwell among them. They shall neither hunger nor thirst ever; and neither shall the sun fall upon them, nor shall they suffer any heat: for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall protect them, and shall lead them to the fountains of the waters of life; and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes." Also in the same place: "He who shall overcome I will give him to eat of the tree of life, which as in the paradise of my God." Also in the same place: "Be thou faithful even unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." Also in the same place: "Blessed shall they be who shall watch, and shall keep their garments, lest they walk naked, and they see their shame." Of this same thing, Paul in the second Epistle to Timothy: "I am now offered up, and the time of my assumption is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. There now remains for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me in that day; and not only to me, but to all also who love His appearing." Of this same thing to the Romans: "We are the sons of God: but if sons and heirs of God, we are also joint-heirs with Christ; if we suffer together, that we may also be magnified together." Of this same thing in the cxviiith Psalm: "Blessed are they who are undefiled in the way, and walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who search into His testimonies."

You not only ought not to be offended at the thought of My suffering, or to disbelieve the words I said, but it is even right that you should be prepared in anticipation of it; for he that thinks fit to be careful over his life here, and is not willing to expose it to dangers for My sake, loses it in the time to come. But he who exposes it to dangers in this present world is laying up in store for it great rewards. And he who despises his life in this world shall obtain in the world to come life incorruptible. And the Lord said these words, not as implying that the life [i. e. the soul] can suffer anything here, but meaning by "love of life" the disposition to hold it firmly, as shown by those who do not expose their body to dangers.

One of the thousand objections to the sin of pride lies precisely in this, that self-consciousness of necessity destroys self-revelation. A man who thinks a great deal about himself will try to be many-sided, attempt a theatrical excellence at all points, will try to be an encyclopaedia of culture, and his own real personality will be lost in that false universalism. Thinking about himself will lead to trying to be the universe; trying to be the universe will lead to ceasing to be anything. If, on the other hand, a man is sensible enough to think only about the universe; he will think about it in his own individual way. He will keep virgin the secret of God; he will see the grass as no other man can see it, and look at a sun that no man has ever known.

The weakness of this worship of mere natural life (which is a common enough creed to-day) is that it ignores the paradox of courage and fails in its own aim. As a matter of fact, no men would be killed quicker than the Methuselahites. The paradox of courage is that a man must be a little careless of his life even in order to keep it. And in the very case I have quoted we may see an example of how little the theory of Methuselahism really inspires our best life. For there is one riddle in that case which cannot easily be cleared up. If it was the man's religion to live as long as he could, why on earth was he enlisting as a soldier?

All pessimism has a secret optimism for its object. All surrender of life, all denial of pleasure, all darkness, all austerity, all desolation has for its real aim this separation of something so that it may be poignantly and perfectly enjoyed. I feel grateful for the slight sprain which has introduced this mysterious and fascinating division between one of my feet and the other. The way to love anything is to realise that it might be lost.

Let us follow for a moment the clue of the martyr and the suicide; and take the case of courage. No quality has ever so much addled the brains and tangled the definitions of merely rational sages. Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die. "He that will lose his life, the same shall save it," is not a piece of mysticism for saints and heroes. It is a piece of everyday advice for sailors or mountaineers. It might be printed in an Alpine guide or a drill book. This paradox is the whole principle of courage; even of quite earthly or quite brutal courage. A man cut off by the sea may save his life if he will risk it on the precipice. He can only get away from death by continually stepping within an inch of it. A soldier surrounded by enemies, if he is to cut his way out, needs to combine a strong desire for living with a strange carelessness about dying. He must not merely cling to life, for then he will be a coward, and will not escape. He must not merely wait for death, for then he will be a suicide, and will not escape. He must seek his life in a spirit of furious indifference to it; he must desire life like water and yet drink death like wine. No philosopher, I fancy, has ever expressed this romantic riddle with adequate lucidity, and I certainly have not done so. But Christianity has done more: it has marked the limits of it in the awful graves of the suicide and the hero, showing the distance between him who dies for the sake of living and him who dies for the sake of dying. And it has held up ever since above the European lances the banner of the mystery of chivalry: the Christian courage, which is a disdain of death; not the Chinese courage, which is a disdain of life.

Sweet is the present life, and full of much pleasure, yet not to all, but to those who are riveted to it. Since, if any one look to heaven and see the beauteous things there, he will soon despise this life, and make no account of it. Just as the beauty of an object is admired while none more beautiful is seen, but when a better appears, the former is despised. If then we would choose to look to that beauty, and observe the splendor of the kingdom there, we should soon free ourselves from our present chains; for a kind of chain it is, this sympathy with present things. And hear what Christ saith to bring us in to this, "He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal; if any man serve Me let him follow Me"; and, "Where I am, there is My servant also." The words seem like a riddle, yet they are not so, but are full of much wisdom.

How shall "he that loveth his life, lose it"? When he doeth its unseemly desires, when he gratifies it where he ought not. Wherefore one exhorteth us, saying, "Walk not in the desires of thy soul" (Ecclus. xviii. 30); for so wilt thou destroy it since it leadeth away from the path leading to virtue; just as, on the contrary, "he that hateth it in this world, shall save it." But what meaneth, "He that hateth it"? He who yields not to it when it commands what is pernicious. And He said not, "he that yieldeth not to it," but, "He that hateth it"; for as we cannot endure even to hear the voice of those we hate, nor to look upon them with pleasure, so from the soul also we must turn away with vehemence, when it commands things contrary to what is pleasing to God.

For since He was now about to say much to them concerning death, His own death, and saw that they were dejected and desponding, He spake very strongly, saying, "What say I? If ye bear not valiantly My death? Nay, if ye die not yourselves, ye will gain nothing."

But he who prefers to live well for eternity, will live badly for a time, and will be subjected to all troubles and labours as long as he shall be on earth, that he may have divine and heavenly consolation. And he who shall prefer to live well for a time, will live ill to eternity; for he will be condemned by the sentence of God to eternal punishment, because he has preferred earthly to heavenly goods. On this account, therefore, God seeks to be worshipped, and to be honoured by man as a Father, that he may have virtue and wisdom, which alone produce immortality. For because no other but Himself is able to confer that immortality, since He alone possesses it, He will grant to the piety of the man, with which he has honoured God, this reward, to be blessed to all eternity, and to be for ever in the presence of God and in the society of God.

And again He saith, "Whosoever destroyeth his soul shall preserve it unto everlasting life; and whosoever ministereth unto Me the Father shall honour." And again He said unto His disciples, "Arise, let us go hence," and by this speech He shewed that this world was not the country either of Himself or of His disciples. Whither shall we go, O Lord? "Where I am there also shall My servant be."

Therefore, he says, not only must you not be upset by my suffering or have doubts about my words that will be confirmed by the facts later on, but you must also be drawn to that suffering so that you might enjoy the same things I do by suffering the same things I do. The one who appears to be so concerned with his life here that he does not want to submit it to testing will lose it in the future world. The one who hates his life, and in this world exposes it to afflictions, gathers much more fruit for himself. Jesus does not express this idea as if he wants to reveal here something about life. Rather, he simply identifies love for life as something that is prevalent among us as we seek to defend, preserve and protect our body and life from any possible danger.

Since the Lord was near to His sufferings and knew that the disciples would be filled with sorrow, He therefore says: "You ought not to grieve at all over My death. For if you yourselves do not die, there will be no benefit for you." And indeed every person in general who loves the present life and loves his soul, that is, fulfills its improper desires, when he indulges it more than he ought and does not despise death, will lose it. But whoever hates it, that is, does not serve it and does not bow down before it, will preserve it unto eternal life. Wishing to show how strict an aversion one must have toward the lusts of the soul, he said "whoever hates." We can neither see the face nor hear the voice of those we hate; in the same way we must relate to the irrational desires of the soul, that is, hate them with a perfect hatred. By the words "he who hates his life in this world" He shows the temporariness of the matter. This commandment seemed murderous and incompatible with the love of life. He softened it by adding "in this world." "I," He says, "do not always command you to hate your life, but 'in this world' of unfaith, turn away from it when it prescribes you 'to do those things which are not fitting'" (Rom. 1:28). He adds the benefit as well: "He shall keep it unto life eternal"; you will hate it for a time, but will preserve it alive forever for the divine life.

It were harsh to say that a man should hate his soul; so He adds, in this world: i. e. for a particular time, not for ever. And we shall gain in the end by so doing: shall keep it unto life eternal.

Then he mentions the necessity for others to die, those who expose themselves to suffering for the love of Christ. First, he states the necessity for their death; secondly, he encourages us to do this (v 26). Concerning the first he does two things: first, he states the necessity of dying for the sake of Christ; secondly, he mentions the benefit this death brings (v 25).

Now every one, as a matter of fact, loves his own life, but some love it absolutely, without qualification, and others love it partially, in a qualified way. To love someone is to will good to that person; so, to love one's own life is to will good to it. Therefore, one who wills what is good without qualification to his own life, loves it unqualifiedly; while one who wills his life some partial good loves it in a qualified way. Now the unqualified goods of life are those which make a life good, namely, the highest good, which is God. Thus, one who wills the divine and spiritual good to his life, loves it unqualifiedly; while one who wills it earthly goods, such as riches, honors and pleasures, and things of that sort, loves it in a qualified way. "He who loves sin hates his own life" (Ps 10:5); "If you allow your soul to take pleasure in base desire, it will make you the laughingstock of your enemies" (Sir 18:31).

This passage, therefore, can be understood in two ways. In one way, as saying, he who loves his life, unqualifiedly, that is, in regard to eternal goods, loses it, that is, exposes it to death for Christ. But this is not the true sense. Accordingly it means, he who loves his life, in a qualified way, that is, in regard to temporal goods, loses it, unqualifiedly: "For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life?" (Mt 16:26). That this is the true meaning is shown from the statement which follows: he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Therefore, he who loves his life, in this world, that is, as to worldly goods, loses it as to eternal goods: "Woe to you that laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep," as we read in Luke (6:25); "Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish" (Lk 16:25).

The benefit produced by this death is asserted when he says, and he who hates his life in this world, that is, he who denies his own life's present goods, and endures, for God, things that seem evil in this world, will keep it for eternal life: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 5:10); "If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple," as we read in Luke (14:26).

Note that what was said above about the grain of wheat is in keeping with this teaching. For just as Christ was sent into the world as a seed that was to bear fruit, so whatever temporal goods are given to us in this life by God are not given to us as fruit, but rather that by their means we may obtain the fruit of an eternal reward. Indeed, our very life is a temporal gift from God to us. Therefore, anyone who exposes it for Christ bears much fruit. Such a one, therefore, hates his own life, that is, he exposes his own life, and sows, for the sake of Christ, to gain life everlasting: "He that goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him" (Ps 126:6). And the same is true of those who risk their wealth and other goods for the sake of Christ, and share them with others, to obtain life everlasting: "He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully" (2 Cor 9:6).

"If any man serve me, let him follow me." What is that, "let him follow me," but just, let him imitate me? "Because Christ suffered for us," says the Apostle Peter, "leaving us an example that we should follow His steps." Here you have the meaning of the words, "If any man serve me, let him follow me." But with what result? what wages? what reward? "And where I am," He says, "there shall also my servant be." Let Him be freely loved, that so the reward of the service done Him may be to be with Him. For where will one be well apart from Him, or when will one come to feel himself in an evil case in company with Him? Hear it still more plainly: "If any man serve me, him will my Father honor." And what will be the honor but to be with His Son? For of what He said before, "Where I am, there shall also my servant be," we may understand Him as giving the explanation, when He says here, "him will my Father honor." For what greater honor can await an adopted son than to be with the Only-begotten; not, indeed, as raised to the level of His Godhead, but made a partaker of His eternity?

But it becomes us rather to inquire what is to be understood by this serving of Christ to which there is attached so great a reward. For if we have taken up the idea that the serving of Christ is the preparation of what is needful for the body, or the cooking and serving up of food, or the mixing of drink and handing the cup to one at the supper table; this, indeed, was done to Him by those who had the privilege of His bodily presence, as in the case of Martha and Mary, when Lazarus also was one of those who sat at the table. But in that sort of way Christ was served also by the reprobate Judas. Why, then, go elsewhere to find out what this serving of Christ implies, and not rather see its disclosure in the words themselves? for when He said, "If any man serve me, let him follow me," He wished it to be understood just as if He had said, If any man doth not follow me, he serveth me not. And those, therefore, are the servants of Jesus Christ, who seek not their own things, but the things that are Jesus Christ's. For "let him follow me" is just this: Let him walk in my ways, and not in his own; as it is written elsewhere, "He that saith he abideth in Christ, ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked." For he ought, if supplying food to the hungry, to do it in the way of mercy and not of boasting, seeking therein nothing else but the doing of good, and not letting his left hand know what his right hand doeth; in other words, that all thought of self-seeking should be utterly estranged from a work of charity.

Accordingly, brethren, when you hear the Lord saying, "Where I am, there shall also my servant be," do not think merely of good bishops and clergymen. But be yourselves also in your own way serving Christ, by good lives, by giving alms, by preaching His name and doctrine as you can; and every father of a family also, be acknowledging in this name the affection he owes as a parent to his family. For Christ's sake, and for the sake of life eternal, let him be warning, and teaching, and exhorting, and correcting all his household; let him show kindliness, and exercise discipline; and so in his own house he will be filling an ecclesiastical and kind of episcopal office, and serving Christ, that he may be with Him for ever.

(Tr. li) But what is it to serve Christ? The very words explain. They serve Christ who seek not their own things, but the things of Jesus Christ, i. e. who follow Him, walk in His, not their own, ways, do all good works for Christ's sake, not only works of mercy to men's bodies, but all others, till at length they fulfil that great work of love, and lay down their lives for the brethren. But what fruit, what reward? you ask. The next words tell you: And where I am, there shall also My servant be. Love Him for His own sake, and think it a rich reward for thy service, to be with Him.

If anyone serves me, let him follow me, as a servant follows his Lord, otherwise he is not a true servant: let him follow, namely through the footsteps of the Passion; 1 Peter 2: "Christ suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow his footsteps"; so that, just as one imitates in suffering, so also in glory. On account of which he adds: That where I am, there also my servant may be; 2 Timothy 2: "It is a faithful saying: If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him"; therefore faithful, because promised by the Lord: Revelation 3: "He who overcomes, I will give him to sit with me on my throne." Lest anyone disdain to serve him, he adds the summit of honor: If anyone serves me, my Father will honor him: because he himself honored me: 1 Kings 2: "He who honors me, I will honor; but those who despise me shall be ignoble." He will honor, I say, because he will make a son out of a servant: Romans 8: "The Spirit himself gives testimony to our spirit that we are sons of God; and if sons, also heirs: heirs indeed of God, and co-heirs with Christ."

And where I am, there shall also My servant be.

And since the Author of our salvation travelled not by the path of glory and luxury, but by that of dishonour and hardships; so also we must do and not complain, in order to reach the same place and share the Divine glory. And of what honour shall we be worthy, if we refuse to endure sufferings like those of our Master? But perhaps in saying: where I am, there shall also My servant be, He speaks not of place, but of progress in virtue. For by the same qualities in which Christ appeared conspicuous, those who follow Him must also be characterised. This does not refer to the God-befitting and superhuman prerogatives, for it is impossible for a man to imitate Him Who is the True God and in His Nature God; but to all such qualities as the nature of man is capable of displaying: not the bridling of the sea and deeds of similar character, but the being humble and meek and tolerant of insults.

If any man serve Me, him will the Father honour.

Herein, He says, certainly consists their recompense, in being honoured by the Father: for the disciples of Christ are sharers of the kingdom and glory of Christ, according to the measure fitting for men. And He says that the honours are given from the Father, although Himself is the Giver of blessings; ascribing to the Divine Nature the act of giving to every man according to his work, and showing us that the Father wills that we should obey the commands of the Son, because the Son does not legislate in opposition to the Father.

We must note therefore that he that does things pleasing to God serves Christ, but he that follows his own wishes, is a follower rather of himself and not of God...

If any man serve Me, let him follow Me.

What He says is something of this kind: If I, He says, for the sake of benefitting you am exposing Myself to death, is it not indeed cowardly on your part to shrink from despising your transient life for the sake of enjoying your private advantages, and from obtaining life imperishable by means of the death of the body? For they seem to be hating their own life, with regard to the endurance of suffering, who expose it to death, and keep it for everlasting blessings. And they also who live in asceticism hate their own lives, not being subdued by the pleasures of the love of the flesh. What therefore Christ did, in suffering for the sake of all men, He did that it might be an example of manly courage; teaching those who are desirous of the hoped-for blessings to be eager in the practice of this virtue. For it is needful, He says, for those who wish to follow Me, to display manly courage and endurance like Mine: for so only will they receive the crown of victory.

And since the Author of our salvation travelled not by the path of glory and luxury, but by that of dishonour and hardships; so also we must do and not complain, in order to reach the same place and share the Divine glory. And of what honour shall we be worthy, if we refuse to endure sufferings like those of our Master?... We must note therefore that he that does things pleasing to God serves Christ, but he that follows his own wishes, is a follower rather of himself and not of God...

Let us follow in our works the Jesus whom we perceive in our mind. Let us observe where he walks, and by imitating hold to his footsteps. For he follows Jesus who imitates him. For this reason he says: "Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead." Again he admonishes on this point, saying: "If anyone serves me, let him follow me." Let us therefore consider where he walks, that we may deserve to follow. Behold, though he is Lord and Creator of the angels, about to take up our nature which he created, he came into the womb of the Virgin. Yet he did not wish to be born in this world through the wealthy; he chose poor parents. Hence even a lamb to be offered for him was lacking; his mother found young doves and a pair of turtledoves for the sacrifice. He did not wish to prosper in the world; he endured reproaches and mockeries; he bore spitting, scourging, blows, a crown of thorns, and the cross; and because we fell from inner joy through delight in bodily things, he showed with what bitterness one returns there.

Everyone who lives in this body knows that he must be committed to that special task or ministry to which he has given himself in this life as a participant and a laborer, and he ought not to doubt that in that everlasting age he will also be the partner of him whose servant and companion he now wishes to be, according to what the Lord says, "If anyone serves me, let him follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be." For just as the kingdom of the devil is gained by deceiving people with vices, so the kingdom of God is possessed in purity of heart and spiritual knowledge by practicing the virtues. And where the kingdom of God is, there without a doubt is eternal life, and where the kingdom of the devil is, there—it is not to be doubted—are death and hell. Whoever is there cannot praise the Lord.

"If any man serve Me, let him follow Me." Speaking of death, and requiring the following which is by works. For certainly he that serveth must follow him who is served. And observe at what time He said these things to them; not when they were persecuted, but when they were confident; when they thought they were in safety on account of the honor and attention of the many, when they might rouse themselves and hear, "Let him take up his cross, and follow Me" (Matt. xvi. 24); that is, "Be ever prepared against dangers, against death, against your departure hence." Then after He had spoken what was hard to bear, He putteth also the prize. And of what kind was this? The following Him, and being where He is; showing that Resurrection shall succeed death.

"Where I am, there is My servant also." But where is Christ? In heaven. Let us therefore even before the Resurrection remove thither in soul and mind.

"If any man serve Me, the Father shall love him." Why said He not, "I"? Because they did not as yet hold a right opinion concerning Him, but held a higher opinion of the Father. For how could they imagine anything great concerning Him, who did not even know that He was to rise again? Wherefore He said to the sons of Zebedee, "It is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared by my Father" (Mark x. 40), yet He it is that judgeth. But in this passage He also establisheth His genuine sonship. For as the servants of His own Son, so will the Father receive them.

And again He said unto His disciples, "Arise, let us go hence," and by this speech He shewed that this world was not the country either of Himself or of His disciples. Whither shall we go, O Lord? "Where I am there also shall My servant be." If Jesus crieth unto us, "Arise, let us go hence," what fool would be persuaded to dwell with corpses in the graves, or to become a sojourner with the dead?

Wishing to further convince them to despise the present life and to encourage them against death, He says: "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me," that is, let him be ready for death just as I am. For He speaks here of following Him in actual deed. Then He offers consolation as well: "Where I am, there My servant will be also." Where then is Christ? In the heavens. For the heavenly and the earthly are opposed to one another. Whoever loves being on earth will not be in heaven, but whoever shuns earthly things and this world will be on high and in the heavens. He did not say "I will honor him," but — "the Father." By this He shows His kinship with Him. For the true Father will honor him as a servant of His true Son. By this He also shows that He is not an opponent of God. For God and the Father would not honor a servant who opposes Him. So let us not place love for our soul in preserving it from dangers for the sake of truth and in not wishing to endure evil for the sake of good; but, if we are servants of Christ, let us give it over to dangers for the sake of truth, and without doubt we shall be in the same state in which Christ now is — I do not say in divine dignity, for He is God by Nature, but in that with which human nature can be adorned; for He is God by Nature, while we are gods by adoption and by grace.

Now because it seems difficult for one to hate his own life, our Lord encourages us to do this, saying, If any one serves me, he must follow me. First, his encouragement is given; secondly, the reason for this encouragement.

In regard to the first he does three things. First, he describes his faithful; secondly, he urges them to imitate him; thirdly, he indicates the reward of those who imitate him.

Observe, in regard to the first, the dignity of Christ's faithful, for they are the ministers or servants of Christ: "Are they ministers of Christ? So am I" (2 Cor 11:23). Thus, those serve Christ who seek the things of Christ; but those who seek their own advantage are not servants of Christ, but servants of themselves: "They all seek after their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ" (Phil 2:21). Priests are servants inasmuch as they administer the sacraments to the faithful: "This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God" (1 Cor 4:1). Again, every one of the faithful who keeps the commandments of Christ is his servant: "Let us act in all circumstances as God's ministers" (2 Cor 6:4).

In regard to the second, observe the glory and grandeur of the faithful of Christ, for he says, he must follow me. This is like saying: We follow our masters, whom we serve. Therefore, If anyone serves me, he must follow me, so that just as I undergo death so that I might bear much fruit, so also my servant. Now to follow Christ is a great glory: "It is a great glory to follow the Lord" (Sir 23:38); "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" (10:27).

In regard to the third, note the beatitude of the faithful, for where I am, not only in the place, but also as regards the sharing of glory, there shall my servant be also: "Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together" (Mt 24:28); "He who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne" (Rev 3:21).

The reason for this encouragement is given when he says, if any one serves me, the Father will honor him, for the Father honors anyone who serves Christ. Now above we have read: "that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father" (5:23). Thus, it is the same to honor the Son and to honor the Father. But the Father says, "Those who honor me, I will honor" (1 Sam 2:31). Thus, the Father of Jesus will honor one who ministers to Jesus, not seeking his own, but the things of Jesus Christ. Jesus did not say, "I will honor him," but the Father will honor him, because these people did not think at this time that he was equal to the Father.

Or, it might be said that Jesus said this to show how intimately his servants are related to him, inasmuch as they will be honored by the same one who honors the Son. For the honor the Son has by his nature, they will have by grace. So Augustine says: "An adopted son can receive no greater honor than to be where the only Son is." "For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren" (Rom 8:29).

"Now is my soul troubled." Whence, Lord, was Thy soul troubled? He had, indeed, said a little before, "He that hateth his life [soul] in this world shall keep it unto life eternal." Dost thou then love thy life in this world, and is thy soul troubled as the hour approacheth when thou shalt leave this world? Who would dare affirm this of the soul [life] of the Lord? We rather it was whom He transferred unto Himself; He took us into His own person as our Head, and assumed the feelings of His members; and so it was not by any others He was troubled, but, as was said of Him when He raised Lazarus, "He was troubled in Himself." For it behoved the one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, just as He has lifted us up to the heights of heaven, to descend with us also into the lowest depths of suffering.

I hear Him saying a little before, "The hour cometh that the Son of man should be glorified: if a corn of wheat die, it bringeth forth much fruit." I hear this also, "He that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal." And now, again, it is my Lord Himself, who by such words has suddenly transported me from the weakness that was mine to the strength that was His, that I hear saying, "Now is my soul troubled." What does it mean? How biddest Thou my soul follow Thee if I behold Thine own troubled? How shall I endure what is felt to be heavy by strength so great? What is the kind of foundation I can seek if the Rock is giving way? But me-thinks I hear in my own thoughts the Lord giving me an answer, saying, Thou shall follow me the better, because it is to aid thy power of endurance that I thus interpose. Thou hast heard, as addressed to thyself, the voice of my fortitude hear in me the voice of thy infirmity: I supply strength for thy running, and I check not thy hastening, but I transfer to myself thy causes for trembling, and I pave the way for thy marching along. O Lord our Mediator, God above us, man for us, I own Thy mercy For because Thou, who art so great, art troubled through the good will of Thy love, Thou preservest, by the richness of Thy comfort, the many in Thy body who are troubled by the continual experience of their own weakness, from perishing utterly in their despair.

In a word, let the man who would follow learn the road by which he must travel. Perhaps an hour of terrible trial has come, and the choice is set before thee either to do iniquity or endure suffering; the weak soul is troubled, on whose behalf the invincible soul [of Jesus] was voluntarily troubled; set then the will of God before thine own. For notice what is immediately subjoined by thy Creator and thy Master, by Him who made thee, and became Himself for thy teaching that which He made; for He who made man was made man, but He remained still the unchangeable God, and transplanted manhood into a better condition. Listen, then, to what He adds to the words, "Now is my soul troubled." "And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name." He has taught thee here what to think of, what to say, on whom to call, in whom to hope, and whose will, as sure and divine, to prefer to thine own, which is human and weak.

And when He here said, "Now is my soul troubled;" and also when He says, "My soul is sorrowful, even unto death;" and "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me;" He assumed the infirmity of man, to teach him, when thereby saddened and troubled, to say what follows: "Nevertheless, Father, not as I will, but as Thou wilt." For thus it is that man is turned from the human to the divine, when the will of God is preferred to his own. But to what do the words "Glorify Thy name" refer, but to His own passion and resurrection? For what else can it mean, but that the Father should thus glorify the Son, who in like manner glorifieth His own name in the similar sufferings of His servants?

(Tr. lii. 2) I hear Him say, He that hateth his life in this world, shall keep it unto life eternal; and I am ravished, I despise the world; the whole of this life, however long, is but a vapour in My sight; all temporal things are vile, in comparison with eternal. And again I hear Him say, Now is My soul troubled. Thou biddest my soul follow Thee; but I see Thy soul troubled. What foundation shall I seek, if the Rock gives way? Lord, I acknowledge Thy mercy. Thou of Thy love wast of Thine own will troubled, to console those who are troubled through the infirmity of nature; that the members of Thy body perish not in despair. The Head took upon Himself the affections of His members. He was not troubled by any thing, but, as was said above, He troubled Himself. (c. 11:33)

(Tr. lii) Lastly, let the man who would follow Him, hear at what hour he should follow. A fearful hour has perhaps come: a choice is offered, either to do wrong, or suffer: the weak soul is troubled. Hear our Lord. What shall I say?

(Tr. lii. 3) He teaches thee Whom thou shouldest call on, whose will prefer to thine own. Let Him not seem to fall from His greatness, because He wishes thee to rise from thy meanness. He took upon Him man's infirmity, that He might teach the afflicted to say, Not what I will, but what Thou wilt. Wherefore He adds, But for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name: i. e. in My passion and resurrection.

i. e. What but something to confirm My followers? Father, save Me from this hour.

Now my soul is troubled, etc. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the entreaty for those who are to be called: and since the Lord was placed between two things, because the flesh shrank from death, it was necessary for him to pray on its behalf; but because he had come for the sake of our salvation, he prefers the prayer for our conversion to the prayer for his own deliverance, for which he prays first; whence he says: Now my soul is troubled, namely by the fear of death: Matthew 26: "He began to be troubled and sorrowful." And what shall I say? As if to say: shall I ask on its behalf, that I might escape death? I shall ask indeed, in order to show my weakness: on account of which he says: Father, save me from this hour, namely of the passion; Matthew 26: "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me." But he did not ask this in order to be heard; on account of which he adds: But for this reason I have come to this hour, namely that I might die, and therefore concerning this I do not wish to be heard.

Question II. Likewise, there is a question about this, that he asks to be saved from the hour of death.

1. He himself knew that God did not will to hear him: therefore he was asking indiscriminately.

2. Likewise, he asked this and was not heard: therefore it is established that he was not heard in all things. To the contrary, above in chapter eleven: I knew that you always hear me.

3. If you say that this petition was of sensuality: against this: Sensuality does not turn itself toward God the Father: therefore if it was a petition, it was of reason.

I respond: It must be said that in Christ there was a twofold will, namely of reason and of sensuality. The will of reason is always conformed to God in its object of willing, and therefore is always heard; but the will of sensuality disagrees with the will of God in its object of willing, though not in its mode of willing; and therefore the will of sensuality in Christ did not always attain what it willed, because nothing came to pass except what God willed. Therefore this petition did not proceed from the will of reason, but of sensuality; and therefore it was not heard.

1. To the objection, then: why did he ask? It must be said that just as the Lord commands some things not for the sake of fulfilling them, but for instructing us, so he asked something not for the sake of obtaining it, but for instructing us. And he instructed us in this petition that it is permitted for us to will something proper to ourselves by the will of sensuality; and again, that it must be subordinated to the divine will; and again, that we ought not to despair if we dread death.

3. To the objection that reason made the petition: it must be said that that speech was formed according to the command of reason, and reason put forward the petition. And just as an advocate sometimes does not ask on his own behalf, nor because he himself wills it, but on behalf of another and because another wills it, so also reason was asking on behalf of sensuality, nor did it will this; rather, it willed to die for our salvation.

Now, He says, is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save one from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. See I pray you in these words again how the human nature was easily affected by trouble and easily brought over to fear, whereas on the other hand the Divine and ineffable Power is in all respects inflexible and dauntless and intent on the courage which alone is befitting to It. For the mention of death which had been introduced into the discourse begins to alarm Jesus, but the Power of the Godhead straightway subdues the suffering thus excited and in a moment transforms into incomparable boldness that which had been conquered by fear. For we may suppose that even in the Saviour Jesus Christ Himself the human feelings were aroused by two qualities necessarily present in Him. For it must certainly have been under the influence of these that He shewed Himself a Man born of woman, not in deceptive appearance or mere fancy, but rather by nature and in truth, possessing every human quality, sin only excepted. And fear and alarm, although they are affections natural to us, have escaped being ranked among sins. And yet besides this, profitably were the human feelings troubled in Christ: not that the emotions should prevail and go forward, as in us; but that, having begun, they might be cut short by the power of the Word, nature in Christ first being transelemented into some better and Diviner condition. For in this way and no other was it that the process of the healing passed over even unto us. For in Christ as the firstfruits the nature of man was restored to newness of life, and in Him we have also gained things above our nature. For on this account He is also named in the Divine Scriptures a second Adam. And in the same manner that as Man He felt hunger and weariness, so also He feels the mental trouble that is caused by suffering, as a human characteristic. Yet He is not agitated like we are, but only just so far as to have undergone the sensation of the experience; then again immediately He returns to the courage befitting to Himself. From these things it is evident that He indeed had a rational soul. For as the circumstance of feeling hunger or indeed of experiencing any other such thing is a suffering which is peculiarly that of the flesh, so also the being agitated by the thought of terrible things must be a suffering of the rational soul, by which alone in truth a thought can enter into us through the processes of the mind. For Christ, not having yet been on the Cross actually, suffers the trouble by anticipation, evidently beholding beforehand that which was to happen, and being led by reasoning to the thought of the future events. For the suffering of dread is a feeling that we cannot ascribe to the impassible Grodhead, nor yet to the Flesh; for it is an affection of the cogitations of the soul, and not of the flesh. And although an irrational animal is troubled and agitated, inasmuch as it possesses a soul, yet it does not come to feel dread by a process of thought, nor by a logical anticipation of coming suffering, but whenever it happens to find itself actually involved in any evil plight, then it painfully experiences the sensation of the danger which is present. Here, on the other hand, the Lord is troubled, not by what He sees, but by what He anticipates in thought. Further it is noteworthy that Christ did not say "My flesh is troubled," but "My soul;" thereby dispelling the suggestion of the heretics. And although thou mayest say that in the ancient Scripture God said to the Jews: Your fasts and holiday-keeping and festivals My soul hateth, and other expressions of a similar kind; we shall maintain that He has made use of our habits of speech, especially by reason of His helpful condescension towards us; just as also by a forced use of language He attributes to His Incorporeal Nature a Face and Eyes and other bodily organs. But after the Incarnation, if we were to explain such expressions in the same way, it would follow that He was a mere image or phantom or shadow and not truly a Man, according to the teaching of the ungodly Manes. Therefore the Word of God made one with Himself human nature in its entirety, that so He might save the entire man. For that which has not been taken into His Nature, has not been saved.

Nevertheless, after speaking of being troubled, He does not relapse into silence, but transforms the suffering which had affected Him into dauntless courage, almost going so far as to say: "Death is in itself nothing; but on this account I permitted My Flesh to feel dread, that I might infuse it with a new element of courage. I came to restore life to those who are on earth, wherefore also I am prepared for My Passion."

Moreover, just as death was brought to naught in no other way than by the Death of the Saviour, so also with regard to each of the sufferings of the flesh: for unless He had felt dread, human nature could not have become free from dread; unless He had experienced grief, there could never have been any deliverance from grief; unless He had been troubled and alarmed, no escape from these feelings could have been found. And with regard to every one of the affections to which human nature is liable, thou wilt find exactly the corresponding thing in Christ. The affections of His Flesh were aroused, not that they might have the upper hand as they do indeed in us, but in order that when aroused they might be thoroughly subdued by the power of the Word dwelling in the flesh, the nature of man thus undergoing a change for the better.

Then, also, they say that the passions which she endured were indicated by the Lord upon the cross. Thus, when He said, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" He simply showed that Sophia was deserted by the light, and was restrained by Horos from making any advance forward. Her anguish, again, was indicated when He said, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death;" her fear by the words, "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me;" and her perplexity, too, when He said, "And what I shall say, I know not."

"Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour." "But surely this is not the expression of one urging them to go even to death." Nay, it is that of one greatly so urging them. For lest they should say, that "He being exempt from mortal pains easily philosophizes on death, and exhorts us being himself in no danger," He showeth, that although feeling its agony, on account of its profitableness He declineth it not. But these things belong to the Dispensation, not the Godhead. Wherefore He saith, "Now is My soul troubled"; since if this be not the case, What connection hath that which was spoken, and His saying, "Father, save Me from this hour"? And so troubled, that He even sought deliverance from death, if at least it were possible to escape. These were the infirmities of His human nature.

"For for this cause came I unto this hour." As though He had said, "Though we be confounded, though we be troubled, let us not fly from death, since even now I though troubled do not speak of flying; for it behooveth to bear what is coming on. I say not, Deliver Me from this hour," but what? "Father, glorify Thy Name." "Although My trouble urges Me to say this, yet I say the opposite, 'Glorify Thy Name,' that is, Lead Me henceforth to the Cross"; which greatly shows His humanity, and a nature unwilling to die, but clinging to the present life, proving that He was not exempt from human feelings.

For as it is no blame to be hungry, or to sleep, so neither is it to desire the present life; and Christ indeed had a body pure from sin, yet not free from natural wants, for then it would not have been a body. By these words also He taught something else. Of what kind is that? That if ever we be in agony and dread, we even then start not back from that which is set before us; and by saying, "Glorify Thy Name" He showeth that He dieth for the truth calling the action, "glory to God." And this fell out after the Crucifixion. The world was about to be converted, to acknowledge the Name of God, and to serve Him, not the Name of the Father only, but also that of the Son; yet still as to this He is silent.

"There came therefore a Voice from Heaven, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." When had He "glorified it"? By what had been done before; and "I will glorify it again" after the Cross.

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.

What is it that He says? He seems to contradict Himself. Above He seemed to be preparing others for death and persuading them to hate their soul, but now He Himself, in the proximity of death, is troubled. This is fitting not for one who exhorts toward death, but for one who turns away from it. But if you consider carefully, you will find that His very disturbance is an exhortation to the contempt of death. Lest anyone should presume to say that it is easy for Him to philosophize about death and persuade others to endure afflictions when He Himself is beyond human sufferings and beyond danger, He shows that He Himself also experienced what is proper to human beings and partook of our nature, though without sin. Therefore, although He as a Man, by nature loving life, does not desire death and is troubled, nevertheless He does not refuse it, inasmuch as it is necessary for the salvation of the world. "For this reason," He says, "I have come to this hour, to accept death for all." By this He clearly teaches us that we too, even though we may be troubled, even though we may grieve, should nevertheless not flee from death for the sake of truth. "I too," He says, "am troubled, for I am truly a man and I allow Human nature to manifest what is proper to it; nevertheless, I do not say to the Father that He should deliver Me from this hour." But what do I say?

Above, we saw the glory shown to Christ by various types of people; here the Evangelist considers the glory shown to Christ by God. First, he mentions that Christ asked for glory; secondly, the promise of glory is made. Concerning the first he does two things. First, the interior state of Christ is given; secondly, he mentions the request made by Christ.

Note, in regard to the first, that it seems incongruous for Christ to be saying, Now is my soul troubled, for he had urged his faithful to hate their own lives in this world; but with his own death near at hand, we hear the Lord himself saying, Now is my soul troubled. This leads Augustine to say: "O Lord, You command my soul to follow. But I see your own soul troubled. What support shall I seek, if the rock crumbles?" Thus we must first examine this troubled state of Christ, and secondly, why he willed to undergo it.

As to the first, we should note that, properly speaking, a thing is said to be troubled when it is greatly agitated. Hence when the sea is very agitated it is said to be troubled. And so whenever a thing oversteps the bounds of its repose and tranquility, it is said to be troubled. Now in the human soul there is a sentient area and a rational area. The sensitive area of the soul is troubled when it becomes strongly affected by certain movements. For example, when it is contracted by fear, raised up by hope, dilated by joy, or otherwise affected by one or other of the emotions. Sometimes this perturbation remains within the bounds of reason, and sometimes it exceeds the bounds of reason, namely, when the reason itself is troubled. And although this latter condition quite often occurs in us, it is not found in Christ, since he is the Wisdom of the Father. Indeed, it is not found in any wise person; thus the Stoic tenet that one who is wise is not troubled, that is, in his reason.

Accordingly, the meaning of Now is my soul troubled, is this: My soul is affected by the emotions of fear and sadness in its sentient part; but these emotions do not trouble my reason, and it does not abandon its own order. "He began to be greatly distressed and troubled" (Mk 14:33).

Such emotions, however, exist in us otherwise than in Christ. In us, they arise from necessity, insofar as we are moved and affected from without, as it were. But in Christ, they are not from necessity, but from the command of reason, since there was never any emotion in him except that which he himself aroused. For in Christ the lower powers were subject to his reason so perfectly that they could not act or undergo anything except what reason appointed for them. Thus as was said above (11:33): "he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled himself"; "You have moved the earth," that is, human nature, "and troubled it" (Ps 59:4). And so the soul of Christ was troubled in such a way that its perturbation was not opposed to reason, but according to the order of reason.

In regard to the second point, note that Christ willed to be troubled for two reasons. First, to show us a doctrine of the faith, that is, the truth of his human nature. Accordingly, as his passion was drawing near, he did everything in a human way. Secondly, he wanted to be an example for us. For if he had remained unmoved and had felt no emotions in his soul, he would not have been a satisfactory example of how we should face death. And so he willed to be troubled in order that when we are troubled at the prospect of death, we will not refuse to endure it, we will not run away: "For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning" (Heb 4:15).

The relationship of this with what came before is clear. He encouraged his disciples to suffer when he said: "He who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." But some might say to him: "Lord, you can calmly discuss and philosophize about death because you are above human sorrows, and death does not trouble you." It was to counter this that he willed to be troubled. This disturbance in Christ was natural: for just as the soul naturally loves union with its body, so it naturally shrinks from separation from it, especially since the reason of Christ allowed his soul and its inferior powers to act in their own proper way.

Again, when he said, Now is my soul troubled, he refuted the error of Arius and Apollinaris. For they said that Christ did not have a soul, and in place of his soul they substituted the Word.

Then our Lord makes his petition for glory, saying, And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. Here our Lord takes upon himself the emotions of one who is troubled. And acting as one troubled, he does four things in his petition. First, he poses a question, as one does when deliberating about what is to be done; secondly, he makes a request which arises from a certain inclination; thirdly, he rejects this inclination for a particular reason; and fourthly, he makes another request that arises from a different inclination.

He poses this question as one does when in doubt, because it is natural to deliberate about what to do when one is perplexed. So the Philosopher says in his Rhetoric that fear makes a person take counsel. Thus, after mentioning that he is troubled, Christ at once adds, And what shall I say? It is the same as saying: "What shall I do in my trouble." Something like this is met in Psalm 55 (v 5): "Fear and trembling came upon me," and then follows, "O that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest." For both the perplexed and the emotionally disturbed are weighed down and look for help to relieve themselves.

He makes his petition, arising from a certain inclination, because when one is hesitant about what he should do, he ought to turn to God: "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon thee" (2 Chron 20:12); "I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains from whence help will come to me" (Ps 120:1). And so, turning to the Father, he says, Father save me, that is, from the sufferings which await me at the hour of my passion: "Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck" (Ps 69:1). According to Augustine, what our Lord says here - Now is my soul troubled and Father, save me - is the same as what he says in Matthew (26:38): "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death."

Note that this petition is not made as though it arose from the inclination of reason; rather, reason is speaking as an advocate of the natural inclination not to die. And so in this petition reason is pointing out the impulse of a natural inclination.

This explanation solves a question which is frequently raised. For we read: "In all things he was heard for his reverence" (Heb 5:7); and yet in this case, Christ was not heard. The answer to this is that Christ was heard in those matters in which his petition came from reason itself and which he intended to be granted. But the petition he made here did not come from reason, nor was it intended to be granted, rather, it expressed a natural inclination. Thus Chrysostom reads it as a question, that is, as: And what shall I say? Shall I say, Father, save me from this hour? It is the same as saying: "No! I will not say this."

Yet Christ rejects this petition, which arose from an inclination of the natural appetite, when he says, No, for this purpose I have come to this hour. It is the same as saying: It is not right that I be freed from this time of suffering, because I came to suffer; and not as compelled by the necessity of fate or forced by the violence of men, but by willingly offering myself: "He was offered because it was his own will" (Is 53:7); "No one takes it," my life, "from me, but I lay it down of my own accord" (10:18).

It was not the utterance in the voice of the Father to the Son, since divinity is beyond all voice, but it was sent from heaven from the face of the Father to the Son as a sound for human beings to hear, in order that those who heard it might contemplate Christ all the more and come to know his divinity beyond his humanity. Glory is not added to the Father, since he has always had it, but it is added in so far as it radiates and is made known so that human beings are aware of it. Likewise, one must not conclude that the Son would be glorified from a state of disgrace, but rather he is glorified in so far as he who had formerly been hidden was made manifest in the flesh to the eyes of people. Moreover, it was not so much the voice that captivated the ears of those present, but rather how it took place that another glorified him. There was an established teaching among them from the fathers that utterances that were heard could not be borne directly from the mouth of God, since also Moses and all the rest who had spoken of the words they had heard from God, wrote down for humanity, while also saying that the manner of the discourse was that of an angel. If then we also posit that it was an angel who emitted the voice, it would be good that the Father's voice, which was spoken from above to people, be heard through an angel. Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not take place for my sake." He who knew the Father and the Father's matters did not need anything. Thus he does not allow us to think little of him at all or to regard him as one would only be regarded as a prophet. Rather, this helps us to know who he was in relation to God. See whether or not "glorify your name" is the same as imposing on the Savior the name of God, since he is the Word of God. So also the "name" is that of the Father, but "name" does not refer to that which is composed of syllables or uttered with human voices, but rather whatever reveals the nature of the Father. One can understand the "name of God" also in the same way as well as the phrase in the psalms: "I will proclaim your name to my brothers." How else can one understand that the name of God can be told?

"Then came there a voice from heaven, [saying], I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." "I have both glorified it," before I created the world, "and I will glorify it again," when He shall rise from the dead and ascend into heaven. It may also be otherwise understood. "I have both glorified it," when He was born of the Virgin, when He exercised miraculous powers; when the Magi, guided by a star in the heavens, bowed in adoration before Him; when He was recognized by saints filled with the Holy Spirit; when He was openly proclaimed by the descent of the Spirit in the form of a dove, and pointed out by the voice that sounded from heaven; when He was transfigured on the mount; when He wrought many miracles, cured and cleansed multitudes, fed so vast a number with a very few loaves, commanded the winds and the waves, and raised the dead; "and I will glorify it again;" when He shall rise from the dead; when death shall have no longer dominion over Him; and when He shall be exalted over the heavens as God, and His glory over all the earth.

"The people therefore that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to Him. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes." He thereby showed that the voice made no intimation to Him of what He already knew, but to those who needed the information. And just as that voice was uttered by God, not on His account, but on that of others, so His soul was troubled, not on His own account, but voluntarily for the sake of others.

(Tr. lii. 4) I have glorified it, i. e. before I made the world; and will glorify it again, i. e. when Thou shalt rise from the dead. Or, I have glorified it, when Thou wast born of a Virgin, didst work miracles, wast made manifest by the Holy Ghost descending in the shape of a dove; and will glorify it again, when Thou shalt rise from the dead, and, as God, be exalted above the heavens, and Thy glory above all the earth. The people therefore that stood by and heard it, said that it thundered.

Father, glorify your name: and this is to ask that the name of God be made known to the nations through the passion. He prays for us, for whom he also offers himself: whence in Hebrews 5 it is said of Christ: "In the days of his flesh, offering prayers and supplications to God, who was able to save him from death, with a strong cry and tears, he was heard because of his reverence."

A voice therefore came from heaven. Here the last point is touched upon, namely the hearing, as a sign of which he says: A voice came from heaven, saying: I have both glorified, namely through miraculous works, and I will glorify again, through yet more wondrous works, such as our redemption and Christ's exaltation to the heavens. The glorification was accomplished by the Father: whence in Hebrews 5: "Christ did not glorify himself to be made high priest, but he who spoke to him: You are my Son, today I have begotten you." Whence this voice is attributed to the Father, as in Matthew 3 at the baptism, in Matthew 17 at the transfiguration, and now. Whence the voice bore testimony to Christ at his coming or incarnation, at his passion, and at his resurrection.

Nor let anything now be revolved in your hearts and minds besides the divine precepts and heavenly commands, with which the Holy Spirit has ever animated you to the endurance of suffering. Let no one think of death, but of immortality; nor of temporary punishment, but of eternal glory; since it is written, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints; " and again, "A broken spirit is a sacrifice to God: a contrite and humble heart God doth not despise." And again, where the sacred Scripture speaks of the tortures which consecrate God's martyrs, and sanctify them in the very trial of suffering: "And if they have suffered torments in the sight of men, yet is their hope full of immortality; and having been a little chastised, they shall be greatly rewarded: for God proved them, and found them worthy of Himself. As gold in the furnace hath He tried them, and received them as a sacrifice of a burnt-offering, and in due time regard shall be had unto them. The righteous shall shine, and shall run to and fro like sparks among the stubble. They shall judge the nations, and have dominion over the people; and their Lord shall reign for ever." When, therefore, you reflect that you shall judge and reign with Christ the Lord, you must needs exult and tread under foot present sufferings, in the joy of what is to come; knowing that from the beginning of the world it has been so appointed that righteousness should suffer there in the conflict of the world, since in the beginning, even at the first, the righteous Abel was slain, and thereafter all righteous men, and prophets, and apostles who were sent. To all of whom the Lord also in Himself has appointed an example, teaching that none shall attain to His kingdom but those who have followed Him in His own way, saying, "He that loveth his life in this world shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal." And again: "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Paul also exhorts us that we who desire to attain to the Lord's promises ought to imitate the Lord in all things. "We are," says he, "the sons of God: but if sons, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together." Moreover, he added the comparison of the present time and of the future glory, saying, "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the coming glory which shall be revealed in us." Of which brightness, when we consider the glory, it behoves us to bear all afflictions and persecutions; because, although many are the afflictions of the righteous, yet those are delivered from them all who trust in God.

There came therefore a voice out of heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

The Evangelist did not say that it was the Father Who uttered the voice from above, but that the voice came from heaven; in order that no heretics, because they heard that the Father spake, might attempt to say that also the Divine Nature, to wit, the Father, is encompassed with a gross body. Wherefore he speaks indeed of the harmonious voice, but how the voice was brought to pass it is not in our power to say. But what the interpretation of its words signifies is this: The Son was conspicuous by many signs, the Father withal working the miracles along with Him; and inasmuch as He was Fellow-worker with Him in all things which He did, He says now that He has glorified [His Name,] and freely promises that He will also glorify it again, through the sign at His Death. For inasmuch as the Son is both God of God, and Life born of That which is by nature Life, He raised Himself from the dead; but inasmuch as He is regarded as a Man like us, albeit without sin, He is not regarded as having raised Himself, but as risen by the power of the Father.

Father, glorify Thy name.

He then makes a request of His Father and exhibits the outward appearance of prayer, not as being weak in respect of that Nature which is Almighty, but in respect of His Manhood, ascribing to the Divine Nature those attributes that are superhuman; not implying that the Divine Nature was something external to Himself, since He calls God His own Father, but in full consciousness that universal power and glory would be the lot of both Father and Son. And whether the text has: Glorify Thy Son, or: Glorify Thy Name, makes no difference in the exact significance of the ideas conveyed. Christ however, despising death and the shame of suffering, looking only to the objects to be achieved by the suffering, and almost beholding the death of all mankind already passing out of sight as an effect of the death of His Own Flesh; knowing that the power of corruption was on the point of being for ever destroyed, and that the nature of man would be thenceforth transformed to a newness of life: He all but says something of this sort to God the Father: "The body, O Father, shrinks from encountering the suffering, and dreads that death which is unnatural to it; nay more, it seems a thing not to be endured that One Who is enthroned with Thee and Who possesses Almighty power should be grossly outraged by the audacious insults of the Jews; but since this is the cause for which I have come, glorify Thy Son, that is, prevent Me not from encountering death, but grant this favour to Thy Son for the good of all mankind." And that the Evangelist in some other places also speaks of the Cross under the name of "glory," thou mayest learn from what he says: For the Holy Spirit was not yet [given]; because Jesus was not yet glorified. For in his wisdom he in these words speaks of being "crucified" as being "glorified:" and the Cross is a glory. For although at the season of His Passion, Christ willingly and patiently endured many contumelies, and moreover underwent voluntarily for our sake sufferings which He might have refused to suffer; surely the undergoing this for the benefit of others is a characteristic of excessive compassion and of supreme glory. And the Son became glorious also in another way. For from the fact that He overpowered death, we recognise Him to be Life and Son of the Living God. And the Father is glorified, when He is seen to have such a Son begotten of Himself, of the same Nature as Himself. And He is Good, Light, Life, and superior to death, and One Who does whatsoever He will. And when He says: Glorify Thy Son, He means this: "Give Thy consent to Me in My willingness to suffer." For the Father gave up the Son to death, not without taking counsel, but in willingness for the life of the world: therefore the Father's consent is spoken, of as a bestowal of blessings upon us; for instead of "suffering" He spake of "glory." And this also He says as a Pattern for us: for while on the one hand we ought to pray that we fall not into temptation, yet on the other hand if we should be so tried we ought to bear it nobly and not to rush away from it, but to pray that we may be saved unto God. But Glorify Thy Name. For if through our dangers it comes to pass that God is glorified, let all things be accounted secondary to that end.

Moreover, just as death was brought to naught in no other way than by the Death of the Saviour, so also with regard to each of the sufferings of the flesh: for unless He had felt dread, human nature could not have become free from dread; unless He had experienced grief, there could never have been any deliverance from grief; unless He had been troubled and alarmed, no escape from these feelings could have been found. And with regard to every one of the affections to which human nature is liable, thou wilt find exactly the corresponding thing in Christ. The affections of His Flesh were aroused, not that they might have the upper hand as they do indeed in us, but in order that when aroused they might be thoroughly subdued by the power of the Word dwelling in the flesh, the nature of man thus undergoing a change for the better.

Since therefore that which is the outcome of thoughts could not truly happen to inanimate flesh, but on the contrary is suitable to a human and rational soul; how can it be improper to imagine that we think rightly in assigning the suffering to it [i. e. the human soul,] rather than in casting it upon the Nature of the Godhead, [as we must do] by forcible and inevitable reasoning, if truly (in accordance with their doctrine) the Divine Nature dwelling in Christ's body occupied the place of the soul?

Whether the Gospel has "glorify your Son" or "glorify your name" makes no difference to the interpretation of its precise meaning. Christ, however, despising death and the shame that comes from suffering, focused only on the achievements resulting from the suffering. And immediately seeing the death of all of us departing from our midst as a result of the death of his own flesh, and the power of decay about to be completely destroyed and human nature already formed anew in anticipation of newness of life, he all but says to God the Father something along the following lines: "The body, O Father, shrinks from suffering and is afraid of a death that violates nature. Indeed, it seems scarcely endurable that he who is enthroned with you and has power over all things should be subjected to such outrageous treatment. But since I have come for this purpose, glorify your Son, that is, do not stop him from going to his death, but give your consent to your offspring for the good of all." The Evangelist even calls the cross glory elsewhere. … It is clear that in this passage, "glorified" means "crucified." "Glory" is equivalent to "the cross." In fact, his acceptance of suffering for the good of others is a sign of extraordinary compassion and the highest kind of glory. The glorification of the Son also took place in another way. Through his victory over death we recognize him to be life and the Son of the living God. The Father is glorified then when he is shown to have such a Son begotten from himself and with the same attributes as himself.

(Moral. xxviii.) When God speaks audibly, as He does here, but no visible appearance is seen, He speaks through the medium of a rational creature: i. e. by the voice of an Angel.

So, again, in that asseveration, "I have both glorified, and will glorify again," how many Persons do you discover, obstinate Praxeas? Are there not as many as there are voices? You have the Son on earth, you have the Father in heaven.

"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.

"Father! glorify Your name," that is, grant Me to take up the cross and death for the salvation of all. See: He called death for truth the glory of God. Therefore the Father also says: "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again." "I have glorified it" by those miracles which You performed before the Cross in My name; "and will glorify it again," by working miracles through You upon the Cross itself; and after the burial I will make even more glorious both My name and You, by raising You and sending down the Spirit.

Now his reason proposes its own petition when he says, Father, glorify thy name. Thy name can be understood in two ways. First, it can mean the Son himself. For a name (nomen) - which comes from the word for knowledge or being known (notitia) - is like a sign (notamen). Thus a name is what manifests a thing. Now the Son manifests the Father: "Father, I have manifested thy name" (17:6). We read of this name: "Behold, the name of the Lord comes from far" (Is 30:27). So the meaning is this: Father, glorify thy name, that is, your Son: "And now, Father, glorify thou me in thy own presence with the glory which I had with thee before the world was made" (17:5). Or, the name of the Lord indicates the knowledge which men have of the Father, then the meaning is, Father, glorify thy name, that is, do what is for the glory of your name. Yet it comes to the same thing, because when the Son is glorified the name of the Father is glorified. He says this because the Son was going to be glorified by his passion: "He became obedient," to the Father, "unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted him" (Phil 2:8).

He is saying here in effect: By the desire of nature I ask to be saved, but my reason asks that your name be glorified, that is, that the Son suffer, because it was by the passion of Christ that men were to receive their knowledge of God and glorify him. For before the passion God was known only in Judea, and his name was great in Israel; but after the passion, God's name was glorified even among the Gentiles.

Then when the Evangelist says, Then a voice came from heaven, the promise of glory is given. First, the voice promising glory is heard; secondly, the crowd expresses its opinion (v 29); lastly, the meaning of the voice is explained (v 30).

With regard to the first, he says, Then a voice came from heaven. This is the voice of God the Father. It was the same voice that was heard when Christ was baptized, "This is my beloved Son" (Mt 3:17), and at his transfiguration (Mt 17:5). Although every voice of this kind was formed by the power of the entire Trinity, this was specifically formed to represent the person of the Father; thus it is referred to as the voice of the Father. In a similar manner the dove was formed by the entire Trinity to signify the person of the Holy Spirit. And again, the body of Christ was formed by the entire Trinity, but specifically assumed by the person of the Word because it had been formed to be united to him.

This voice, then, does two things. First, it reveals the past, when saying, I have glorified it, that is, I have begotten you as glorious from all eternity, because the Son is a certain glory and splendor of the Father: "For she (Wisdom) is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God" (Wis 7:26); "He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature" (Heb 1:3). Or, I have glorified it at your birth, when the angels sang: "Glory to God in the highest" (Lk 2:14) and in the miracles the Father performed through him.

Secondly, the voice foretells what is to come: and I will glorify it again, in the passion, in which Christ triumphed over the devil, and in the resurrection and the ascension, and in the conversion of all the world: "The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his Son Jesus" (Acts 3:13).

(Tr. lii. 5) i. e. It did not come to tell Him what He knew already, but them what they ought to know. And as that voice did not come for His sake, but for theirs, so His soul was not troubled for His sake, but for theirs.

Jesus answered and said. The second point is touched upon here, namely the explanation of that voice, because they themselves did not know either why it had been made or what it signified; therefore he says why it was made: This voice came not for my sake, but for yours, because not for my instruction, but for yours; therefore he gives the understanding of the voice.

Jesus answered and said unto them, This voice hath not come for My sake, but for your sakes.

The Father replied aloud----after what manner He only knows----unto His own Son, manifesting His own purpose with intent to rouse the zeal of the hearers, that they might believe without any doubt that He is by Nature the Son of God the Father. But the multitude were perplexed and divided unto different surmisings, without understanding. For they ought to have apprehended that it was the Father that gave answer, unto Whom the Son had addressed His words. For the Son asked not for thunder to come, nor for an angel to utter a voice, nevertheless He saith: The Voice hath not come for My sake, but for your sakes. For He knew the purpose of Him Who begat Him, even if no word had been uttered, for that He was and is the Wisdom and Word of the Father. For your sakes therefore, He says, the Voice hath come; in order that ye may receive Me as Son of God, Whom the Father knoweth to be by Nature His own Son. Now the Lord says that the Voice hath come; yet He adds not that it was the Father's Voice, nor how it came: for this is a superfluous matter. He affirmed however that although they had even heard a Voice as from heaven, they persisted none the less in their impiety.

We remember, indeed, that a voice was sometimes uttered from heaven for us so that the power of the Father's words might confirm for us the mystery of the Son.… But the divine nature can dispense with the various combinations necessary for human functions, the motion of the tongue, the adjustment of the mouth, the forcing of the breath and the vibration of the air. God is a simple being: we must understand him by devotion and confess him by reverence. He is to be worshiped, not pursued by our senses, for a conditioned and weak nature cannot grasp with the guesses of its imagination the mystery of an infinite and omnipotent nature.

"This Voice came not because of Me, but for your sakes." They thought that it thundered, or that an Angel spake to Him. And how did they think this? Was not the voice clear and distinct? It was, but it quickly flew away from them as being of the grosser sort, carnal and slothful. And some of them caught the sound only, others knew that the voice was articulate, but what it meant, knew not. What saith Christ? "This Voice came not because of Me, but for your sakes." "Not that I may learn by it anything of which I am ignorant, (for I know all that belongeth to the Father,) but for your sakes." For when they said, "An Angel hath spoken unto Him," or "It hath thundered," and gave not heed to Him, He saith, "it was for your sakes," that even so ye might be led to enquire what the words meant.

Why, then, do you make liars of both the Father and the Son? If either the Father spake from heaven to the Son when He Himself was the Son on earth, or the Son prayed to the Father when He was Himself the Son in heaven, how happens it that the Son made a request of His own very self, by asking it of the Father, since the Son was the Father? Or, on the other hand, how is it that the Father made a promise to Himself, by making it to the Son, since the Father was the Son? Were we even to maintain that they are two separate gods, as you are so fond of throwing out against us, it would be a more tolerable assertion than the maintenance of so versatile and changeful a God as yours! Therefore it was that in the passage before us the Lord declared to the people present: "Not on my own account has this voice addressed me, but for your sakes," that these likewise may believe both in the Father and in the Son, severally, in their own names and persons and positions.

But Jesus says: "This voice came not for Me, but for you. I had no need to be taught that the Father glorified and will yet glorify His name. But you needed to be taught that I am not an adversary of God, but act for the glory of the name of God. For if through Me the name of God is glorified, how then am I an adversary of God?" So this voice came for you, that you might learn that I act for the glory of God, and if you cannot learn this on your own, then through inquiry you might learn what you do not know.

The voice is explained when he says, Jesus answered. First, he explains the voice; secondly, he mentions the answer given by the people (v 34); and thirdly, our Lord's answer (v 35). He does two things about the first: first he mentions the reason for the voice; and secondly, he adds its meaning (v 31).

It should be noted in regard to the first that they had said, An angel has spoken to him. Now an angel speaks by revealing something that will profit the one to whom he speaks, as is clear in Revelation (ch 1) and in Ezekiel (ch 1). And so to show that he did not need this voice or any revelation from an angel, our Lord says, This voice has come for your sake, not for mine, that is, it has not come to instruct me. For this voice mentioned nothing he did not know before, because "in him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge" (Col 2:2), so that he knew all that the Father knew. But it has come for your sake, that is, for your instruction. From this we can understand that many things relating to Christ were, in God's plan, allowed to take place not because Christ needed them, but for our sakes: "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction" (Rom 15:4).

As if in a court of law, it is said to the devil, "Granted, you have killed everyone else in the human race because they were sinners. But why did you kill the Lord?" The time of sojourning on earth is the "judgment of the world," since Christ is about to justify humanity and to remove the arrogance of the devil. The judgment he speaks of here then is not the condemnation of the human race. Rather, Christ's death justifies all humanity against the devil, who is the one who is under judgment because he had wronged the world.

Look at what follows: "Now," He says, "is the judgment of the world." What, then, are we to expect at the end of time? But the judgment that is looked for in the end will be the judging of the living and the dead, the awarding of eternal rewards and punishment. Of what sort, then, is the judgment now? I have already, in former lessons, as far as I could, put you in mind, beloved, that there is a judgment spoken of, not of condemnation, but of discrimination; as it is written, "Judge me, O God, and plead [discern, discriminate] my cause against an unholy nation." And many are the judgments of God; as it is said in the psalm. "Thy judgments are a great deep."

And the apostle also says, "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments!" To such judgments does that spoken of here by the Lord also belong, "Now is the judgment of this world;" while that judgment in the end is reserved, when the living and the dead shall at last be judged. The devil, therefore, had possession of the human race, and held them by the written bond of their sins as criminals amenable to punishment; he ruled in the hearts of unbelievers, and, deceiving and enslaving them, seduced them to forsake the Creator and give worship to the creature; but by faith in Christ, which was confirmed by His death and resurrection, and, by His blood, which was shed for the remission of sins, thousands of believers are delivered from the dominion of the devil, are united to the body of Christ, and under this great head are made by His one Spirit to spring up into new life as His faithful members. This it was that He called the judgment, this righteous separation, this expulsion of the devil from His own redeemed.

Attend, in short, to His own words. For just as if we had been inquiring what He meant by saying, "Now is the judgment of the world," He proceeded to explain it when He says, "Now shall the prince of this world be cast out." What we have thus heard was the kind of judgment He meant. Not that one, therefore, which is yet to come in the end, when the living and dead shall be judged, some of them set apart on His right hand, and the others on His left; but that judgment by which "the prince of this world shall be cast out." In what sense, then, was he within, and whither did He mean that he was to be cast out? For it is not this: That he was in the world and was cast forth beyond its boundaries. The Lord, therefore, foretold what He knew, that after His own passion and glorification, many nations throughout the whole world, in whose hearts the devil was an inmate, would become believers, and the devil, when thus renounced by faith, is cast out.

On the other hand, let us be far from supposing that the devil is called in any such way the prince of the world, as that we should believe him possessed of power to rule over the heaven and the earth. The world is so spoken of in respect of wicked men, who have overspread the whole earth; just as a house is spoken of in respect to its inhabitants, and we accordingly say, It is a good house, or a bad house; not as finding fault with, or approving of, the erection of walls and roofs, but the morals either of the good or the bad within it. In a similar way, therefore, it is said, "The prince of this world;" that is, the prince of all the wicked who inhabit this world. The world is also spoken of in respect to the good, who in like manner have overspread the whole earth; and hence the apostle says, "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself." These are they out of whose hearts the prince of this world is ejected.

(Tr. lii. 6) The judgment at the end of the world will be of eternal rewards and punishments. But there is another judgment, not of condemnation, but of selection, which is the one meant here; the selection of His own redeemed, and their deliverance from the power of the devil: Now shall the prince of this world be cast out. The devil is not called the prince of this world, in the sense of being lord over heaven and earth; God forbid. The world here stands for the wicked dispersed over all the world. In this sense the devil is the prince of the world, i. e. of all the wicked men who live in the world. The world also sometimes stands for the good dispersed throughout the world: God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. (2 Cor. 5:19) These are they from whose hearts the prince of this world shall be cast out. Our Lord foresaw that after His passion and glorifying, great nations all over the world would be converted, in whom the devil was then, but from whose hearts, on their truly renouncing him, he would be cast out. But was he not cast out of the hearts of righteous men of old? Why is it, Now shall be cast out? Because that which once took place in a very few persons, was now to take place in whole nations. What then, does the devil not tempt at all the minds of believers? Yea, he never ceases to tempt them. But it is one thing to reign within, another to lay siege from without.

Now is the judgment of the world, namely in the passion; now the prince of this world shall be cast out, namely he who is believed to be the prince, because he was worshipped by many nations; rather he is to be regarded as the most wicked demon. Luke eleven: "When a strong man armed guards his court, if one stronger than he shall come upon him and overcome him, he will take away all his armor in which he trusted, and will distribute his spoils." And he himself conquered the world with its prince; whence below in chapter sixteen: "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." And he says the manner of casting out the prince is through the passion.

Question I. But there is a question about what he says: Now is the judgment of the world: because it was said that he judges no one and did not come to judge.

I respond: There is a judgment of condemnation and of discernment; by this judgment the world is judged in the passion of Christ, through which the sheep are discerned from the wolves, not by the first judgment.

Question II. But there is a question about what he says, that the prince of this world shall be cast out. Who is this prince?

If the devil is prince: therefore it seems that this sensible world pertains to the dominion of the devil; and then the impiety of the Manichaeans would be true.

I respond: It must be said that by world here are meant those devoted to the world through friendship. The prince of these is the devil, not with respect to nature, but with respect to pre-eminence in fault, because he is the king over all the children of pride, Job 41.

Question III. Likewise, inquiry is made concerning what he says, that he will be cast out; because this does not seem to be the case: for he still rules over those who are devoted to the world, and presses harder, because they sin more gravely.

I respond: It must be said that the devil is said to be cast out of the world, not that he does not tempt, but that he does not reign interiorly; nor is he said to be cast out in the sense that he reigns interiorly in absolutely no one, but that he does not in so many; nor does he reign so authoritatively, because his drawing hand has been cut off, on account of the fact that the handwriting that was against us was blotted out in the Passion and nailed to the cross. His impelling hand has been weakened, our hand for resisting has been strengthened through faith: 1 Peter, last chapter: Resist him, steadfast in faith.

There was, perhaps, no necessity for such an excess of the sexual impulse: the Lord of this world thought of it as a response to carnivorousness--a double scheme for securing the maximum amount of torture. If it offends less, you may say that the "life-force" is corrupted, where I say that living creatures were corrupted by an evil angelic being. We mean the same thing: but I find it easier to believe in a myth of gods and demons than in one of hypostatised abstract nouns. And after all, our mythology may be much nearer to literal truth than we suppose. Let us not forget that Our Lord, on one occasion, attributes human disease not to God's wrath, nor to nature, but quite explicitly to Satan.

Christians, then, believe that an evil power has made himself for the present the Prince of this World. And, of course, that raises problems. Is this state of affairs in accordance with God's will, or not? If it is, He is a strange God, you will say: and if it is not, how can anything happen contrary to the will of a being with absolute power?

But anyone who has been in authority knows how a thing can be in accordance with your will in one way and not in another. It may be quite sensible for a mother to say to the children, 'I'm not going to go and make you tidy the school-room every night. You've got to learn to keep it tidy on your own.' Then she goes up one night and finds the Teddy bear and the ink and the French Grammar all lying in the grate. That is against her will. She would prefer the children to be tidy. But on the other hand, it is her will which has left the children free to be untidy. The same thing arises in any regiment, or trade union, or school. You make a thing voluntary and then half the people do not do it. That is not what you willed, but your will has made it possible.

This sore-yearned-for time of the Saviour's sojourn upon earth showed that the judgment and justice for the Gentiles was already come. For they were about to be delivered from the arrogant usurpation of the devil, and the Holy and Righteous Judge was portioning out most righteous mercy to them. For I think we ought not to suppose that the world was even now being condemned, when the moment of its justification was come; but judgment, in the sense of vengeance, shall come upon the world hereafter. Again: the prince of this world shall be cast out. There shall be, He says, judgment against him that wronged the world, and not against the world that endured the wrong. For truly, as Christ Himself said: God sent not His Son to judge the world, but to save the world. This then He says will be the character of the impending judgment, that the prince of this world shall be cast out. And cast out whence? Manifestly, from the dominion that hath been gained by him through violence, and from the kingdom that in no wise belongs to him. And "out" indicates the punishment of Hades and the passage to it.

I know certain men for whom the king of Nineveh, (who is the last to hear the proclamation and who descends from his throne, and forgoes the ornaments of his former vices and dressed in sackcloth sits on the ground, he is not content with his own conversion, preaches penitence to others with his leaders, saying, "let the men and beasts, big and small of size, be tortured by hunger, let them put on sackcloth, condemn their former sins and betake themselves without reservation to penitence!) is the symbol of the devil, who at the end of the world, (because no spiritual creature that is made reasoning by God will perish), will descend from his pride and do penitence and will be restored to his former position. To support this opinion they use this example of Daniel in which Nebuchadnezzar after seven years of penitence is returned to his former reign. [Dan. 4:24, 29, 33] But because this idea is not in the Holy Scripture and since it completely destroys the fear of God, (for men will slide easily into vices if they believe that even the devil, the creator of wickedness and the source of all sins, can be saved if he does penitence), we must eradicate this from our spirits. Let us remember though that the sinners in the Gospel are sent to the eternal fire [Mt. 25:41], which is prepared for the devil and his angels, about whom is said, "their worm will not die and their fire will not be extinguished" [Is. 66:24]... Moreover if all spiritual creatures are equal and if they raise themselves up by their virtues to heaven, or by their vices take themselves to the depths, then after a long circuit and infinite centuries, if all are returned to their original state with the same worthiness to all conflicting, what difference will there be between the virgin and the prostitute? What distinction will there be between the mother of the Lord and (it is wicked to say) the victims of public pleasures? Will Gabriel be like the devil? Will the apostles be as demons? Will the prophets be as pseudoprophets? Martyrs as their persecutors? Imagine all that you will, increase by two-fold the years and the time, take infinite time for torture: if the end for all is the same, all the past is then nothing, for what is of importance to us is not what we are at any given moment, but what we will be forever more.

"Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the prince of this world be cast down." What connection hath this with, "I have glorified, and will glorify"? Much, and closely harmonizing. For when God saith, "I will glorify," He showeth the manner of the glorifying. What is it? That one should be cast down. But what is, "the judgment of this world"? It is as though He said, "there shall be a tribunal and a retribution." How and in what way? "He slew the first man, having found him guilty of sin, (for 'by sin death entered'-Rom. v. 12;) but in Me this he found not. Why then did he spring upon Me and give Me over to death? Why did he put into the mind of Judas to destroy Me?" (Tell me not that it was God's dispensation, for this belongeth not to the devil, but His wisdom; for the present let the disposition of that evil one be enquired into.) "How then is the world judged in Me?" It shall be said, as if a court of justice were sitting, to Satan, "Well, thou hast slain all men, because thou didst find them guilty of sin. But why didst thou slay Christ? Is it not clear that thou didst it wrongfully?" Therefore in Him the whole world shall be avenged.

But, that this may be still more clear, I will make it plain by an example. Suppose there is some cruel tyrant, bringing ten thousand evils on all those who fall into his hands. If such a one engaging with a king, or a king's son, slay him unjustly, his death will have power to get revenge for the others also. Suppose there is one who demands payment of his debtors, that he beats them and casts them into prison; then from the same recklessness that he leads to the same dungeon one who owes him nothing: such a man shall suffer punishment for what he hath done to the others. For that one shall destroy him. So also it is in the case of the Son; for of those things which the devil hath done against us, of these shall the penalty be required by means of what he hath dared against Christ. And to show that He implieth this, hear what He saith; "Now shall the prince of this world be cast down," "by My Death."

And our Lord Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, for no other reason than that He might destroy the begetting by lawless desire, and might show to the ruler that the formation of man was possible to God without human intervention. And when He had been born, and had submitted to the other conditions of the flesh,-I mean food, drink, and clothing,-this one condition only of discharging the sexual function He did not submit to; for, regarding the desires of the flesh, He accepted some as necessary, while others, which were unnecessary, He did not submit to. For if the flesh were deprived of food, drink, and clothing, it would be destroyed; but being deprived of lawless desire, it suffers no harm. And at the same time He foretold that, in the future world, sexual intercourse should be done away with; as He says, "The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage; but the children of the world to come neither marry nor are given in marriage, but shall be like the angels in heaven." Let not, then, those that are unbelieving marvel, if in the world to come He do away with those acts of our fleshly members which even in this present life are abolished.

What happens, [Jesus says,] now takes place on behalf of the world. For the whole world is judged in me now. You see, the first man, having been condemned to death on account of disobedience, became subject to the devil. Likewise all after him, becoming evil, brought on themselves the devil to be an exceedingly heavy tyrant over them, and because of this they were even more impious, making the kingdom of death worse for themselves. Therefore, because no one was able to wage war against it, Christ, being God, able to do everything, gave himself up on behalf of all people, the ones of old and those who are living now.The world, therefore, is judged in me and through me. For, having committed no sin but having accomplished every kind of virtue and in no way found worthy of death, I accept death unjustly, so that in this way I may make my case against the devil, the one who himself killed me and was condemned. Having been freed from the bonds of death, I will rise, but I will also raise with me the common race of humanity by the case I make, and all will be acquitted of the verdict. He, on the other hand, who wickedly controlled the people in this life will be deposed from power. And the bonds of death, with which he surrounded people and was easily controlling them, will be taken away. These are the same bonds that caused them to sin all the more, as the devil attained a greater mastery over them.

The words "now is the judgment of this world" seem to have no connection with what precedes them. For what relation do they have to the words "and I have glorified it and will glorify it again"? But there is, without doubt, a connection. Since the Father said from above "I will glorify," the Lord shows us the manner of the glorification. What exactly? That the prince of this world will be cast out and defeated, and for the world there will be judgment, that is, vengeance. These words have the following meaning: "Now judgment and vengeance are being carried out for this world. Since the devil subjected this world to death, having made all people guilty of sin, but having attacked Me and not found sin in Me, brought Me too under death equally with the rest, he will be condemned by Me, and thus I will avenge the world. Let him have inflicted death on the rest for sin; but what did he find in Me similar to the rest, so as to put Me also to death? Therefore, now by Me the judgment of this world is being carried out, that is, vengeance for it. For having put to death the one who put all to death, who then attacked Me as well, an innocent one, I will be the avenger for all those slain by him, and the cruel ruler (tyrant), condemned by My death, will be cast out." The expression "cast out" is used by comparison with how in courts the condemned are pushed out of the tribunal. "Will be cast out" can also be understood as meaning that he will be cast out into the outer darkness. He will lose his dominion over people and will not, as before, reign in them, both in their souls and in their mortal bodies.

He says, Now is the judgment of this world, he states the meaning of this voice. First, he mentions the judgment by which he would be glorified; secondly, the effect of this judgment; and thirdly, the way he will be glorified (v 32).

He says, Now is the judgment of this world. But if this is true, why do we expect that our Lord will come again to judge? The answer is that now he comes to judge with a judgment of distinction or discernment, by which he discerns his own from those who are not his: "For judgment I came into this world" (9:39). This is what he is speaking of when he says, Now is the judgment of this world. But he will come again to judge with the judgment of condemnation, for which he did not come the first time: "For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him" (3:17).

Or, we might say that there are two kinds of judgment. One is that which condemns the world; and this is not referred to here. The other is the judgment which will be in favor of the world, insofar as the world is set free from servitude to the devil. This is the way the Psalm is understood: "O Lord! Judge those who wrong me; overthrow those who fight against me" (Ps 34:1). But this judgment and the judgment of distinction are the same, because by the very fact that the judgment is in favor of the world by casting out the devil, the good are distinguished from the wicked.

The effect of this judgment is the casting out of the devil. So he says, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out, by the power of the passion of Christ. Thus the passion of Christ is his glorification; and this explains what he had said, I will glorify it, insofar as the ruler of this world shall be cast out, since Christ has the victory over the devil by his passion. "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil" (1 Jn 3:8).

A difficulty arises here on three points. First, because he says that the devil is the ruler or prince of this world. It was this that led the Manicheans to call him the creator and lord of everything that was visible. The answer is that the devil is called the ruler of this world not by a natural right, but by usurpation, insofar as worldly people, rejecting the true Lord, subject themselves to him: "The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers" (2 Cor 4:4). Thus, he is the ruler of this world insofar as he rules those who are worldly, as St. Augustine says, and these are spread throughout the entire world. For the word "world" is sometimes taken in a pejorative sense to mean those who love the world: "The world knew him not" (1:10). Yet sometimes it is taken in a good sense to indicate those who are good and live in the world in such a way that they are citizens of heaven: "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself" (2 Cor 5:19).

The second difficulty concerns the fact that the ruler of this world is said to be cast out. For if he had truly been cast out, he would no longer tempt us now as he did before; yet he continues to tempt us. Therefore, he was not cast out. Augustine answers this by saying that although the devil may tempt those who have ceased to be of the world, he does not tempt them in the same way as he did before. For before he tempted and ruled them from within, but now he does so only from without. For as long as men are in sin, he rules and tempts them from within: "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions" (Rom 6:12). And so he was cast out because the effect of sin in man is not now from within but from without.

Thirdly, there is a difficulty from the fact that he says, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out. For it seems to follow from this that he had not been cast out before the passion of Christ, and consequently, if he is cast out only when men are set free from sin, it seems that Abraham, Isaac and the other men of the Old Testament were not set free from sin. The answer, according to Augustine, is that before the passion of Christ he had been cast out of individual persons, but not from the world, as he was to be later. For what formerly took place in only a few men, but now happens in many Jews and Gentiles who have converted to Christ, is recognized to have been accomplished by the passion of Christ.

Or, it might be said that the devil is cast out by the fact that men are set free from sin; but before the passion of Christ all the just had been set free from sin, although not entirely, because they were still kept from entering the kingdom. In this respect, therefore, the devil had some right over them which was entirely taken away by the passion of Christ, when the fiery sword was removed, when Christ said to the man: "Today you will be with me in Paradise" (Lk 23:43).

For it is only on the cross that a man dies with his hands spread out. And so it was fitting for the Lord to bear this also and to spread out his hands, that with the one he might draw the ancient people and with the other those from the Gentiles and unite both in himself. For this is what he himself has said, signifying by what manner of death he was to ransom all: "I, when I am lifted up," he says, "shall draw all unto me."

Accordingly, after saying, "Now shall the prince of this world be cast out," He added, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things after me." And what "all" is that, but those out of which the other is ejected? But He did not say, All men, but "all things;" for all men have not faith. And, therefore, He did not allude to the totality of men, but to the creature in its personal integrity, that is, to spirit, and soul, and body; or all that which makes us the intelligent, living, visible, and palpable beings we are. For He who said, "Not a hair of your head shall perish," is He who draweth all things after Him. Or if by "all things" it is men that are to be understood, we can speak of all things that are foreordained to salvation: of all which He declared, when previously speaking of His sheep, that not one of them would be lost. And of a certainty all classes of men, both of every language and every age, and all grades of rank, and all diversities of talents, and all the professions of lawful and useful arts, and all else that can be named in accordance with the innumerable differences by which men, save in sin alone, are mutually separated, from the highest to the lowest, and from the king to the beggar, "all," He says, "will I draw after me;" that He may be their head, and they His members. But this will be, He adds, "if I be lifted up from the earth," that is, when I am lifted up; for He has no doubt of the future accomplishment of that which He came to fulfill. He here alludes to what He said before: "But if the corn of wheat die, it bringeth forth much fruit." For what else did He signify by His lifting up, than His suffering on the cross, an explanation which the evangelist himself has not omitted; for he has appended the words, "And this He said signifying what death He should die."

(Tr. lii. 11) What is this all that He draweth, but that from which the devil is cast out? He does not say, All men, but, All things; for all men have not faith. He does not mean then all mankind, but the whole of a man, i. e. spirit, soul, and body; by which respectively we understand, and live, and are visible. Or, if all means all men, it means those who are predestined to salvation: or all kinds of men, all varieties of character, excepting in the article of sin.

(Tr. lii. 11) If I be lifted up from the earth, He says, i. e. when I shall be lifted up. He does not doubt that the work will be accomplished which He came to do. By His being lifted up, He means His passion on the cross, as the Evangelist adds: This He said, signifying by what death He should die.

When the devil saw Christ suffering, he believed His argument had little weight. But Christ ridiculed him. Christ considered the argument most powerful: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to Myself."

And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, through the passion of the cross, I will draw all things to myself, through faith and love. Song of Songs one: "Draw me after you"; below in chapter twenty-one: "Simon Peter drew the net to land, full of great fishes," etc.; above in chapter three: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up."

Question IV. Likewise, inquiry is made concerning what he says, that he will draw all things to himself; because not all, nor the greater part, have been converted to the faith; indeed, there are more wicked than good.

I respond: It must be said that, as Augustine says, those who tend toward non-being ought not to be counted; and such are the wicked. Hence by the word all things no distribution is made except for the elect, who were sons of God by election; and these he drew to himself and gathered into one.

Or: I will draw all things, that is, from every people and kingdom, not only Jews but also Gentiles, without distinction of nations.

Howbeit, after that Christ had given Himself unto the Father for our salvation as a Spotless Victim, and was now on the point of paying the penalties that He suffered on our behalf, we were ransomed from the accusations of sin. And so, when the beast has been removed from our midst, and the tyrant is deposed, then Christ brings unto Himself the race that had strayed away, calling not only Jews but all mankind as well unto salvation through the faith that is in Him. For whereas the calling through the Law was partial, that through Christ was universal. For Christ alone, as God, was able to procure all good things for us. And with exceeding good omen, He speaks of being "uplifted" instead of being "crucified." For He would keep the mystery invisible to those intent on killing Him; for they were not worthy to learn it: nevertheless, He allowed them that were wiser to understand that He would suffer because of all and on behalf of all. And especially I suppose any one might take it in this way, and very fitly; that the Death on the Cross was an exaltation which is ever associated in our thoughts with honour and glory. For on this account too Christ is glorified, forasmuch as the benefits He procured for humanity thereby are many. And by these He draws men unto Himself, and does not, like the disciples, lead them to another. He shows therefore that He is Himself by Nature God, in that He does not put the Father outside Himself. For it is through the Son that a man is drawn unto the knowledge of the Father.

He keeps the mystery invisible to those intent on killing him, for they were not worthy to learn it. Nevertheless, he allowed those who were wiser to understand that he would suffer because of all and on behalf of all. And it is probably even more the case that anyone might take it in this way, and very appropriately, that is, that the death on the cross was an exaltation that is always associated in our thoughts with honor and glory. For on this account too Christ is glorified, because the benefits he procured for humanity thereby are many.

From this solemnity indeed the example of resurrection was given to us, the hope of the heavenly homeland was opened, and the glory of the supernal kingdom was made something we might already anticipate. Through this, the elect, who although they were in the bosom of tranquility, were nevertheless held in the confines of hell, were led back to the delights of paradise. What the Lord said before His passion, He fulfilled in His resurrection: "If I am lifted up from the earth," He said, "I will draw all things to myself." For He drew all things, He who left none of His elect in the underworld. He took away all things—that is, all the elect. For He did not restore to pardon by rising again any unbelievers or those consigned to eternal punishments for their crimes; but He snatched from the confines of hell those whom He recognized as His own in faith and in deeds.

Nevertheless, I have heard of some who have passed on from this to you, having false doctrine, whom ye did not suffer to sow among you, but stopped your ears, that ye might not receive those things which were sown by them, as being stones of the temple of the Father, prepared for the building of God the Father, and drawn up on high by the instrument of Jesus Christ, which is the cross, making use of the Holy Spirit as a rope, while your faith was the means by which you ascended, and your love the way which led up to God.

Now, He suffered all these things for us; and He suffered them really, and not in appearance only, even as also He truly rose again. But not, as some of the unbelievers, who are ashamed of the formation of man, and the cross, and death itself, affirm, that in appearance only, and not in truth, He took a body of the Virgin, and suffered only in appearance, forgetting, as they do, Him who said, "The Word was made flesh;" and again, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up;" and once more, "If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto Me." The Word therefore did dwell in flesh, for "Wisdom built herself an house." The Word raised up again His own temple on the third day, when it had been destroyed by the Jews fighting against Christ. The Word, when His flesh was lifted up, after the manner of the brazen serpent in the wilderness, drew all men to Himself for their eternal salvation.

There is therefore, as I have pointed out, one God the Father, and one Christ Jesus, who came by means of the whole dispensational arrangements [connected with Him], and gathered together all things in Himself. But in every respect, too, He is man, the formation of God; and thus He took up man into Himself, the invisible becoming visible, the incomprehensible being made comprehensible, the impassible becoming capable of suffering, and the Word being made man, thus summing up all things in Himself: so that as in super-celestial, spiritual, and invisible things, the Word of God is supreme, so also in things visible and corporeal He might possess the supremacy, and, taking to Himself the pre-eminence, as well as constituting Himself Head of the Church, He might draw all things to Himself at the proper time.

"And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me." That is, "even those of the Gentiles." And that no one may ask, "How shall he be cast down, if he is stronger even than Thou art?" He saith, "He is not stronger; how can he be stronger than One who draweth others to Him?" And He speaketh not of the Resurrection, but of what is more than the Resurrection, "I will draw all men to Myself." For had He said, "I shall rise again," it was not yet clear that they would believe; but by His saying, "they shall believe," both are proved at once, both this, and also that He must rise again. For had He continued dead, and been a mere man, no one would have believed.

"I will draw all men to Myself." How then said He that the Father draweth? Because when the Son draweth, the Father draweth also. He saith, "I will draw them," as though they were detained by a tyrant, and unable of themselves alone to approach Him, and to escape the hands of him who keepeth hold of them. In another place He calleth this "spoiling; no man can spoil a strong man's goods, except he first bind the strong man, and then spoil his goods." (Matt. xii. 29.) This He said to prove His strength, and what there He calleth "spoiling," He hath here called "drawing."

But I will draw all people to Myself when I am lifted up on the cross. For all, including those from among the Gentiles, will be drawn to faith in Me. Since they themselves cannot come to Me, being held back by this ruler, I, having defeated him, cast him out, and severed the threads of his dominion over people, will draw them even against his will. This is what He called plundering in another place. "No one," He says, "can plunder the goods of the strong man, unless he first binds the strong man" (Mk. 3:27).

The form or manner of this passion would be by being lifted up; thus he says, and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself. In regard to this, Chrysostom has the following example: If a tyrant, accustomed to oppress and rage against his subjects and cast them into chains, were in his madness to treat in the same way some one who was not subject to him and cast him into the same prison, then he would deserve that even his dominion over the others be taken from him. This is what Christ did against the devil. For the devil had some right over men because of the sin of the first parent; and so in some sense he could justly rage against them. But since he dared to try the same things with Christ, over whom he had no right, assailing him in whom he had no part, as the tempter, it was fitting that he be deprived of his dominion by the death of Christ. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself. First, he describes the manner of his death; secondly, the Evangelist explains it, saying, he said this to show by what death he was to die, for he would die by being lifted up on the wood of the cross.

Here we should note that there are two reasons why the Lord willed to die the death of the cross. First, because it is a shameful death: "Let us condemn him to a shameful death" (Wis 2:20). So Augustine says: "The Lord willed to die in this way so that not even a shameful death would keep a person from the perfection of righteousness."

Secondly, because such a death involves a lifting up; so our Lord says, when I am lifted up. Such a manner of death was in harmony with the fruit, the reason and the symbol of the passion. It was in harmony with its fruit, because it was by the passion that Christ was to be lifted up, exalted: "He became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him" (Phil 2:8). Thus the Psalmist said: "Be exalted, O Lord, in thy strength!" (Ps 2:8).

It harmonized with the reason for the passion, and in two ways: both with respect to men and with respect to the devil. With respect to men, because he died for their salvation. For they had perished, because they were cast down and sunk in earthly things: "they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth" (Ps 16:11). Thus he willed to die raised up in order to lift our hearts up to heavenly things. For in this way he is our way into heaven. With respect to the devils, it was fitting in the sense that those who exercised their principality and power in the air were trod under foot by him while he was raised in the air.

Finally, it harmonized with the symbol, because the Lord commanded that a bronze serpent be fashioned in the desert, as recorded in Numbers (21:9), and above: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up" (3:14). And so thus lifted up I will draw all things to myself, through love: "I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore have I drawn you, taking pity on you" (Jer 31:3).

Furthermore, the love of God for men appears most clearly in the fact that he condescended to die for them: "God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us," as we read in Romans (5:8). By doing this he fulfilled the request of the bride: "Draw me after you, and we will run to the aroma of your perfume" (Song 1:3).

Here we may note that the Father draws and the Son also draws: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (6:44). He says here, I will draw all things, in order to show that the same action belongs to both of them. And he says, all things, and not "all men," because not all men are drawn to the Son. I will draw all things, that is, the body and the soul; or all types of men, such as Gentiles and Jews, servants and freemen, male and female; or, all who are predestined to salvation.

Finally, we should note that to draw all things to himself is for Christ to cast out the prince of this world, for Christ has no fellowship with Belial, nor light with darkness (2 Cor 6:15).

"The people answered Him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest Thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? And who is this Son of man?" It had stuck to their memory that the Lord was constantly calling Himself the Son of man. For, in the passage before us, He does not say, If the Son of man be lifted up from the earth; but had called Himself so before, in the lesson which was read and expounded yesterday, when those Gentiles were announced who desired to see Him: "The hour is come that the Son of man should be glorified." Retaining this, therefore, in their minds, and understanding what He now said, "When I am lifted up from the earth," of the death of the cross, they inquired of Him, and said, "We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever; and how sayest Thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?" For if it is Christ, He, they say, abideth for ever; and if He abideth for ever, how shall He be lifted up from the earth, that is, how shall He die through the suffering of the cross? For they understood Him to have spoken of what they themselves were meditating to do. And so He did not dissipate for them the obscurity of such words by imparting wisdom, but by stimulating their conscience.

(Tr. lii. 12) The Jews when they understood that our Lord spoke of His own death, asked how that could be: The people answered Him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest Thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of man? Though our Lord did not call Himself the Son of man here, they remembered that He often called Himself so; as He had just before: The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. They remember this, and ask, If Christ abideth for ever, how will He be lifted up from the earth; i. e. how will He die upon the cross?

(Tr. lii. 12) Or they interpreted the word by their own intended act. It was not wisdom imparted, but conscience disturbed, which disclosed its meaning to them.

The crowd answered him. The third point is touched upon here, namely the doubt of the crowds, with respect to those who were instructed in the Law; because they had heard that Christ is immortal, and this man was saying that he was the Christ, and was saying that he would die. On account of which they say: We have heard from the Law that Christ abides forever.

But where had they heard this in the Law? It should be understood that the Law here includes the Prophets: and it is said in Micah 5: "His going forth is from the days of eternity," etc.; Daniel 7: "His power is an everlasting power, and his kingdom, which shall not be destroyed"; 2 Kings 7: "I will raise up your seed after you, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever."

And how do you say: The Son of Man must be exalted? Who is this Son of Man? Christ did not say this just now in this form, but above in chapter eight: "When you shall have exalted the Son of Man, then you will know." But now he says: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth." They were not asking about what they had heard, but about what they had previously conceived.

The blessed Hezekiah then, who was King of the Jews, and a very pious and virtuous man and an object of God's especial care, entertained the idea that the blessed David had spoken of him prophetically in many of the Psalms, such as the nineteenth, the twentieth, and many others besides, and having moreover applied to himself the prophecy which had once been made in his father's time by Isaiah: Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, he was uplifted in mind by the workings of human passion, and imagined himself to be the Christ who had been predicted. He was in consequence at first unwilling to take a part in the common offices of life, through the existence of another opinion among the Jews, that Christ when He comes, never dies, but abides for ever, as they also said in the Gospel: We have heard out of the Law that Christ abideth for ever. So Hezekiah being of this opinion abstained from taking a wife and providing for the succession of his line by having children, being under the belief that he would live always

And this they say, as we have remarked, understanding that being "lifted up" meant being crucified. For it was their wont to signify by more auspicious names things which pointed directly to sore disasters. They essay therefore by means of the Scripture to prove that Christ speaks falsehood. For the Scripture, says [one of them], denies that the Christ is but for a time, when it says concerning Him: Thou art a Priest for ever. How then sayest Thou: "I am the Christ," whereas Thou sayest that Thou wilt die? For, because they understand not, the Jews say that by reason of the Passion He cannot be Christ; and they deny that it was written that the Christ must suffer and rise again and ascend unto the Father, to be Minister of the Sanctuary and High Priest of our souls, when He should return to life, a Conqueror and Incorruptible. Albeit the Scripture foretells expressly, not only that He should come in this common fashion of a Man, but that He should die for the life of all men, and should return to life again after breaking asunder the bonds of death: whereby the saying that Christ abideth for ever is fully and fitly accomplished. For when He had shown Himself superior to death and corruption, He ascended unto the Father.

Deceit is a thing easily detected, and weak, though it be daubed outside with ten thousand colors. For as those who whitewash decayed walls, cannot by the plastering make them sound, so too those who lie are easily found out, as in fact was the case here with the Jews. For when Christ said to them, "If I be lifted up I will draw all men unto Me; We have heard," saith one of them, "out of the Law, that Christ remaineth forever; and how sayest thou, that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?" Even they then knew that Christ was some Immortal One, and had life without end. And therefore they also knew what He meant; for often in Scripture the Passion and the Resurrection are mentioned in the same place. Thus Isaiah puts them together, saying, "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter" (Isa. liii. 7), and all that follows. David also in the second Psalm, and in many other places, connects these two things. The Patriarch too after saying, "He lay down, He couched as a lion," addeth, "And as a lion's whelp, who shall raise Him up?" (Gen. xlix. 9.) He showeth at once the Passion and the Resurrection. But these men when they thought to silence Him, and to show that He was not the Christ, confessed by this very circumstance that the Christ remaineth forever. And observe their evil dealing; they said not, "We have heard that Christ neither suffereth nor is crucified," but that "He remaineth forever." Yet even this which has been mentioned, would have been no real objection, for the Passion was no hindrance to His Immortality. Hence we may see that they understood many of the doubtful points, and deliberately went wrong.

"Nevertheless, the truth everywhere prevailed; for, in proof that these things were done by divine power, we who had been very few became in the course of a few days, by the help of God, far more than they. So that the priests at one time were afraid, lest haply, by the providence of God, to their confusion, the whole of the people should come over to our faith. Therefore they often sent to us, and asked us to discourse to them concerning Jesus, whether He were the Prophet whom Moses foretold, who is the eternal Christ. [John 12:34] For on this point only does there seem to be any difference between us who believe in Jesus, and the unbelieving Jews. But while they often made such requests to us, and we sought for a fitting opportunity, a week of years was completed from the passion of the Lord, the Church of the Lord which was constituted in Jerusalem was most plentifully multiplied and grew, being governed with most righteous ordinances by James, who was ordained bishop in it by the Lord.

But when we twelve apostles, on the day of the passover, had come together with an immense multitude, and entered into the church of the brethren, each one of us, at the request of James, stated briefly, in the hearing of the people, what we had done in every place. While this was going on, Caiaphas, the high priest, sent priests to us, and asked us to come to him, that either we should prove to him that Jesus is the eternal Christ, or he to us that He is not, and that so all the people should agree upon the one faith or the other; and this he frequently entreated us to do. But we often put it off, always seeking for a more convenient time." Then I, Clement, answered to this: "I think that this very question, whether He is the Christ, is of great importance for the establishment of the faith; otherwise the high priest would not so frequently ask that he might either learn or teach concerning the Christ." Then Peter: "You have answered rightly, O Clement; for as no one can see without eyes, nor hear without ears, nor smell without nostrils, nor taste without a tongue, nor handle anything without hands, so it is impossible, without the true Prophet, to know what is pleasing to God." And I answered: "I have already learned from your instruction that this true prophet is the Christ; but I should wish to learn what the Christ means, or why He is so called, that a matter of so great importance may not be vague and uncertain to me."

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.

Thinking to expose the Lord and to confound Him as a false Christ, they say: "If Christ is immortal, and You say of Yourself that You will die, how shall we believe that You are truly the Christ?" They said this with malicious intent. For the Scripture, which they call the Law, mentions not only the resurrection but also the suffering. Thus, Isaiah points to both—to the suffering and death, when he says: "He was led... as a sheep... to the slaughter" (Isa. 53:7); to the resurrection, when he says: "The Lord wills to cleanse Him from His wound and to show Him as a light" (Isa. 53:11). David also mentions death and resurrection together. For he says: "You will not leave my soul in Hades" (Ps. 16:10). Likewise the patriarch, in blessing Judah, prophesies of Christ: "He crouched down, he lay down as a lion, and as a lion's whelp: who shall rouse Him?" (Gen. 49:9). Therefore, rejecting the sufferings of Christ and ascribing to Him the resurrection, they did this with malicious intent. We know from the Law, that is, from Scripture (for the Law, as we have often noted, refers to all of Scripture), that Christ abides forever. Rightly you know this, for He abides forever and, as God, abides also after the resurrection. But how did you not learn of the sufferings, when those very same Scriptures, as we have shown, teach both together? "How is it," they say, "that You say that the Son of Man must be lifted up?" You see, they understood much even from the Lord's parabolic sayings — for example, they understood that by the words "to be lifted up" He speaks of the Cross. Yes, they truly understood much, but out of their evil will they feigned ignorance. Note, then, what they say: "How do You say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?" Their speech is full of malice. They speak as if to say: "Although we do not know of whom You speak or who the Son of Man is, we nevertheless clearly understand the truth that whoever is lifted up, whoever he may be, is not the Christ — this is incompatible, for the Scriptures say that Christ is immortal."

Having mentioned the promised glorification of the Lord and explaining the voice, the Evangelist now describes the doubt which prevailed among the crowd. First, they introduce the authority of the Law; and secondly, they raise a problem based on it.

In regard to the first the Evangelist says, The crowd answered him, that is, the Lord, who was speaking of his death, We have heard from the law, and law is taken here for the entire Old Testament, that the Christ remains for ever. This can be gathered from many passages of the Old Testament, especially from Isaiah (9:7): "Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end"; and in Daniel (7:14): "His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed."

Basing themselves on this authority, they formulate two doubts: one concerns a fact, and the other the person. As concerns the fact, they say, How can you say that the Son of man must be lifted up? But since Christ did not say that "the Son of man must be lifted up," but "and I, when I am lifted up," why do the Jews say that "the Son of man" must be lifted up? The answer to this is that the Jews were now accustomed to our Lord's words; thus they remembered that he called himself the Son of man. And so when he said, "And I, when I am lifted up," they took it to mean, "If the Son of man is lifted up," as Augustine says. Or, one might answer that although Christ did not here mention the Son of man, yet earlier he had said: "The Son of man must be lifted up" (3:14).

Yet it seems that their statement, The Son of man must be lifted up, is in no way opposed to the statement that the Christ remains for ever. The answer is that since our Lord was accustomed to speak to them in figurative language, they understood much of what was said in that way. And so they also suspected that when our Lord spoke of being lifted up, he was referring to death on the cross: "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know," as we read above (8:28). Or, it could be said that they understood it in this sense because they had already thought of doing that very thing. Thus it was not the sharpness of their understanding that gave them this interpretation of these words, but an awareness of their own wickedness.

Note their wickedness, for they do not say: "We have heard from the law that the Christ does not suffer," because in many places of the law reference is made to his passion and resurrection: as "Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter" (Is 53:7); "I have slept and taken my rest: and I have risen up" (Ps 3:7). Rather, they say, the Christ remains for ever. The reason for this is that the former would not have involved any opposition, since no obstacle to Christ's immortality arises from the mere fact of his suffering. In other words, as Chrysostom says, they wished to show that he was not the Christ for the reason that the Christ remains for ever.

They raise a question concerning his person when they say, Who is this Son of man? They ask this because it says in Daniel (7:13): "And behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days"; and by that Son of man they understood the Christ. It is as though they were saying: "You say the Son of man must be lifted up; yet the Son of man, whom we take to be the Christ, remains forever. So Who is this Son of man? If he does not remain for ever, neither is he the Christ." In this they deserve to be reprimanded for their dullness, because even though they had seen and heard so many great things, they still had doubts about his being the Christ: "He who tells a story to a fool tells it to a drowsy man" (Sir 22:9).

For in that servant form was the fullness of true light: and when he emptied himself, he was the light. Finally, he said: Walk while you have the light (John 12:35). And when he was in death, he was not in the shadow. Finally, even in hell, he poured out the light of eternal life. There the true light of wisdom shone, illuminating hell, but hell was not closed.

"Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little light is in you." And by this it is you understand that Christ abideth for ever. "Walk, then, while ye have the light, test darkness come upon you." Walk, draw near, come to the full understanding that Christ shall both die and shall live for ever; that He shall shed His blood to redeem us, and ascend on high to carry His redeemed along with Him. But darkness will come upon you, if your belief in Christ's eternity is of such a kind as to refuse to admit in His case the humiliation of death. "And he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth." So may he stumble on that stone of stumbling and rock of offence which the Lord Himself became to the blinded Jews: just as to those who believed, the stone which the builders despised was made the head of the corner. Hence, they thought Christ unworthy of their belief; because in their impiety they treated His dying with contempt, they ridiculed the idea of His being slain: and yet it was the very death of the grain of corn that was to lead to its own multiplication, and the lifting up of one who was drawing all things after Him.

(Tr. lii. 13) Yet a little while is the light with you. Hence it is that ye understand that Christ abideth for ever. Wherefore walk while ye have the light, approach, understand the whole, that Christ will both die, and live for ever: do this while ye have the light.

(Tr. lii. 13) i. e. if ye so believe in the eternity of Christ, as to deny His humiliation and death. For he that walketh in darkness, knoweth not whither he goeth.

Jesus therefore said to them. Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the removal of that doubt: and the Lord shows that that doubt did not arise from a bad understanding, but from a deficiency of understanding, because Scripture says both things about Christ, both that he is eternal and that he is mortal. Therefore he says: Yet a little while the light is in you. It is light, because you believe Christ to be eternal; but little, because you do not believe him to be about to die. Therefore he exhorts them to advance in faith while they have time; on account of which he says: Walk while you have the light. That walking is to approach Christ through faith: Psalm: "Come to him, and be enlightened." And the reason is added: That the darkness may not overtake you, that is, the blindness of unbelief, concerning which above in chapter three: "The light came into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light." And it is dangerous to be overtaken by them, because he who walks in darkness does not know where he goes: Proverbs 4: "The way of the wicked is dark: they know not where they fall." And he explains what he had said by walk, which is believe.

But now, beloved brethren, lest any one should think that I have placed all salvation in no other condition than in martyrdom, let him first of all look especially at this, that it is not I who seem to speak, that am of so great importance, nor is the order of things so arranged that the promised hope of immortality should depend on the strength of a partial advocacy. But since the Lord has testified with His own mouth, that in the Father's possession are many dwellings, I have believed that there is nothing greater than that glory whereby those men are proved who are unworthy of this worldly life. Therefore, beloved brethren, striving with a religious rivalry, as if stirred up with some incentive of reward, let us submit to all the abundance and the endurance of strength. For things passing away ought not to move us, seeing that they are always being pressed forward to their own overthrow, not only by the law proposed to them, but even by the very end of time. John exclaims, and says, "Now is the axe laid to the root of the tree; " showing, to wit, and pointing out that it is the last old age of all things. Moreover, also, the Lord Himself says, "Walk while ye have the light, lest the darkness lay hold upon you." But if He has foretold that we must walk in that time, certainly He shows that we must at any rate walk.

To the Jews, without understanding and faithless as they were, the Christ does not clearly and at length declare the deep mystery of the saying. But He speeds on at once to utter another, at the same time both expounding what is profitable for them and showing them the cause wherefore they do not understand the things in the Scriptures, and that, if they believed not Him Who is Light, the darkness of ignorance would overtake them without fail, and they would forfeit the benefits that come of the Light. For inasmuch as their expectations were drawn from the Scripture, they looked for the Messiah as a Light. But when He came, all their hopes fell out contrariwise; for a darkness overtook them because of their unbelief. Recover yourselves therefore (saith He) speedily, while it is possible for you to win some small share in the radiance of the Divine Light, in order that the darkness of sin overtake you not. And right well He said that after the Light cometh the darkness. For the darkness presseth hard on the track of the departing light. But whereas He spake of "the Light," using the definite article, He signified Himself, for He alone is in truth The Light.

The one who is stupid looks downward and hands his soul over to pleasures of the body, as cattle to pasture, living only for the stomach and the organs nearby, being alienated from the life of God. He is a stranger to the promise of the covenants, considering nothing else to be good than pleasing the body. This one, and everyone like him, is the one making his way "in darkness," as the Scripture says.

"Yet a little while," He saith, "is the light with you." Signifying that His death was a removal; for the light of the sun is not destroyed, but having retired for a while appears again. "Walk while ye have the light." Of what season doth He here speak? Of the whole present life, or of the time before the Crucifixion? I for my part think of both, for on account of His unspeakable lovingkindness, many even after the Crucifixion believed. And He speaketh these things to urge them on to the faith, as He also did before, saying, "Yet a little while I am with you." (c. vii. 33.)

"He that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth." How many things, for instance, even now do the Jews, without knowing what they do, but walking as though they were in darkness? They think that they are going the right way, when they are taking the contrary; keeping the Sabbath, respecting the Law and the observances about meats, yet knowing not whither they walk.

What then does the Lord say? Stopping their mouths and showing that His sufferings in no way prevent Him from abiding forever, He says: "Yet a little while the Light is in you." By Light He referred to Himself. Just as the light of the sun does not completely disappear, but is hidden and shines forth again, so too My death is not destruction, but a setting and a departure, and through the resurrection I shall shine forth again. And since the sufferings in no way prevent Me from being eternal, and the Scriptures testify concerning Christ that He is eternal, then I am truly Christ, even though I shall endure sufferings. For I am the Light; I shall set and rise again.

Then when he says, Jesus said to them, our Lord somewhat settles their doubt. First, he commends the good they had; and secondly, he encourages them to make progress; thirdly, he explains his admonition (v 36).

Jesus said to them, The light is with you for a little longer. This can be understood in two ways. In one way, according to Augustine, so that "little" modifies "light." As if to say: "A little light is in you," insofar as it sees that the Christ remains for ever. For this is a truth, and every manifestation of the truth is a light infused by God. Yet this light which is in you is "little," because even though you recognize the eternity of the Christ, you do not believe in his death and resurrection. This shows that you do not have perfect faith. Thus, what was said to Peter applies also to them: "O man of little faith, why did you doubt?" (Mt 14:31).

It is understood in another way by Chrysostom, as meaning that the light is with you for a little longer time, that is, I, who am the light. It is the same as saying: I, the light, am among you for a brief time: "A little while, and you will see me no more" (16:16).

And so he exhorts them to make progress in good. First, he gives his exhortation; secondly, he shows the danger threatening them unless they do make progress.

He says: I say that you have a little light, but while you have it, walk, that is, move forward and make progress, so that you may understand that the Christ, in addition to his eternity, will also die and rise again. This is in keeping with the first explanation given above. Or, Walk while you have the light, that is, while I am among you, make progress and be concerned with possessing me in such a way as never to lose me: "Blessed are the people, O Lord, who walk in the light of thy countenance" (Ps 89:15).

And do this lest the darkness of unbelief, ignorance and eternal damnation overtake you and prevent you from going any further. For a person is overtaken by darkness when he is totally sunk in unbelief; and they would be this way if they believed in the eternity of the Christ in such a way as to deny the humiliation of his death: "A man whose way is hid" (Job 3:23); "We are wrapped up in darkness" (Job 37:19).

The danger threatening them unless they do progress is mentioned when he says, he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. For light, whether exterior or interior, directs man. Exterior light directs him as to external bodily acts, while the interior light directs his will. One, therefore, who does not walk in the light, not perfectly believing in Christ, but walks in the darkness, does not know where he goes, that is, to what goal he is being led. As we read in the Psalm (82:5): "They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness." This is what happened to the Jews because they did not know what they were doing, but as people who were walking in the darkness they thought they were on the right road. And so they displeased God in the very things in which they believed they were pleasing him. Similarly, in the very things in which erring heretics believe they merit the light of truth and grace is the source of their being deprived of it: "There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death" (Prv 14:12).

"While ye have the light," He adds, "believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light." While you have possession of some truth that you have heard, believe in the truth, that you may be born again in the truth.

"These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide Himself from them." Not from those who had begun to believe and to love Him, nor from those who had come to meet Him with branches of palm trees and songs of praise; but from those who saw and hated Him, for they saw Him not, but only stumbled on that stone in their blindness. But when Jesus hid Himself from those who desired to slay Him, He had regard to our human weakness, but derogated not in aught from His own authority.

(Tr. lii) i. e. While ye have any truth, believe in the truth, that ye may be born again of the truth: That ye may be the children of the light.

(Tr. lii) Not from those which began to believe in and love Him, but from those who saw and envied Him. When He hid Himself, He consulted our weakness, He did not derogate from His own power.

While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may be children of the light. The children of light are children of God, because he is "the true light"; and this comes about through faith: above in chapter one: "He gave them power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name." He answers most excellently, because they could not be freed from that doubt except by approaching him through faith: whence Augustine: "Come, understand the whole: both that Christ would die and that Christ would live forever and that he would shed his blood, by which he might redeem, and that he would ascend to the heights, to which he might lead you." This is to walk.

These things Jesus spoke. After the future calling of the Gentiles and the prediction and exposition of the future Passion have been described, here fourthly is indicated the future blinding of the Jews. And the declaration of this matter proceeds in this order. For first the blinding itself is indicated; second, the election of some; third, the strengthening of the weak among the elect takes place; fourth, a threat is brought against the blinded themselves.

The blinding of the Jews is indicated in the very action of the Lord, who hid himself from those same Jews who had begun to contradict him; on account of which he says: These things Jesus spoke and went away and hid himself from them. Augustine: "Not from those who came to meet him with palm branches, but from those who saw and envied"; Deuteronomy 32: "I will hide my face from them and I will consider their last end; for it is a perverse generation, and unfaithful children." And this bodily hiding was a sign of the spiritual hiding.

These things spake Jesus, and He departed and hid Himself from them.

After teaching them in few words what was profitable, once again by God-befitting power He betakes Himself from their midst, concealing Himself; and not permitting them to be roused to anger, but giving them opportunity to change their mind, with intent that they might do what was better. And He withdraws with a set purpose, His Passion being nigh; showing that it was not His will to be put to death by the Jews, notwithstanding that He willingly yielded Himself up to suffer, giving Himself a Ransom for our life; and accepted death, which men naturally liken unto sorrow, and changed the sorrow into gladness.

While ye have the Light, believe on the Light, that ye may become sons of Light.

He proved therefore that the faith which is in Him, through Whom a man comes to the knowledge also of the Father, is the way of salvation. And He names them sons of Light whether of Himself or of the Father, for He speaks of the Father as Light after having spoken of Himself as Light----in order to show that the Nature of Himself and of His Father is One: and we become sons of the Father, when, through the faith which is in Christ, we accept the Father Who is Light; for then shall we also be entitled children of God.

Jesus withdraws with a set purpose, his passion being close at hand, showing that it was not his will to be put to death by the Jews. Nevertheless, he willingly yielded himself up to suffer, giving himself as a ransom for our life and accepting death, which is cause for sadness. But he ends up changing sorrow into gladness.

"Walk in the light, that ye may become children of the light." That is, "My children." Yet in the beginning the Evangelist saith, "Were born, not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God" (c. i. 13); that is, of the Father; while here Himself is said to beget them; that thou mayest understand that the operation of the Father and the Son is One. "Jesus having spoken these things," departed from them, and did hide Himself. Why doth He now "hide Himself"? They took not up stones against Him, nor did they blaspheme Him in any such manner as before; why then did He hide Himself? Walking in men's hearts, He knew that their wrath was fierce, though they said nothing; He knew it boiling and murderous, and waited not till it issued into action, but hid Himself, to allay their ill-will.

Let us see what idea we are to form from the language of Paul regarding Christ where he says that he is the "brightness of the glory of God and the representation of his being." According to John, "God is light." The only-begotten Son, therefore, is the glory of this light, proceeding inseparably from God himself, just as brightness proceeds from light and illuminates the whole creation.… Through this brightness, human beings understand and experience what light itself is. And this splendor presents itself gently and softly to the frail and weak eyes of mortals and gradually trains and accustoms them, as it were, to bear the brightness of the light. It removes from them every hindrance and obstruction to their vision, according to the Lord's own command to cast out the beam from your own eye. In this way, it renders them capable of enduring the splendor of the light and becomes, in this respect, also a kind of mediator between human beings and the light.

So then, while the Light is with you, walk, that is, believe in Me. What time is He speaking of here? He speaks of the time before the sufferings, or of the time after the sufferings, or of both together. So then, He says, walk and believe in Me both before My crucifixion and after it. He indicates this by the words "while the Light is with you," that is, while you can believe in Me; and to believe in Me, who am the Light, you can both before the sufferings and after them. But whoever walks in unbelief does not know where he is going. For whatever the Jews do now, they nevertheless do not know what they are doing, but walk as if in darkness; they think they are going on the straight path, but everything turns out the opposite for them, when they observe the Sabbath and circumcision. But those who have believed do not act this way. They walk in the light, doing everything that pertains to salvation. For they escaped the shadows of the law and the darkness of riddles, and came to the light that had been hidden in them but has now shone forth, and became sons of the Light, that is, of Christ. "That you may become," He says, "sons of the Light," that is, My sons. Although the Evangelist at the beginning of the Gospel says that some were born of God (John 1:13), here he calls them sons of the Light, that is, of Christ. Let Arius and Eunomius be put to shame. For here too it is shown that the Father and the Son have one operation. Why did the Lord hide from them? They had not now taken up stones against Him, nor spoken any blasphemy, as before. Why then did He hide? Although they said nothing, yet penetrating into their hearts, He saw that their fury was increasing. To subdue their hatred, He hides Himself.

Then when he says, While you have the light, believe in the light, he explains what he said, namely, what it means to walk. This is explained in two ways, according to the two explanations given above. According to the first explanation: While you have the light, that is, while you have some knowledge and light of the truth, believe in the light, that is, in the complete truth, that you may become sons of light, that is, that you may be reborn in the truth: "We are not of the night or of darkness. So then let us not sleep" (1 Thess 5:6).

Or, according to the other explanation: While you have the light, that is, me who am the light - "He was the true light which enlightens every man who comes into the world" (1:9) - believe in the light, that is, in me. In other words, make progress in the knowledge of me, that you may become sons of light, because from the fact that you believe in me you will be the children of God: "But to all who receive him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God" (1:12).

When Jesus had said this, he departed and hid himself from them. Here the Evangelist tells what Jesus did, that he hid himself. When we read above (8:59) that Christ did this very thing, the reason was obvious, for they were taking stones to cast at him. But here there is no reason for his hiding given, such as that they took up stones or that they blasphemed him. Why then did he hide? The answer is that our Lord, seeing into their hearts, knew their rage and the evil they had planned, i.e., to kill him. And so in his desire to stop them he did not wait for them to act, but hid himself so their anger and envy would abate. In doing this he is an example to us that when the evil purposes of others are clear to us, we should flee before they can accomplish them. In addition, our Lord was showing by his actions what he had said by his words. For he just said, Walk while you have the light, lest the darkness overtake you. And by hiding himself he indicated what sort of darkness he means: "I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob" (Is 8:17).

The one who confesses the Father believes on the Son. For the one who does not know the Son does not know the Father. For everyone that denies the Son does not have the Father, but the one who confesses the Son has both the Father and the Son. What, then, is the meaning of "believes not in me"? It speaks not about what you can perceive in bodily form, nor merely on the man whom you see. For he has stated that we are to believe not merely on a man, but that you may believe that Jesus Christ himself is both God and man. This is why, for both reasons, he says, "I came not from myself." And again: "I am the beginning, of which also I speak to you."

What is this we have just heard, brothers and sisters: the Lord saying, "Whoever believes in me does not believe in me, but in the one who sent me"? It is good for us to believe in Christ, especially since he himself also said quite plainly what you heard just now, that is, that he had come as light into the world, and that whoever believes in him will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.So it is good to believe in Christ. It is a great good to believe in Christ and a great evil not to believe in Christ. But because Christ the Son is whatever he is from the Father, while the Father is not from the Son but is the Father of the Son, that is why the Son does indeed call for faith in himself but refers the honor of it to his only-begetter.

"Jesus cried, and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on Him that sent me; and he that seeth me, seeth Him that sent me." He had already said in a certain place, "My doctrine is not mine, but His that sent me." Where we understood that He called His doctrine just what He is Himself, the Word of the Father; and in saying, "My doctrine is not mine, but His that sent me," implied this, that He was not of Himself, but had His being from another. For He was God of God, the Son of the Father: but the Father is not God of God, but God, the Father of the Son. And now when He says, "He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on Him that sent me," how else are we to understand it, but that He appeared as man to men, while He remained invisible as God? And that none might think that He was no more than what they saw of Him, He indicated His wish to be believed on, as equal in character and rank with the Father, when He said, "He that believeth on me, believeth not on me," that is, merely on what he seeth of me, "but on Him that sent me," that is, on the Father. But he that believeth on the Father, must believe that He is the Father; and he that believeth on Him as the Father, must believe that He has a Son; and in this way, he that believeth on the Father, must believe on the Son.

And, accordingly, after saying, "He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on Him that sent me," that it might not be thought that He would have the Father so understood, as if He were the Father only of many sons regenerated by grace, and not of the only-begotten Word, His own co-equal, He immediately added, "And he that seeth me, seeth Him that sent me." Does He say here, He that seeth me, seeth not me, but Him that sent me, as He had said, "He that believeth me, believeth not on me, but on Him that sent me"? For He uttered the former of these words, that He might not be believed on merely as He then appeared, that is, as the Son of man; and the latter, that He might be believed on as the equal of the Father. He that believeth on me, believeth not merely on what He sees of me, but believeth on Him that sent me. Or, when he believeth on the Father, who begat me, His own co-equal, let him believe on me, not as he seeth me, but as [he believeth] on Him that sent me; for so far does the truth, that there is no distance between Him and me, reach, that He who seeth me, seeth Him that sent me.

(Tr. liv. 2) He signifies to them that He is more than He appears to be, (for to men He appeared but a man; His Godhead was hid.) Such as the Father is, such am I in nature and in dignity; He that believeth on Me, believeth not on Me, i. e. on that which He sees, but on Him that sent Me, i. e. on the Father. [1He that believes in the Father must believe in Him as the Father, i. e. must believe that He has a Son; and reversely, he who believes in the Son thereby believes in the Father.] And again, if any one thinks that God has sons by grace, but not a Son equal and coeternal with Himself, neither does he believe 2on the Father, who sent the Son; because what he believes on is not the Father who sent Him. (c. 3.). And to show that He is not the Son, in the sense of one out of many, a son by grace, but the Only Son equal to the Father, He adds, And He that seeth Me, seeth Him that sent Me; so little difference is there between Me and Him that sent Me, that He that seeth Me, seeth Him. Our Lord sent His Apostles, yet none of them dared to say, He that believeth on Me. We believe an Apostle, but we do not believe on an Apostle. Whereas the Only Begotten says, He that believeth on Me, doth not believe on Me, but on Him that sent Me. Wherein He does not withdraw the believer's faith from Himself, but gives him a higher object than the form of a servant, for that faith.

But Jesus cried out and said. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the strengthening of those weak in faith, which is accomplished by Christ's affectionate exhortation, by which he lifts up the minds of believers to the dignity of the Divinity. On account of which he says: He who believes in me does not believe in me, according to the visible nature, but in him who sent me; or: by believing, he honors not me only, but him who sent me: in which he shows that to believe in him is not to believe in a man, but in God: and this he makes manifest.

Question II. Likewise, there is a question about what he says: He who believes in me does not believe in me, etc.

There appears to be a contradiction here.

If you say that it should be understood as only, so that the meaning is: he who believes in me does not believe in me only, but also in him who sent me — according to this way, he should similarly say: he who sees me does not see me only, but him who sent me.

I respond: It must be said that faith distinguishes articles, and when someone thinks about one article, he does not think about another; indeed, some believe one article who do not believe another. But in vision, because the essence is one, he who sees one person sees all. Therefore in vision he unites: he who sees me sees the Father also, because it is impossible to see one without the other. But in belief he distinguishes and excludes isolation: he who believes in me does not believe in me alone, but in me and in him who sent me.

Alternatively, it can be said that believing pertains to authority, but seeing or understanding pertains to reason. Because, therefore, authority and power are in the Father by appropriation, by reason of which there is believing, the Son appropriates believing to the Father; and thus it was said that the Father draws to the Son. But in seeing and revealing, the Son leads to the Father as word and light; and therefore he does not appropriate seeing to the Father in the same way as believing, when he says: He who believes in me, etc.

Contrary to His wont He cries aloud, and the cry convicts the ill-timed fear of men which influenced those who believed on Him and yet veiled their belief. For He wishes to be honoured of men that choose to admire Him, not stealthily, but openly. For He assumed that while faith ought to be laid up in the heart, nevertheless the most wise confession that is founded thereon ought to be made with great boldness. And forasmuch as, being by Nature God, He condescended to take a form like ours, He refuses for the time to declare in plain words into the ears of men who hate Him that they ought to believe in Him, although He often did say this; and with fullest adaptation to the needs of those who suffer the distemper of untamable envy at Him, He gradually accustoms their minds to penetrate towards the depth of the mysteries concerning Himself, [leading them] not to the Human Person, but to That Which was of the Divine Essence; inasmuch as the Godhead is apprehended completely in the Person of God the Father, for He, hath in Himself the Son and the Spirit. Exceeding wisely He carries them onwards, saying: He that believeth on Me believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent Me; for He does not exclude Himself from being believed on by us, because He is God by nature and has shone forth from God the Father. But skilfully (as has been said) He handles the mind of the weak to mould them to piety, in order that thou mightest understand Him to say something of this kind: "When ye believe on Me, Who for your sakes am on the one hand a man like yourselves, but on the other hand am God by reason of My own Nature and of the Father from Whom I am, do not suppose that it is upon a man you are setting your faith. For I am by Nature God, notwithstanding that I appear like one of yourselves, and I have within Myself Him Who begat Me. Forasmuch therefore as I am Consubstantial with Him that hath begotten Me, your faith will assuredly pass on also to the Father Himself." As we said therefore, the Lord, gradually training them to something better, and profitably interweaving the human with what is God-befitting, said: He that believeth on Me and the words that follow. For that the faith must not be directed simply to a man, but to the Nature of God, notwithstanding that the Word was clothed in flesh, because His Nature was not converted into man, He hath very clearly informed us; and that He is on an equality in every respect with God the Father, by reason of Their likeness of Nature and Their identity (as we may term it) of Essence, He made amply clear...

He gradually accustoms their minds to penetrate towards the depth of the mysteries concerning Himself, [leading them] not to the Human Person, but to That Which was of the Divine Essence; inasmuch as the Godhead is apprehended completely in the Person of God the Father, for He, hath in Himself the Son and the Spirit. Exceeding wisely He carries them onwards, saying: He that believeth on Me believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent Me; for He does not exclude Himself from being believed on by us, because He is God by nature and has shone forth from God the Father. But skilfully (as has been said) He handles the mind of the weak to mould them to piety, in order that thou mightest understand Him to say something of this kind: "When ye believe on Me, Who for your sakes am on the one hand a man like yourselves, but on the other hand am God by reason of My own Nature and of the Father from Whom I am, do not suppose that it is upon a man you are setting your faith. For I am by Nature God, notwithstanding that I appear like one of yourselves, and I have within Myself Him Who begat Me. Forasmuch therefore as I am Consubstantial with Him that hath begotten Me, your faith will assuredly pass on also to the Father Himself." As we said therefore, the Lord, gradually training them to something better, and profitably interweaving the human with what is God-befitting...

"He that believeth on Me, believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent Me."

As though He had said, "Why fear ye to believe on Me? Faith passeth to the Father through Me, as doth also unbelief." See how in every way He showeth the unvaryingness of His Essence. He said not, He that believeth "Me," lest any should assert that He spake concerning His words; this might have been said in the case of mere men, for he that believeth the Apostles, believeth not them, but God. But that thou mightest learn that He speaketh here of the belief on His Essence, He said not, "He that believeth My words," but, "He that believeth on Me." "And wherefore," saith some one, "hath He nowhere said conversely, He that believeth on the Father, believeth not on the Father but on Me?" Because they would have replied, "Lo, we believe on the Father, but we believe not on thee." Their disposition was as yet too infirm. Anyhow, conversing with the disciples, He did speak thus: "Ye believe on the Father, believe also on Me" (c. xiv. 1); but seeing that these then were too weak to hear such words, He leadeth them in another way, showing that it is not possible to believe on the Father, without believing on Him. And that thou mayest not deem that the words are spoken as of man, He addeth,

"He that seeth Me, seeth Him that sent Me."

What then! Is God a body? By no means. The "seeing" of which He here speaketh is that of the mind, thence showing the Consubstantiality. And what is, "He that believeth on Me"? It is as though one should say, "He that taketh water from the river, taketh it not from the river but from the fountain"; or rather this image is too weak, when compared with the matter before us.

It is through the Son that one believes in the Father, while the Father also is the authority from which springs belief in the Son.

"Then again, Jesus exclaims, and says, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on Him that sent me; " because it is through the Son that men believe in the Father, while the Father also is the authority whence springs belief in the Son.

Jesus, yielding to the fury of the Jews, hid Himself for a time, and then appears again and cries out openly. Showing that He Himself is equal to the Father and not an adversary of God, He says: "He who believes in Me believes not in Me, but in Him who sent Me," speaking as if to say: "Why are you afraid to believe in Me? Faith in Me ascends to My Father." Note also the precision in the words. The Lord did not say "he who believes Me," but "he who believes in Me," which signifies faith in God. For it is one thing to believe someone, and another to believe in someone. If someone believes someone, this can be understood as believing in the truthfulness of his words, but whoever believes in Him believes in Him as God. Therefore one can say "believes the apostles"; but one cannot say "believes in the apostles." Therefore the Lord did not say "he who believes Me." For both Paul and Peter could say "he who believes me." And the Jews were reproached for not believing Moses (John 5:46). But He said something greater — "he who believes in Me," by which He shows that He Himself is God, as He also says to the disciples: "Believe in God, and believe also in Me" (John 14:1). Therefore, whoever believes in Him directs his faith to the Father, and whoever does not believe Him does not believe the Father.

Now he shows how Christ rebuked the Jews for their unbelief: first, he shows their duty to believe; secondly, he mentions the fruit of faith (v 46); thirdly, he warns the unbelievers about punishment (v 47). But because vision comes after faith, with regard to the first, he treats of faith; and secondly, of vision (v 45).

As to the first he says, And Jesus cried out, both because of the importance of what he intended to say and because of their free will, to charge them with their sins: "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression" (Is 58:1), and said, He who believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. This seems to contain a contradiction, for he says, he who believes in me believes not in me. To understand this we should note first, according to Augustine, that our Lord said this to distinguish his divine and human nature. For since the proper object of faith is God, we can indeed believe that a creature exists, but we should not believe in a creature but in God alone. Now in Christ there is a created nature and the uncreated nature. Therefore, the truth of faith requires that our faith be in Christ as having an uncreated nature. And so he says, he who believes in me, that is, in my person, believes not in me, as a human being, but in him who sent me, that is, he believes in me as sent from the Father: "My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me" (7:16).

According to Chrysostom, however, our Lord says this to suggest his origin. It is a way of speaking similar to a person drawing water from a stream and saying that this water is not from the stream but from the spring: for it does not originate from the stream. So our Lord says, he who believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me, as though to say: I am not the source of myself, but my divinity is from another, that is, from my Father. So, he who believes in me, believes not in me, except insofar as I am from the Father.

And he who sees me sees him who sent me: therefore the one sending and the one sent are one in essence, because he who sees the one sees also the other. Hence below in chapter fourteen: "Philip, he who sees me sees also my Father." And the reason is the unity of essence, "because I am in the Father, and the Father is in me"; and the Son himself is the means of seeing the Father, as the word is of seeing the speaker, as splendor is of seeing light.

[In verse 44], he said, "Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me." He said this because they allege they were prosecuting him in order to avenge God. And so he says in effect, "I refer you to [the Father] because, you see, the one who believes in me is the one who comes to know the Father fully through me." That is why he said what he did there. On the other hand, "whoever sees me sees him who sent me" seems to contradict what had just been said. The statement in [verse 44] shows the difference between Father and Son, while [verse 45] shows their perfect similarity. Because the first statement showed such great humility, however, he logically concluded the second in order to declare his similarity with the Father. Both statements, however, show that he never stood far apart from the Father. The first he said for the unbelievers. The second was to indicate how precise his likeness was to the Father's.

Does he who sees the physical features? No. For the Father is not a body, so that one could say that he who sees Christ bodily also sees the Father, but by seeing, I ask you, understand mental contemplation. The Lord speaks as if to say: "He who by contemplation of the mind has embraced My essence, insofar as is possible for man, has also embraced the essence of the Father. He who has recognized Me as God has, without doubt, also recognized the Father. For I am the Image of the Father." All of this demonstrates the consubstantiality of the Father and the Son. Let those suffering from Arianism hear that he who believes in the Son believes not in Him, but in the Father, so that either the Father too is a creature, or the Son too is not a creature. Just as if someone were to say that he who draws water from a river takes it not from the river but from the source, so too he who believes in the Son believes not in the Son — the river (for the Son is not of a different essence from the Father and has nothing distinct from the Father) — but believes in the source of goodness, that is, the Father.

Then when he says, and he who sees me sees him who sent me, he treats of vision. In regard to this we should note that just as the Father sent the Son to convert the Jews, so Christ also sent his disciples: "As the Father has sent me, even so I send you" (20:21). But no one of the disciples dared to say, nor should he, that one should believe in him, although he could say that one should believe him. For this could not take place without detracting from the One who sent him, because if someone believed in the disciple, they would cease to believe in the master. So the Jews could say on the same basis that since you have been sent from the Father, anyone who believes in you ceases to believe in the Father. Therefore, our Lord shows against this that one who does not believe in him, does not believe in the Father. This is his meaning when he says, he who sees me sees him who sent me.

The seeing which is referred to here is not a physical vision, but a consideration of the truth by the mind. And the reason why one who sees the Son also sees the Father is that the Father is in the Son by a unity of essence. For one thing is said to be seen in another either because they are the same, or they are entirely conformed. But the Father and the Son are the same in nature and entirely conformed: because the Son is the image of the Father and unlike in nothing, for "He is the image of the invisible God" (Col 1:15); "He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature" (Heb 1:3). And so, just as one believes in the Father, so also he believes in me: "He who has seen me has seen the Father. Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me?" (14:9). It is as though he said: The reason why one who sees me sees the Father also, is that the Father is in me and I in the Father. Thus it is clear what faith should be: faith should be in Christ, as God, just as it is in the Father.

Attend to what follows: "I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness." He said in a certain place to His disciples, "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; that it may give light to all that are in the house: so let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven:" but He did not say to them, Ye are come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on you should not abide in darkness. Such a statement, I maintain, can nowhere be met with. All the saints, therefore, are lights, but they are illuminated by Him through faith; and every one that becomes separated from Him will be enveloped in darkness. But that Light, which enlightens them, cannot become separated from itself; for it is altogether beyond the reach of change. We believe, then, the light that has thus been lit, as the prophet or apostle: but we believe him for this end, that we may not believe on that which is itself enlightened, but, with him, on that Light which has given him light; so that we, too, may be enlightened, not by him, but, along with him, by the same Light as he. And when He saith, "That whosoever believeth on me may not abide in darkness," He makes it sufficiently manifest that all have been found by Him in a state of darkness: but that they may not abide in the darkness wherein they have been found, they ought to believe on that Light which hath come into the world, for thereby was the world created.

(Tr. liv. 4) Whereby it is evident, that He found all in darkness. In which darkness if they wish not to remain, they must believe in the light which is come into the world. He says in one place to His disciples, Ye are the light of the world; but He did not say to them, Ye are come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on you should not abide in darkness. All saints are lights, but they are so by faith, because they are enlightened by Him, from Whom to withdraw is darkness.

I have come as a light into the world, that everyone who believes in me may not remain in darkness, but may see and himself also become light; Ephesians 5: "You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord"; and this by believing in him, of whom it is said in Hebrews 1: "Since he is the splendor of glory and the figure of his substance," etc.

Behold, again He grasps their faith and fixes it on Himself, and effects at once two most useful ends. For on the one hand in professing Himself to be Light He proves that He is God by Nature, for so to be called befits Him alone Who is in His Nature God; and on the other hand by adding the cause of His coming, He brings a blush to the cheek of any man who thinks but little of loving Him. Because we evidently must understand that those who had not yet believed on Him are as yet in darkness, inasmuch as to be in the light that flows from Him is theirs only who have believed on Him. And He leads them also to the remembrance of the things that are spoken in many passages concerning Him, whereby He foretold that He would come to enlighten the world; as for example; Be enlightened, be enlightened, O Jerusalem, for thy Light, the True Light, is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee; and: Send out Thy Light and Thy Truth. Therefore it is just as if He had said: "I am the Light that in the Scripture is looked for, to come for the salvation of the world, to enlighten them that are wandering in darkness as if in night."

"I am come a light into the world."

For since the Father is called by this name everywhere both in the Old Testament and in the New, Christ useth the same name also; therefore Paul also calleth Him, "Brightness" (Heb. i. 3), having learnt to do so from this source. And He showeth here His close relationship with the Father, and that there is no separation between them, if so be that He saith that faith on Him is not on Him, but passeth on to the Father. And He called Himself "light," because He delivereth from error, and dissolveth mental darkness.

When the Savior of the world came, he made the true light shine. But they did not want to gaze on it, nor were they willing to walk by the radiance of his teaching. Consequently, darkness overtook them and demanded a penalty for the wickedness that had preoccupied them. And this [darkness] might be said to have reasonably blinded and hardened them. And, just as it follows that the one who has chosen to walk in the light also knows where he is going, so it follows that the one who has not chosen to walk in the light walks in darkness and travels wretchedly along the road of the blind.…

For just as the visible sun shoots out its bright beams in order to enlighten those who have ailing eyes, so also does the spiritual Sun, the Light that has no setting or evening, come to the world and through his divine and ineffable miracles cast the brilliant gleam of his deity far and wide.

Again, with these words as well He shows His consubstantiality with the Father. For just as the Father is everywhere called Light in Scripture, so He too says of Himself: "I have come as a light into the world." Therefore the Apostle Paul also calls Him the Radiance (Heb. 1:3), showing thereby that there is nothing mediating between the Father and the Son, but the Father and the Son are together, just as light and radiance are together. And so the Son too is Light, inasmuch as He delivers from error and dispels the darkness of the mind, and because just as light, upon its appearance, becomes visible itself and reveals all other visible things, so also the Son, having come and appeared to us, gave knowledge of Himself and of the Father, and enlightened the hearts of those who received Him with all knowledge.

Next he shows the fruit of faith. First, he shows his own worth and power when he says, I have come as light into the world. It has already been explained how Christ is a light: "He was the true light, which enlightens every man coming into this world" (1:9), and "I am the light of the world" (8:12). He also shows by this that he has the divine nature. For to be light is proper to God; others may give off light, that is participate in light, but God is light by essence: "God is light and in him is no darkness at all" (1 Jn 1:5). But because he "dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen" (1 Tim 6:16), we were unable to approach him. And so it was necessary that he come to us. This is what he says, I have come as light into the world, that is, I am the unapproachable light which rescues from error and disperses intellectual darkness: "I came from the Father and have come into the world" (16:28); "He came to his own" (1:11). And although the apostles are called light - "You are the light of the world" (Mt 5:14) - they are not light in the same way as Christ. For they are a light whose light has been given to them, even though in some way they also give light, that is, in their ministry. Furthermore, none of the apostles could truly say, I have come as light into the world, because when they came into the world they were still darkness and not light, for in Job (37:19) it says: "We are wrapped in darkness."

Secondly, he continues, that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. To become enlightened, therefore, is an effect of faith: "He who follows me will not walk in darkness" (8:12). May not remain in darkness: that is, the darkness of ignorance, of unbelief and eternal damnation. This shows that all are born in the darkness of sin: "For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord," as we read in Ephesians (5:8). And in the darkness of ignorance: "A man whose way is hidden and God has surrounded him with darkness" (Job 3:23). And in the end, unless they turn to Christ, they will be brought to the darkness of eternal damnation. And so, he who does not believe in me remains in darkness: "Whoever is unbelieving in the Son will not see life; rather, the anger of God rests on him" (3:36).

He judges not, and do you judge? He says that "whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness," that is, that if he is in darkness he may not remain that way but may amend his error, correct his fault and keep my commandments. For I have said, "I do not desire the death of the wicked, but their conversion." I said above that he who believes on me is not judged, and I keep to this: "For I have not come to judge the world, but that the world may be saved through me." I pardon willingly, I quickly forgive. "I will have mercy rather than sacrifice," because by sacrifice the just is rendered more acceptable, by mercy the sinner is redeemed.

"And if any man," He says, "hear my words, and keep them not, I judge him not." Remember what I know you have heard in former lessons; and if any of you have forgotten, recall it: and those of you who were absent then, but are present now, hear how it is that the Son saith, "I judge him not," while in another place He says, "The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son;" namely, that thereby we are to understand, It is not now that I judge him. And why not now? Listen to the sequel: "For I am not come," He says, "to judge the world, but to save the world;" that is, to bring the world into a state of salvation. Now, therefore, is the season of mercy, afterwards will be the time for judgment: for He says, "I will sing to Thee, O Lord, of mercy and judgment."

(Tr. liv. 5, 6) i. e. I judge him not now. He does not say, I judge him not at the last day, for that would be contrary to the sentence above, The Father hath committed all judgment unto the Son. (5:22) And the reason follows, why He does not judge now; For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. Now is the time of mercy, afterward will be the time of judgment.

And if anyone hears my words. Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the threat made against non-believers: and at the same time in the threat he shows his benignity and the severity of judgment. Therefore he says: If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him, that is, I do not condemn him, and this on account of my benignity: For I did not come into the world to judge the world, but to save the world: above in chapter three: "God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him"; Luke 9: "The Son of man did not come to destroy souls, but to save them." Nor however shall they escape the severity of judgment.

Those who refuse to hear Jesus and accept saving faith will condemn themselves, for he who came to illumine came not to judge but to save. Therefore, he who disobeys and subjects himself to the greatest miseries can only blame himself as justly punished.

"If any man hear not Me, and believe not, I judge him not, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world."

For lest they should think, that for want of power He passed by the despisers, therefore spake He the, "I came not to judge the world." Then, in order that they might not in this way be made more negligent, when they had learned that "he that believeth is saved, and he that disbelieveth is punished," see how He hath also set before them a fearful court of judgment.

"He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not My words, hath One to judge him." "If the Father judgeth no man, and thou art not come to judge the world, who judgeth him?" "The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him." For since they said, "He is not from God," He saith this, that, "they shall not then be able to say these things, but the words which I have spoken now, shall be in place of an accuser, convicting them, and cutting off all excuse." "And the word which I have spoken." What manner of word?

For the goodness and the loving-kindness of God, and His boundless riches, hold righteous and sinless the man who, as Ezekiel tells, repents of sins; and reckons sinful, unrighteous, and impious the man who fails away from piety and righteousness to unrighteousness and ungodliness. Wherefore also our Lord Jesus Christ said, 'In whatsoever things I shall take you, in these I shall judge you.'

"If," He says, "anyone hears Me and does not believe, I do not judge him, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world." The meaning of these words is as follows: "I am not the cause of the condemnation of the unbelieving man, for I did not come primarily for this purpose, but it happened as a consequence. I came to save, and for this I taught. But if anyone does not believe, I am not the cause of his condemnation, but he himself brought it upon himself." This will become even clearer from what follows. Listen, then, to what comes next.

Then he discloses the punishment of unbelievers, which they will incur through their condemnation at the judgment. First, he states that the judgment will be delayed; secondly, that there will be a judgment in the future (v 48); and thirdly, he shows the cause of the judgment.

As to the first he says, If any one hears my sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him. Note that the ones to be made happy, beatified, are those who hear the word of God and keep it, believing it within in their hearts, and doing it without in their actions. But they who hear it but take no care to keep it, become more guilty: "For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be justified" (Rom 2:13); "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only" (Jas 1:22). And so, If any one hears my sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him.

But this seems to conflict with what was said above (5:22): "The Father has given all judgment to the Son." Therefore, we should understand it as, I do not judge him at this time. It could be considered a weakness in him if he overlooked those who despised him. And so he says that such persons will be judged, although not now; for we read that "God will bring every deed into judgment" (Eccl 12:14), and "Flee from the face of iniquity, for the sword is the avenger of iniquity: and know that there is a judgment" (Job 19:29).

He continues with the reason for the delay, saying for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. Now the Son of God comes two times: one time he comes as Savior, and the next as judge. But since all were in sin, if he had come the first time as judge, he would have saved no one, because all were the children of wrath. And so it was fitting that he come first to save believers, and later to judge both believers and sinners. This is what he is saying: I do not judge now, for I did not come at this time to judge the world but to save the world. "God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him" (3:17).

But see also what He says of that future judgment in the end: "He that despiseth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." He says not, He that despiseth me, and receiveth not my words, I judge him not at the last day; for had He said so, I do not see how it could have been else than contradictory of that other statement, when He says, "The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son." But when He said, "He that despiseth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one to judge him," and, for the information of those who were waiting to hear who that one was, went on to add, "The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day," He made it sufficiently manifest that He Himself would then be the judge. For it was of Himself He spake, Himself He announced, and Himself He set forth as the gate whereby He entered as the Shepherd to His sheep. In one way, therefore, will those be judged who have never heard that word, in another way those who have heard and despised. "For as many as have sinned without law," says the apostle, "shall also perish without law; and as many as have sinned in the law, shall be judged by the law."

(Tr. liv. 6) Mean time they waited to know who this one was; so He proceeds: The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him at the last day. He makes it sufficiently clear that He Himself will judge at the last day. For the word that He speaks, is Himself. He speaks Himself, announces Himself. We gather too from these words that those who have not heard, will be judged differently from those who have heard and despised.

(i. de Trin. c. xii. [26.]) I judge him not; the word that I have spoken shall judge him: for I have not spoken of Myself. The word which the Son speaks judges, because the Son did not speak of Himself: for I have nut spoken of Myself: i. e. I was not born of Myself.

I ask then how we shall understand this, I will not judge, but the word which I have spoken will judge? Yet He Himself is the Word of the Father which speaketh. Is it thus? I will not judge by My human power, as the Son of man, but as the word of God, because I am the Son of God.

He who rejects me and does not receive my words has one who judges him. And who that one is who judges, he shows: The word that I have spoken, that will judge him on the last day; Matthew twenty-four: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away"; indeed "They will stand, as Chrysostom says, in the order of accusation, reproving them and cutting off every excuse"; Matthew five: "Be agreed with your adversary quickly, while you are with him on the way," etc., is understood of the word of Christ. And that his word has the power of judging them, he makes manifest: because it is not a human word, but divine and true.

Our Lord often speaks of Hell as a sentence inflicted by a tribunal, He also says elsewhere that the judgement consists in the very fact that men prefer darkness to light, and that not He, but His "word", judges men. We are therefore at liberty--since the two conceptions, in the long run, mean the same thing--to think of this bad man's perdition not as a sentence imposed on him but as the mere fact of being what he is.

They will be self-condemned therefore, He says, who refuse to hear Him and do not accept the saving faith. For He that came to illumine, came not in order to judge, but to save. He therefore that disobeys and thereby subjects himself to the greatest miseries, let him blame himself as justly punished." For I am not the cause thereof, Who desire to save those that are going to fall into judgment, and Who came for this end. For he that makes a law punishing the disobedient, makes it not for the sake of punishing them that transgress it, but in order that they that hear may take heed of it and be safe. I therefore, having come to save, charge you to believe, and not to despise My words; inasmuch as the present is a time of salvation, not of judgment. For in the day of judgment, the word that called you to salvation will bring the penalties of disobedience upon you. And of what nature was the word that I spake?"

For justly their conscience does not suffer them [to speak plainly], although an impulse from within urges them to lift up their horn on high, as it is written, and they speak evil against Him Who truly and by Nature is God, namely the Only-Begotten, Who reflects the Nature of the Father, being the essential and natural Likeness and Image of Him.

For it is by Jesus Christ that those who believe have glory and indwelling with God, and the Divine Paul contends on our side, writing thus, that it was God Who was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. For let none of those who are accustomed after a foolish manner to hear the Scripture which is inspired by God, corrupt what is read, when it asserts that God was in Christ; or think that [Paul] says "one clothed with the Spirit," for the expression is not very correct. For Christ is indeed by Nature God, and not a man "clothed with God" as one of the prophets

Therefore a type of the change is that faith which justifies, which when the Son receives unto Himself He truly causes to approach the Father also, for there is One Godhead in Them Both, and an undistinguishable glory of Essence.

"Was therefore the Mystery of Christians, so adorable and great, an image or shadow, or rather an imagination or phantom: or was it verily real? And did Manes, that lover of heathendom, and a guilty wretch too, as well as ungodly, indeed make no mistake, no not at all; but is it rather we who err, in reasoning thus against these men? But these things are not so: God forbid. Let them rather be "cast away on some mountain far off, or to the waves," as some say. For not in vain do we believe that He was a Man, that is, one Who in everything was like ourselves, sin only excepted.

I do not judge anyone, but the unbeliever has a judge for himself. It is customary among us, and we often say, when we wish to punish a disorderly child, that it is not we who punish him, but his carelessness and disorderliness, and it is not we who condemn him, but our convictions, to which he did not submit—they accuse him as one who is disobedient. So also the Lord says: "It is not I who judge, but the word which I spoke, it will judge."

Then when he says, he who rejects me and does not receive my sayings has a judge, he foretells the judgment to come. It is like saying: Although those who do not keep my word are not judged now, they will not go unpunished, whoever they are, because, he who rejects me and does not receive my sayings by believing them and acting according to them, has a judge. The reason for this is that if one does not receive the word of Christ, he scorns the word of God, whose Word is Christ, just like the one who does not obey the command of his master. "Flee from the face of iniquity; and know that there is a judgment" (Job 19:29); "For God will bring every deed into judgment" (Eccl 12:14); "Woe to you who scorn. Will not you yourselves also be scorned?" (Is 33:1); "They who despise me will be despised" (1 Sam 2:30).

Then when he says, the word that I have spoken will be his judge on the last day, he assigns the cause of the judgment. And first, he mentions the cause of the judgment; secondly, the adequacy of this cause (v 49).

He says: I say that such a person has one that judges him. But who will that judge be? He says, the word that I have spoken will be his judge on the last day. According to Augustine, this is the same as saying: I will judge him on the last day. For Christ revealed himself in his sayings, he announced himself. He, therefore, is the word that he spoke, for he spoke about himself: "Even if I do bear witness to myself, my testimony is true, for I know whence I have come and whither I am going" (8:14). It is like saying: What I have said to them and they have despised will judge them: "He is the one ordained by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness" (Acts 10:42).

"And out of His mouth was issuing a sharp two-edged sword." By the twice-sharpened sword going forth out of His mouth is shown, that it is He Himself who has both now declared the word of the Gospel, and previously by Moses declared the knowledge of the law to the whole world. But because from the same word, as well of the New as of the Old Testament, He will assert Himself upon the whole human race, therefore He is spoken of as two-edged. For the sword arms the soldier, the sword slays the enemy, the sword punishes the deserter. And that He might show to the apostles that He was announcing judgment, He says: "I came not to send peace, but a sword." And after He had completed His parables, He says to them: "Have ye understood all these things? And they said, We have. And He added, Therefore is every scribe instructed in the kingdom of God like unto a man that is a father of a family, bringing forth from his treasure things new and old," -the new, the evangelical words of the apostles; the old, the precepts of the law and the prophets: and He testified that these proceeded out of His mouth. Moreover, He also says to Peter: "Go thou to the sea, and cast a hook, and take up the fish that shall first come up; and having opened its mouth, thou shalt find a stater (that is, two denarii), and thou shalt give it for me and for thee." And similarly David says by the Spirit: "God spake once, twice I have heard the same." Because God once decreed from the beginning what shall be even to the end. Finally, as He Himself is the Judge appointed by the Father. on account of His assumption of humanity, wishing to show that men shall be judged by the word that He had declared, He says: "Think ye that I will judge you at the last day? Nay, but the word," says He, "which I have spoken unto you, that shall judge you in the last day." And Paul, speaking of Antichrist to the Thessalonians, says: "Whom the Lord Jesus will slay by the breath of His mouth." And Isaiah says: "By the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked." This, therefore, is the two-edged sword issuing out of His mouth.

"For I have not," He says, "spoken of myself." He says that He has not spoken of Himself, because He is not of Himself. Of this we have frequently discoursed already; so that now, without any more instruction, we have simply to remind you of it as a truth with which you are familiar. "But the Father who sent me, He gave me a commandment what I should say, and what I should speak." We would not stay to elaborate this, did we know that we were now speaking with those with whom we have spoken on former occasions, and of these, not with all, but such only whose memories have retained what they heard: but because there are perhaps some now present who did not hear, and some in a similar condition who have forgotten what they heard, on their account let those who remember what they have heard bear with our delay. How giveth the Father a commandment to His only Son? With what words doth He speak to the Word, seeing that the Son Himself is the only-begotten Word? Could it be by an angel, seeing that by Him the angels were created? Was it by means of a cloud, which, when it gave forth its sound to the Son, gave it not on His account, as He Himself also tells us elsewhere, but for the sake of others who were needing to hear it? Could it be by any sound issuing from the lips, where bodily form was wanting, and where there is no such local distance separating the Son from the Father as to admit of any intervening air, to give effect, by its percussion, to the voice, and render it audible? Let us put away all such unworthy notions of that incorporeal and ineffable subsistence. The only Son is the Word and the Wisdom of the Father, and therein are all the commandments of the Father. For there was no time that the Son knew not the Father's commandment, so as to make it necessary for Him to possess in course of time what He possessed not before. For what He has received from the Father, He received in being born, and was given it in being begotten.

(Tr. liv. 7) When the Father gave the Son a commandment, He did not give Him what He had not: for in the Wisdom of the Father, i. e. in the Word, are all the commandments of the Father. The commandment is said to be given, because it is not from him to whom it is said to be given. But to give the Son that which He never was without, is the same as to beget the Son who never was not.

Through all these words [Jesus] is guiding us to the knowledge of the Father and referring our wonder at all that is brought into existence to him, to the end that "through him" we may know the Father.

It is not because Jesus lacks deliberate purpose or initiative, nor is it because he has to wait for some prearranged signal, that he employs language of this kind. His purpose is to make plain that his own will is connected in indissoluble union with the Father. Let us not then understand that what he calls a "commandment" is a peremptory mandate delivered by organs of speech, and giving orders to the Son, as to a subordinate concerning what he ought to do. Let us rather, in a sense befitting the Godhead, perceive a transmission of will, like the reflection of an object in a mirror, passing without note of time from Father to Son.… Everything the Father has also belongs to the Son. The Son does not acquire it piecemeal. Rather, he has it all at once. Among people, the workman who has been thoroughly taught his craft through long training and experience is able to work for his own future, utilizing that training he has received. And are we to suppose that the wisdom of God, the Maker of all creation, he who is eternally perfect, who is wise without a teacher, the Power of God, "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," needs piecemeal instruction to mark out the manner and measure of his operations?… If you consistently follow this line of reasoning, you will turn the Son into an eternal student who is never able to graduate since the Father's wisdom is infinite.

Because I have not spoken of myself, as one vainly glorious, of whom above: "He who speaks of himself seeks his own glory"; but the Father who sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak. And therefore I speak according to his commandment.

He reminds the people of the Jews of the things that had been aforetime proclaimed concerning Him by Moses, and by this means skilfully rebukes them; and, exposing the impiety that was in them, He clearly proves that they were caring nothing for having insolently outraged even the Law itself, although it was believed to have been given from God. For what God said concerning Christ by Moses is well known to all men, but still I will quote it because of the necessity of perceiving the exact idea; I will raise them up a Prophet from the midst of His brethren, like unto thee; that is to say, a lawgiver, and a mediator between God and men: and I will put My word in His mouth, and He shall speak unto them according as I may command Him; and the man who will not hearken to whatsoever the Prophet may speak in My Name, I will take vengeance on him. At one and the same time therefore our Lord Jesus the Christ censures the boastful temper of the Jewish people, displayed in their fighting even, against God the Father; and, by saying that He has received a commandment from the Father and speaks not of Himself, clearly proves that He Himself is the Prophet fore-announced by the Law and heralded by the voice of God the Father from ages long before. And in a way He calls to their remembrance, although their minds were sluggish in comprehending it, that if they refused to be persuaded by the words that came from Him, they would certainly fall a prey to inevitable punishment, and would endure all that God had said. For they who transgress the Divine commandment of God the Father, and thrust away from themselves the life-giving word of God our Saviour Christ, shall surely be cast down into most utter misery, and shall remain without any part in the life that comes from Him; with good reason hearing that which was spoken by the voice of the prophet: O earth, earth, hear, O hear the word of the Lord. Behold, I bring evils upon this people, as the fruit of their turning away, because they obeyed not My Law, and ye rejected My word. For we shall find that the Jews were liable to a twofold accusation: for they failed to honour the Law itself, although it was generally held dear and accounted an object of reverence, in that they refused to believe on Him Whom the Law proclaimed; and they turned a deaf ear to the words of our Saviour Christ, although He announced openly that He was certainly the Prophet spoken of in the oracles of the Law, when He declared that it was from God the Father that He was supplied with His words.

And let no one suppose that the saying of the Lord----that nothing is spoken by Himself, but that all comes from the Father----can do Him injustice in any way at all, as regards the estimate either of His Essence or of His God-befitting dignity; but first let the matter be thought over again, and let an answer be given to this question of ours:----"Can any one really suppose that the name and exercise of the prophetic office befit Him Who altogether is and is regarded as being in His Nature God?" Surely, I think, every one, however simple he may be, would answer in the negative, and say that it is incredible that the God Who speaks in prophets should Himself be called a prophet: for He it was Who multiplied visions, as it is written, and was likened to similitudes by the hands of the prophets. Since however He assumed the name of servitude and the outward fashion of resemblance to ourselves and with regard to His resemblance to us was called a Prophet, it necessarily follows also that the Law has endued Him with the attributes befitting the prophet, that is to say, the privilege of hearing somewhat from the Father and of receiving a commandment, what He should say and what He should speak. And moreover I shall feel obliged to say this much also. The Jews, possessed with a strong prejudice concerning the Law, believing that it had been spoken from God, could not have been expected to accept the words of the Saviour when He changed the form of the ordinances of old into a spiritual service.

And what cause had they to allege for being unwilling to accept the transformation of the types into their veritable significance? They were not aware that He was by Nature God, nor did they even admit the supposition that the Only-Begotten, being the Word of the Father, had borne our flesh for our sakes: for else, in immediate submission to God, they would have changed their opinion in any way whatever without hesitation, and would have faithfully revered His Divine glory. But the wretched men rather thought that He was altogether one like ourselves, and that, although a mere man, He had thought so highly of Himself as even to attempt to put an end to the very laws which came from God the Father. For instance they once said to Him plainly: For a good work we stone Thee not, but for blasphemy; because Thou, being a Man, makest Thyself God. Our Lord Jesus therefore, by much wisdom and with a definite design, seeking to turn His hearers from the idea that had taken possession of their minds, changes the subject of His discourse from that which was simply and solely the human personality to Him Who was the object of acknowledged and undisputed adoration, I mean of course God the Father; thinking it right to use every means of importunately pleading with the uneducated heart of the Jews, and striving by every possible method to lead on their dull minds to the desire to learn true and more befitting doctrines. So much then may suffice in the way of argument and speculation for any one who would get rid of the carping criticisms of the unholy heretics, when they suppose that the Son will make Himself in any respect whatever inferior to His own Father by saying that He speaks nothing of Himself, but that a commandment has been given Him, and that He speaks according as He has heard.

Since Jesus was the living and personal Word of God the Father, he is necessarily the medium of interpreting what is in the Father. Thus, by saying that he has received a commandment, Jesus means that he brings to light that which is, as it were, the set will and purpose of his own Father.

"For I have not spoken of Myself, but the Father which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment what I should say, and what I should speak."

Surely these things were said for their sakes, that they might have no pretense of excuse. Since if this were not the case, what shall He have more than Isaiah? for he too saith the very same thing, "The Lord God giveth me the tongue of the learned, that I should know when I ought to speak a word." (Isa. l. 4, LXX.) What more than Jeremiah? for he too when he was sent was inspired. (Jer. i. 9.) What then Ezekiel? for he too, after eating the roll, so spake. (Ezek. iii. 1.) Otherwise also, they who were about to hear what He said shall be found to be causes of His knowledge. For if when He was sent, He then received commandment what He should say, thou wilt then argue that before He was sent He knew not. And what more impious than these assertions? if (that is) one take the words of Christ in this sense, and understand not the cause of their lowliness? Yet Paul saith, that both he and those who were made disciples knew "what was that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Rom. xii. 2), and did the Son not know until He had received commandment? How can this be reasonable? Seest thou not that He bringeth His expressions to an excess of humility, that He may both draw those men over, and silence those who should come after.

"And I know that His commandment is life everlasting; whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto Me, so I speak."

Seest thou the humility of the words? For he that hath received a commandment is not his own master. Yet He saith, "As the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom He will." (c. v. 21.) Hath He then power to quicken whom He will, and to say what He will hath He not power? What He intendeth then by the words is this; "The action hath not natural possibility, that He should speak one set of words, and I should utter another." "And I know that His commandment is life everlasting." He said this to those that called Him a deceiver, and asserted that He had come to do hurt. But when He saith, "I judge not," He showeth that He is not the cause of the perdition of these men. By this He all but plainly testifies, when about to remove from, and to be no more with, them, that "I converse with you, speaking nothing as of Myself, but all as from the Father." And for this cause He confined His discourse to them to humble expressions, that He might say, "Even until the end did I utter this, My last word, to them." What word was that? "As the Father said unto Me, so I speak." "Had I been opposed to God I should have said the contrary, that I speak nothing of what is pleasing to God, so as to attract the honor to Myself, but now I have so referred all things to Him, as to call nothing My own. Why then do ye not believe Me when I say that 'I have received a commandment,' and when I so vehemently remove your evil suspicion respecting rivalry? For as it is impossible for those who have received a commandment to do or say anything but what their senders wish, as long as they fulfill the commandment, and do not forge anything; so neither is it possible for Me to say or do anything except as My Father willeth. For what I do He doeth, because He is with Me, and 'the Father hath not left Me alone.'" (c. viii. 29.) Seest thou how everywhere He showeth Himself connected with Him who begat Him, and that there is no separation? For when He saith, "I am not come of Myself," He saith it not, as depriving Himself of power, but as taking away all alienation or opposition. For if men are masters of themselves, much more the Only-begotten Son.

How so? Even because, (as He afterwards declares, ) "I have not spoken from myself, but the Father which sent me: He hath given me a commandment what I should say, and what I should speak." For "the Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know when I ought to speak" the word which I actually speak.

We need to consider the purpose of the words. Indeed he means This is the purpose of my advent—salvation for all. You who do not believe will be condemned—but not by me because this is contrary to my passion, and it is not your condemnation I am after. Because of your [evil] mind you will be condemned by my own words which leave no excuse to the unbelievers on judgment day. These are the words that I spoke many times. In other words, I want nothing that is against the will of the Father, nor do I intend to establish a congregation for myself alone. I always led you all to the Father with my words by telling you that I was sent by him and that it was from him that I received the command to tell you the right words. Therefore I spoke to you words that were in agreement with his will. And this same thing I testify now to you: By those same words you will be condemned. Indeed you will not be able to come up with any excuses, as if you were defending the honor of God, because I always led you to him.

For why did they not believe? Was it not because I am an adversary to God and seek glory for Myself? But "I have not spoken of Myself," rather I declared all things from My Father and nowhere presented Myself as one devising anything different. For "the Father who sent Me gave Me a commandment, what to say and what to speak." What profound humility is in these words!

Since the Son is the Word of the Father, and reveals completely what is in the mind of the Father, He says He receives a commandment what He should say, and what He should speak: just as our word, if we say what we think, brings out what is in our minds. And I know that His commandment is life everlasting.

Then he shows the sufficiency of this cause, saying, for I have not spoken on my own authority. So first he shows this from the origin of his sayings; secondly, from their dignity or value (v 50). Concerning the first he does two things: first, he excludes a false notion; secondly, he states the truth.

The false notion, of course, is that the Son works, or says, or is, merely of himself, and not from another: for this would be to say that the Son is not from the Father, which is what he does say: I say that the word which I have spoken will judge them, for I have not spoken of myself: "The Son cannot do anything of himself" (5:19); "I do not speak of myself" (14:10). Indeed, I have not spoken of myself, is the same as "I was not born of myself but from the Father." He is saying in effect, I will judge him on the last day (appearing in the form of a servant): "He gave him the power to pass judgment, because he is the Son of man" (5:27). Yet I will not judge from human authority, that is, because I am the Son of man, but from divine authority, because I am the Son of God. Therefore, I will not judge of myself, but from the Father from whom I have the authority to judge.

He establishes the truth when he says, the Father who sent me has himself given me commandment what to say and what to speak. Unless this is appropriately understood, it can be the source of two errors. The first is that since the one commanding is greater than the one commanded, the Father is greater than the Son. Secondly, since what is given to someone was not possessed by him before it was given, and so was not known by him, it seems that if the Father gave a commandment to the Son it follows that the Son at some time did not have it, and so did not know it. As a result, something has been added to the Son, and so the Son is not truly God.

In answer to this we should note that all the divine commands are in the mind of the Father, since these commands are nothing other than the plans or patterns of things to be done. And so just as the patterns of all creatures produced by God are in the mind of the Father, and are called ideas, so the patterns of all things to be done by us are in his mind. And just as the patterns of all things pass from the Father to the Son, who is the Wisdom of the Father, so also the patterns of all things to be done. Therefore, the Son says, the Father who sent me has himself given me, as God, commandment, that is, by an eternal generation he has communicated to me what to say within and what to speak without, just as what we say (if we speak the truth) makes known what is in our minds.

There follow the words: "And I know that His commandment is life everlasting." If, then, the Son Himself is eternal life, and the Father's commandment the same, what else is expressed than this, I am the Father's commandment? And in like manner, in what He proceeds to say, "Whatsoever I speak, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak," let us not be taking the "said unto me" as if the Father used words in speaking to the only Word, or that the Word of God needed words from God. The Father spake to the Son in the same way as He gave life to the Son; not that He knew not the one, or had not the other, but just because He was the Son. What, then, do the words mean, "Even as He said unto me, so I speak;" but just, I speak the truth? So the former said as the Truthful One what the latter thus spake as the Truth. The Truthful begat the Truth. What, then, could He now say to the Truth? For the Truth had no imperfection to be supplied by additional truth. He spake, therefore, to the Truth, because He begat the Truth. And in like manner the Truth Himself speaks what has been said to Him; but only to those who have understanding, and who are taught by Him as the God-begotten Truth. But that men might believe what they had not yet capacity to understand, words that were audible issued from His human lips; sounds passing rapidly away broke on the ear, and speedily completed the little term of their duration: but the truths themselves, of which the sounds are but signs, passed, as it were, into the memory of those who heard them, and have come down to us also by means of written characters as signs addressed to the eye. But it is not thus that the Truth speaks; He speaks inwardly to the souls of the intelligent; He needs no sound to instruct, but floods the mind with the light of understanding.

(Tr. liv) If life everlasting is the Son Himself, and the commandment is life everlasting, what is this but saying, I am the commandment of the Father? And in the same way in the following; Whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto Me, so I speak, we must not understand, said unto Me, as if words were spoken to the Only Word. The Father spoke to the Son, as He gave life to the Son; not that the Son knew not, or had not, but that He was the Son. What is meant by, as He said unto Me, so I speak, but that I am the Word who speaks. The Father is true, the Son is truth: the True, begat the Truth. What then could He say to the Truth, if the Truth was perfect from the beginning, and no new truth could be added to Him? That He spake to the Truth then, means that He begat the Truth.

And I know that his commandment is eternal life; whence Matthew nineteen: "If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments"; Deuteronomy thirty: "Choose therefore life, that both you and your seed may live, and that you may love the Lord your God and obey his voice"; and therefore I do not turn aside from his commandment. On account of which he says: Therefore the things that I speak, as the Father has told me, so I speak: because he himself, speaking as man, conformed himself in all things to the divine commandment and will; above in chapter eight: "The things that I have heard from the Father, I speak in the world." And therefore from this he wishes to establish that his word is not to be rejected but to be received as a divine word: as is said of the good in First Thessalonians two: "When you had received the word of the hearing of God, you received it not as the word of men, but, as it truly is, the word of God, who works in you who have believed."

And I think that this would really suffice: yet I will also say something else by way of exposing the insolence of their loquacity. For come now, if it seems good to thee, and let us, having summarized for the present occasion in few words the doctrine of the Incarnation, show concerning the Only-Begotten Himself that it was well and rightly said: I speak not from Myself; but the Father which sent Me, He hath given Me a commandment what I should say and what I should speak. For being Himself the Living and Personal Word of God the Father, He is necessarily the medium of interpreting what is in the Father; and in bringing to light that which is, as it were, the set will and purpose of His own Father, He says He has in effect received a commandment: and any one might see even in the case of ourselves that the fact is truly so and could not be otherwise. For the language of utterance, which consists in the putting together of words and phrases, and which makes itself heard externally by means of articulate speech, reveals that which is in the intellect, when our intellect gives a commandment as it were to it; although indeed the whole process does not take much time. For, the moment it has decided upon anything, the mind at once delivers it over to the voice; and the voice, passing outwards, interprets what is in the innermost depth of the mind, altering nothing of what it has been commanded to utter. "Where then is the strange part of the matter, sirs," any one might very well say to our opponents, "if the Son, being the Word of God the Father, does (in a manner not indeed exactly like ours, for the ways of God transcend all comparison,) interpret the will of Him Who begat Him?" For does not the prophet speak of Him as called by a title most fitting for Him: "Angel of great counsel?" But this I think is quite clear. The Only-Begotten therefore will suffer no detraction as regards His Essence or His dignity, even though He is said to have received a commandment from God the Father: for we ourselves also are often commanding others and ordering them to do something, but they will not on this account deny their community of nature with us, nor will they lose their likeness to us or be less consubstantial with us, whether before or after the utterance of the command.

But thou wilt say that while they remain consubstantial with us, their dignity suffers from their submission to us.

And I say this to thee on this point, concerning the Only-Begotten: "If it were not written concerning Him that being in the form of God He counted it not a prize to be on an equality with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself,----the form of thy objection might really have had a not invalid significance: but since the manner of His submission and humiliation is clear, why dost thou recklessly rail at Him Who endured to suffer even this for our sakes?" Making therefore our argument on every side to conform to accuracy of doctrine, we maintain that our Lord Jesus Christ has spoken the words of the phrase before us in full agreement with the scheme of His Incarnation.

For "the Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know when I ought to speak" the word which I actually speak. "Even as the Father hath said unto me, so do I speak." Now, in what way these things were said to Him, the evangelist and beloved disciple John knew better than Praxeas; and therefore he adds concerning i his own meaning: "Now before the feast of the passover, Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God, and was going to God.

Surely, Lord, before the Father sent You and gave You a commandment, did You not know what to say, did You not know that commandment which is eternal life? Did You not know this eternal life? How then did You say: "I am the life" (John 11:25)? Do you see what kind of inconsistency arises if we do not prudently understand what is being said? So know that the Lord expresses Himself so humbly because His listeners are weak. And what does He wish to express by this? That He says nothing, thinks nothing different from the Father. "For as those who are sent," He says, "say nothing except what has been commanded, so I Myself think and have taught nothing other than what serves the glory of the Father." So, wishing to prove this, that is, His unity of mind with the Father, He recalled this example, that is, the commandment. Therefore He also adds: "So what I say, I say just as the Father has told Me. And since I have said nothing of Myself, what justification will the unbelievers present? Without any contradiction they will be condemned for not having believed the Father." So, orthodox one, do not assume anything lowly in the humble words (such as "I received a commandment" and the like), but understand them prudently, as also this: "I received a commandment, what to say and what to speak." For the Son, being the Word and expressing what is in the Mind, that is, the Father, says that He received a commandment from Him, what to say and what to speak. Just as our word too, if we wish to be truthful, says what the mind proposes to it, and the word never differs in essence from the mind, but is perfectly consubstantial.

Chrysostom explains all this differently, and more clearly. First of all: If any one hears my sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him. Now one is said to be condemned in two ways: either by a judge or by the reason for the condemnation. For a murderer is condemned to be hanged both by the judge who passes sentence and by the murder he committed, which is the reason for his condemnation. He says, I do not judge him, that is, I am not the reason for his condemnation, but he himself is: "Your destruction, O Israel is from yourself; your help is only in me" (Hos 13:9). And the reason is: for I did not come to judge the world, that is, I was not sent to condemn but to save.

But will not such a person be judged? He certainly will, because he who rejects me and does not receive my sayings has a judge. He shows what that judge is when he says, the word that I have spoken, and you have heard, will be his accuser and will be his judge on the last day. "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin" (15:22). He shows that the word that he spoke will judge them by saying, for I have not spoken of myself. This is not said causally, but in a material sense, so that the meaning is: You say that your word will judge. But what is that word? It is the word that I have spoken, for I have not spoken of myself; that is, it is the word from the Father that I have spoken, and what he gave me to say and speak. Otherwise, if I had spoken something in opposition to the Father, or something I had not received from the Father, and they had believed me, they would have an excuse. But because I have spoken as I have, it is certain that they have rejected not only me, but also my Father.

According to this explanation, the statement, the Father who sent me has himself given me commandment what to say and what to speak, shows the sufficiency of the basis of the judgment because of the dignity or value of the word. First, its dignity is given; secondly, the fact that the word was spoken. Its dignity is stated when he says, I know that his commandment is eternal life. "This is the true God and eternal life" (1 Jn 5:20). For the Son himself is the commandment of the Father, or, he is eternal life. "If you would enter life, keep the commandments" (Mt 19:17).

Therefore, because the Father has given me commandment, and this commandment is eternal life, and since I have come to lead men to eternal life, I accomplish the commandment of the Father in all that I do. This is what he is saying, What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has said to me. According to Chrysostom, whose explanation is clear, the meaning is: what I say, therefore, when preaching in public, I say as the Father has said to me, that is, insofar as I have received knowledge from him - understanding this was received by Christ as man.

But if, with Augustine, we understand this to apply to Christ as God, how can the Father say something to him, since Christ is his Word? The answer is that the Father did not say anything to him as though he spoke by words to his only Word. Rather, the Father spoke to the Son by generating him, and giving him life in himself: "He (the Lord) said to me, 'You are my son'" (Ps 2:7).

The Lord told them they would have much time to look after the poor. Further, it is only at his command that salvation can be given to the Gentiles buried with him in the outpouring of ointment by this woman, for rebirth is given only to those who have died with him in the profession of baptism.

The Lord answers that there is abundant time in which they may show their care for the poor, but that salvation cannot be extended to the Gentiles but by obedience to His command, if, that is, by the pouring out of this woman's ointment they are buried together with Him, because regeneration can only be given to those who are dead in the profession of baptism.

(Verse 10, 11.) But Jesus, knowing this, said to them: Why do you trouble this woman? For she has done a good work upon me. For the poor you have always with you, but me you do not always have. Another question arises, why did the Lord say to the disciples after the resurrection: Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the world; and now he says, but you do not always have me. But it seems to me that in this place he is speaking of his bodily presence, which will not be with them in the same way after the resurrection, as it is now in all their meetings and familiarity. The Apostle, being mindful of this matter, says: 'Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we no longer know Him.' (II Cor. 5:16)

Why then doth He Himself say, "The poor always ye have with you, but me ye have not always?" Why, for this reason most of all should we give alms, that we have Him not always an hungered, but in the present life only. But if thou art desirous to learn also the whole meaning of the saying, understand that this was said not with a view to His disciples, although it seem so, but to the woman's weakness. That is, her disposition being still rather imperfect, and they doubting about her; to revive her He said these things. For in proof that for her comfort He said it, He added, "Why trouble ye the woman?" And with regard to our having Him really always with us, He saith, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." From all which it is evident, that for no other object was this said, but that the rebuke of the disciples might not wither the faith of the woman, just then budding.

But though they thus thought, He knowing her intention suffers her. For indeed great was her reverence, and unspeakable her zeal; wherefore of this exceeding condescension, He permitted the oil to be poured even on His head.

For if He refused not to become man, and to be borne in the womb, and to be fed at the breast, why marvellest thou, if He doth not utterly reject this? For like as the Father suffered a savor of meat, and smoke, even so did He the harlot, accepting, as I have already said, her intention. For Jacob too anointed a pillar to God, and oil was offered in the sacrifices, and the priests were anointed with ointment.

But the disciples not knowing her purpose found fault unseasonably, and by the things they laid to her charge, they show the woman's munificence. For saying, that it might have been sold for three hundred pence, they showed how much this woman had spent on the ointment, and how great generosity she had manifested. Wherefore He also rebuked them, saying, "Why trouble ye the woman?" And He adds a reason, as it was His will again to put them in mind of His passion, "For she did it," He said, "for my burial." And another reason. "For ye have the poor always with you, but me ye have not always;" and, "Wheresoever the gospel shall be preached, that shall be told also which this woman hath done."

Seest thou how again He declares beforehand the going forth unto the Gentiles, in this way also consoling them for His death, if after the cross His power was so to shine forth, that the Gospel should be spread abroad in every part of the earth.

Who then is so wretched as to set his face against so much truth? For lo! what He said is come to pass, and to whatever part of the earth thou mayest go, thou wilt see her celebrated.

And yet neither was the person that did it distinguished, nor had what was done many witnesses, neither was it in a theatre, but in a house, that it took place, the disciples only being present.

Who then proclaimed it, and caused it to be spread abroad? It was the power of Him who is speaking these words. And while of countless kings and generals the noble exploits even of those whose memorials remain have sunk into silence; and having overthrown cities, and encompassed them with walls, and set up trophies, and enslaved many nations, they are not known so much as by hearsay, nor by name, though they have both set up statues, and established laws; yet that a woman who was a harlot poured out oil in the house of some leper, in the presence of ten men, this all men celebrate throughout the world; and so great a time has passed, and yet the memory of that which was done hath not faded away, but alike Persians and Indians, Scythians and Thracians, and Sarmatians, and the race of the Moors, and they that dwell in the British Islands, spread abroad that which was done secretly in a house by a woman that had been a harlot.

Great is the loving-kindness of the Lord. He endureth an harlot, an harlot kissing his feet, and moistening them with oil, and wiping them with her hair, and He receives her, and reproves them that blame her. For neither was it right that for so much zeal the woman should be driven to despair.

But mark thou this too, how far they were now raised up above the world, and forward in almsgiving. And why was it He did not merely say, "She hath wrought a good work," but before this, "Why trouble ye the woman?" That they might learn not at the beginning to require too high principles of the weaker sort. Therefore neither doth He examine the act merely itself by itself, but taking into account the person of the woman. And indeed if He had been making a law, He would not have brought in the woman, but that thou mightest learn that for her sake these things were said, that they might not mar her budding faith, but rather cherish it, therefore He saith it, teaching us whatever good thing may be done by any man, though it be not quite perfect, to receive it, and encourage it, and advance it, and not to seek all perfection at the beginning. For, that at least He Himself would rather have desired this, is manifest from the fact, that He required a bag to be borne, who had not where to lay His head. But then the time demanded not this, that He should correct the deed, but that He should accept it only. For even as, if any one asked Him, without the woman's having done it, He would not have approved this; so, after she had done it, He looks to one thing only, that she be not driven to perplexity by the reproof of the disciples, but that she should go from His care, having been made more cheerful and better. For indeed after the oil had been poured out, their rebuke had no seasonableness.

Do thou then likewise, if thou shouldest see any one provide sacred vessels and offer them, and loving to labor upon any other ornament of the church, about its walls or floor; do not command what has been made to be sold, or overthrown, lest thou spoil his zeal. But if, before he had provided them, he were to tell thee of it, command it to be given to the poor; forasmuch as He also did this not to spoil the spirit of the woman, and as many things as He says, He speaks for her comfort.

Then because He had said, "She hath done it for my burial;" that He might not seem to perplex the woman, by making mention of such a thing as this, His burial and death, I mean; see how by that which follows He recovers her, saying, "What she hath done shall be spoken of in the whole world."

And this was at once consolation to His disciples, and comfort and praise to her. For all men, He saith, shall celebrate her hereafter; and now too hath she announced beforehand my passion, by bringing unto me what was needed for a funeral, let not therefore any man reprove her. For I am so far from condemning her as having done amiss, or from blaming her as having not acted rightly, that I will not suffer what hath been done to lie hid, but the world shall know that which has been done in a house, and in secret. For in truth the deed came of a reverential mind, and fervent faith, and a contrite soul.

And wherefore did He promise the woman nothing spiritual; but the perpetual memory? From this He is causing her to feel a confidence about the other things also. For if she hath wrought a good work, it is quite evident she shall receive a due reward.

He clearly shows that the Apostles had uttered something harsh against her, when He says, Why trouble ye the woman? And beautifully He adds, She hath wrought a good work in me; as much as to say, It is not a waste of ointment, as ye say, but a good work, that is, a service of piety and devotion.

But He rebukes the disciples for their unwarranted criticism of the woman. For one should not expect exalted things from those who have only recently approached Christ, and especially from those whose emotions are unrestrained, but one should accept even their measure of faith. For whenever someone wants to offer a gift to God, do not scorn him, or cut him off in his eagerness by sending him away to give to the poor, but let him fulfill his offering. But if he should ask your advice as to whether he should give to the poor or make an offering to God, advise him to give to the poor. However, if he has already made the offering to God, there is no reason to scorn him, for one should prefer honor rendered to God above everything else, even almsgiving itself.

And Jesus knowing it, said to them. Here is set forth the excuse of the woman: and he does two things. First, he excuses and commends her; second, he touches upon her reward, amen I say to you etc. And first he excuses her; second, he responds to the disciples' objection; third, he explains what he had said. He says, then, why do you trouble this woman? The Lord is always the advocate of this woman, because in Luke 7:39 the Pharisee accused her of sin, saying: this man, if he were a prophet, would know surely who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him etc., and the Lord excused her through her love. Likewise, in Luke 10:40, Martha also accused her of idleness, and the Lord excused her through contemplation. Here the disciples reproach her for the pouring out of ointment, and the Lord excuses her for her devotion, saying: why do you trouble this woman? Job 6:27: you rush in upon the fatherless, and you endeavor to overthrow your friend. She hath wrought a good work upon me; Proverbs 3:27: do not forbid him to do good who is able; if thou art able, do good thyself also. Chrysostom says: it sometimes happens that someone does a work good in its kind, and perhaps could have done better; hence one should act differently before the deed and after the deed. Hence after the deed, the person should be commended for the deed; but if he had come before the deed, he should have been counseled to do what is better. Hence it is to be believed that if she had sought counsel from the Lord beforehand, he would have told her to give to the poor.

There remains always this great boast, perhaps the greatest boast that is possible to human nature. I mean the great boast that the most unhappy part of our population is also the most hilarious part. The poor can forget that social problem which we (the moderately rich) ought never to forget. Blessed are the poor; for they alone have not the poor always with them. The honest poor can sometimes forget poverty. The honest rich can never forget it.

Here a question arises how the Lord should have said elsewhere to His disciples, Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world; but here, Me ye shall not have always. (Matt. 28:20.) I suppose that in this place He speaks of His bodily presence, which shall not be with them after the resurrection in daily intercourse and friendship, as it is now.

For the poor ye have ever with you. The Lord shows in these words as of set purpose, that they were not to be blamed who ministered of their substance to Him while He dwelt in a mortal body; forasmuch as the poor were ever in the Church, to whom the believers might do good whensoever they would, but He would abide in the body with them but a very short time; whence it follows, But me ye shall not have always.

Or, it is to be explained by supposing this spoken to Judas only; and He said not, Ye have not, but Ye shall not have, because this was spoken in the person of Judas to all his followers. And He says, Not always, though they have it at no time, because the wicked seem to have Christ in this present world, while they mix among His members and approach His table, but they shall not always so have Him when He shall say to His elect, Come, ye blessed of my Father. (Matt. 25:34.)

Nor should you think that because Christ in His love for mankind accepts mercy shown to others as something offered to Himself, that we should overlook God and only practice almsgiving. For if this were so, we ought then to steal from the temples and use what is stolen for almsgiving. But it is not so; and that you may understand that it is not the same thing to show mercy to the poor and to honor Christ Himself and to serve Him, listen: "For ye have the poor always with you; but Me ye have not always." Do you see, then, that it is one thing to serve Christ and another thing to show mercy to the poor, even though Christ in His love for mankind accepts for Himself the things that are done for the poor?

For the poor you have always with you etc. Here is set forth the response to their objection, because they were saying that it could have been given to the poor. But me you have not always. This is true according to bodily presence, but he will always be present according to spiritual presence. Hence he says below, at the end, 28:20: behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.

(Verse 12.) For she has poured this ointment on my body, to bury me. What you perceive as a waste of ointment is actually a burial ritual. It is not surprising that she has given me the sweet smell of her faith, as I am about to shed my blood for her.

The ointment with an agreeable odor represents what the faithful do for God. This very work of the faithful of God, which is ointment, becomes something else for the good of humanity—for instance, almsgiving, visits to the sick, welcoming strangers, humility, gentleness, pardon, and so forth. These are things that benefit human beings. He who does them to Christians anoints the Lord's feet with ointment, for they are the Lord's feet with which he will always walk.… This is the ointment which also anoints Christ's head and flows down over his whole body, that is, it pours down on the whole church. This is the precious ointment that fills the whole house with its odor, that is, the church of Christ. This is the work that is proper not for penitents but for the preeminently holy people. Certainly the teaching necessary for people which feeds those who are poor in spiritually good things or those who are perhaps weak in avoiding sin—this is the plain ointment with which the Lord's feet are anointed. However, the knowledge of the true faith which pertains to God alone—this is the precious ointment that anoints God, Christ's head.

It was the custom among this people to embalm the bodies of the dead with divers spices, to the end that they might be kept from corruption as long as possible. And as this woman was desirous of embalming the Lord's dead Body, and would not be able because she would be anticipated by His resurrection, it was therefore arranged by Divine Providence that she should anoint the Lord's living Body. This then is what He says, In that she hath poured, that is, By anointing My living Body she shows forth My death and burial.

For in that she hath poured this myrrh on My Body, she did it for My burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her. He teaches us that the woman did this by some divine inspiration, prefiguring His death and the burial of His Body. For the Lord would not have allowed Himself to be anointed with myrrh if it did not reveal a mystery. Being God, He foretold what would be, that the deed which the woman did would be told everywhere in praise of her. Behold God's love for mankind, how He rewards the woman with a great gift; for He causes her memorial to be kept universally, for as long as His Gospel endures. How did the myrrh symbolize His burial? It was the practice among the Jews to prepare bodies for burial by anointing them with myrrh, as the Egyptians did, to prevent decay and foul odor. He is saying, "By pouring the myrrh the woman shows that My Body will be buried." He said all these things to shame and reprove Judas by whom He would be betrayed and handed over for burial. Understand it also in a spiritual sense: the leper is the Gentile people, the sinful woman is the congregation and the Church from among the Gentiles, who poured out myrrh, that is, faith, on the head of Christ, which is His divinity. For everyone who believes that Christ is God pours out myrrh on the head of Christ. But Judas, who rebuked the woman, as John says (Jn. 12:4-6), is a symbol of the Jews who still to this day murmur against the Church.

And what did she do? For she, in pouring this ointment upon my body, hath done it for my burial. But what is this? Did she intend to bury Christ? No. But, as Augustine says, the Holy Spirit, just as he moves to speaking, so sometimes he moves to acting; hence it is written, Romans 8:14: whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are not under the law. Hence it happens that someone is instructed by the Holy Spirit toward a meaning he did not intend. So she intended a good work, but the Holy Spirit was directing it toward the burial. He says, she hath wrought a good work upon me. Someone might say that giving to one's neighbor would be a good work. True, but not so great that it would be preached throughout the whole world; therefore he adds, amen I say to you: wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, that also which she hath done shall be told for a memory of her, i.e., in commendation of her. Jerome says that this one about to be crucified foretells that the Gospel will be narrated in the whole world, and yet it had not yet been published when Matthew wrote. Likewise note that many have wanted their birth to be proclaimed throughout the whole world, and yet their memory has been wiped out, but the deed of this woman has not been wiped out; Proverbs 10:7: the memory of the just is with praises; and Psalm 111:7: the just shall be in everlasting remembrance.

And this her work shall be told wherever this Gospel is preached, because when Israel draws back, the glory of the Gospel is preached by the belief of the Gentiles.

(Verse 13-14) Truly I tell you, wherever this Gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her. Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests. In the whole world, not so much this woman, as the Church is preached, that she has buried the Savior, that she has anointed his head. And pay attention to the knowledge of the future, that he will suffer in two days and die, and his Gospel will be celebrated in the whole world.

Note His knowledge of things to come, how though about to suffer death within two days, He knows that His Gospel will be preached throughout the whole world.

That is, To whatsoever place throughout the whole world the Church shall be propagated, there this also that she hath done shall be told. That also that is added signifies, that as Judas by his reproof of her has earned evil character of treachery, so has she also earned the glory of pious devotedness.

(cont. Maximin. ii. 12.) For if He has aught less in His power than the Father has, then all that the Father has, are not His; for by begetting Him the Father gave power to the Son, as by begetting Him He gave all things which He has in His substance to Him whom He begot of His substance.

(De Trin. i. 8.) And because their substance is inseparable, it is enough sometimes to name the Father, sometimes the Son, nor is it possible to separate from either His Spirit, who is especially called the Spirit of truth.

(De Trin. vii. 3.) The Father is revealed by the Son, that is, by His Word. For if the temporal and transitory word which we utter both shows itself, and what we wish to convey, how much more the Word of God by which all things were made, which so shows the Father as He is Father, because itself is the same and in the same manner as the Father.

(Quæst. Ev. i. 1.) When He said, None knoweth the Son but the Father, He did not add, And he to whom the Father will reveal the Son. But when He said, None knoweth the Father but the Son, He added, And he to whom the Son will reveal him. But this must not be so understood as though the Son could be known by none but by the Father only; while the Father may be known not only by the Son, but also by those to whom the Son shall reveal Him. But it is rather expressed thus, that we may understand that both the Father and the Son Himself are revealed by the Son, inasmuch as He is the light of our mind; and what is afterwards added, And he to whom the Son will reveal, is to be understood as spoken of the Son as well as the Father, and to refer to the whole of what had been said. For the Father declares Himself by His Word, but the Word declares not only that which is intended to be declared by it, but in declaring this declares itself.

A beginning should be made from the center, that is, from Christ. For He Himself is the "Mediator between God and men," holding the central position in all things. Hence it is necessary to start from Him if a man wants to reach Christian wisdom, as it is proved in Matthew: for "no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and him to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him."

In this manner it is possible to find in the illumination of mechanical art, whose entire intention is directed toward the production of artifacts. In which we can perceive these three things, namely the generation and incarnation of the Word, the order of living, and the covenant of God and the soul. And this, if we consider the origin, the effect, and the fruit; or thus: the art of working, the quality of the artifact produced, and the usefulness of the fruit derived.

If we consider the origin, we shall see that the artificial product proceeds from the artisan by means of a likeness existing in his mind, through which the artisan conceives before he produces, and then produces as he has planned. Moreover, the artisan produces an exterior work conformed to the interior exemplar as closely as he can; and if he could produce such a product that would love and know him, he would certainly do so; and if that product were to know its maker, this would be by means of the likeness according to which it proceeded from the artisan; and if it had darkened eyes of knowledge, so that it could not raise itself above itself, it would be necessary, in order that it might be led to knowledge of its maker, that the likeness through which the product had been produced should condescend to that nature which could be grasped and known by it.

By this manner understand that from the supreme Artisan no creature proceeded except through the eternal Word, "in whom He disposed all things," and through whom He produced not only creatures having the nature of a vestige, but also of an image, so that they might be assimilated to Him through knowledge and love. And since through sin the rational creature had the eye of contemplation clouded over, it was most fitting that the eternal and invisible should become visible and assume flesh, in order to lead us back to the Father. And this is what is said in John fourteen: No one comes to the Father except through me; and Matthew eleven: No one knows the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. And therefore it is said the Word was made flesh. Considering therefore the illumination of mechanical art with respect to the production of the work, we shall behold therein the Word begotten and incarnate, that is, the Divinity and the humanity and the integrity of the whole faith.

But "no one is good," except His Father. It is this same Father of His, then who being one is manifested by many powers. And this was the import of the utterance, "No man knew the Father," who was Himself everything before the coming of the Son. So that it is veritably clear that the God of all is only one good, just Creator, and the Son in the Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever, Amen.

The one who sees the Son, who has the image of the Father in himself, sees the Father himself.… These things are to be understood in a manner befitting to God. He said, "Everything has been handed down to me" so that he might not seem to be a member of a different species or inferior to the Father. Jesus added this in order to show that his nature is ineffable and inconceivable, like the Father's. For only the divine nature of the Trinity comprehends itself. Only the Father knows his own Son, the fruit of his own substance. Only the divine Son recognizes the One by whom he has been begotten. Only the Holy Spirit knows the deep things of God, the thought of the Father and the Son.

So that it might not be supposed that anything in him is less than what is in God, Jesus said that everything was entrusted to him by his Father, that he alone was known to his Father and that his Father was known to him alone or to one to whom he himself had wished to reveal his Father. By this revelation Jesus showed that the same essence of both Father and Son existed in their knowledge of each other. One who could know the Son would also know the Father in his Son, because everything was handed down to him from the Father. Moreover, nothing else was handed down than what was known to the Father in the Son alone, but the things that belonged to the Father were known to be revealed in the Son alone. Thus in this mystery of mutual knowledge it is understood that nothing else existed in the Son than what was known to be in the Father.

Or that we may not think that there is any thing less in Him than in God, therefore He says this.

And also in the mutual knowledge between the Father and the Son, He teaches us that there is nothing in the Son beyond what was in the Father, for it follows, And none knoweth the Son but the Father, nor does any man know the Father but the Son.

For this mutual knowledge proclaims that they are of one substance, since He that should know the Son, should know the Father also in the Son, since all things were delivered to Him by the Father.

The Father entrusts. The Son receives. What is entrusted? All things have been entrusted to the Son, but this does not mean cosmically heaven and earth and the elements and the rest of nature which God himself made and established. Rather, it refers personally to the people who have access to the Father through the Son and who were formerly rebellious but afterward began to know God.

(Verse 27.) Everything has been handed over to me by my Father. And understand mystically the One who hands over the Father and the One who receives the Son. Otherwise, if we want to feel according to our weakness, when the one receiving starts to have, the one giving will start to not have. However, everything that has been handed over to Him does not mean the heavens and the earth, and the elements, and the rest that He Himself made and created: but those who, through the Son, have access to the Father, and who previously were rebellious, began to feel God afterwards.

And no one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal. Let Eunomius be ashamed of claiming to have such knowledge of the Father and the Son as they have of each other. But if he persists in this and consoles himself in his madness because it follows, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal. It is one thing to know by the equality of nature what you know, and another by the dignity of the revealer.

For if we conceive of this thing according to our weakness, when he who receives begins to have, he who gives begins to be without. Or when He says, All things are committed to him, He may mean, not the heaven and earth and the elements, and the rest of the things which He created and made, but those who through the Son have access to the Father.

Let the heretic Eunomius therefore blush hereat who claims to himself such a knowledge of the Father and the Son, as they have one of anothera. But if he argues from what follows, and props up his madness by that, And he to whom the Son will reveal him, it is one thing to know what you know by equality with God, another to know it by His vouchsafing to reveal it.

For since He had said, "I thank Thee, because Thou hast hid them, and hast revealed them unto babes;" to hinder thy supposing that as being Himself deprived of this power, and unable to effect it, so He offers thanks, He saith, "All things are delivered unto me of my Father." And to them that are rejoicing, because the devils obey them, "Nay, why marvel," saith He. "that devils yield to you? All things are mine; All things are delivered unto me."

But when thou hearest, "they are delivered," do not surmise anything human. For He uses this expression, to prevent thine imagining two unoriginate Gods. Since, that He was at the same time both begotten, and Lord of all, He declares in many ways, and in other places also.

Then He saith what is even greater than this, lifting up thy mind; "And no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, but the Son." Which seems indeed to the ignorant unconnected with what went before, but hath full accordance therewith. As thus: having said, "All things are delivered unto me of my Father," He adds, "And what marvel," so He speaks, "if I be Lord of all? I who have also another greater privilege, the knowing the Father, and being of the same substance." Yea, for this too He covertly signifies by His being the only one who so knew Him. For this is His meaning, when He saith, "No man knoweth the Father but the Son."

And see at what time He saith this. When they by His works had received the certain proof of His might, not only seeing Him work miracles, but endowed also in His name with so great powers. Then, since He had said, "Thou hast revealed them unto babes," He signifies this also to pertain to Himself; for "neither knoweth any man the Father," saith He, "save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son is willing to reveal Him;" not "to whomsoever He may be enjoined," "to whomsoever He may be commanded." But if He reveals Him, then Himself too. This however He let pass as acknowledged, but the other He hath set down. And everywhere He affirms this; as when He saith, "No man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

And thereby he establishes another point also, His being in harmony and of one mind with Him. "Why," saith He, "I am so far from fighting and warring with Him, that no one can even come to Him but by me." For because this most offended them, His seeming to be a rival God, He by all means doth away with this; and interested Himself about this not less earnestly, but even more so, than about His miracles.

But when He saith, "Neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son," He means not this, that all men were ignorant of Him, but that with the knowledge wherewith He knows Him, no man is acquainted with Him; which may be said of the Son too. For it was not of some God unknown, and revealed to no man, that He was so speaking, as Marcion saith; but it is the perfection of knowledge that He is here intimating, since neither do we know the Son as He should be known; and this very thing, to add no more, Paul was declaring, when he said, "We know in part, and we prophesy in part."

Since the Lord Jesus Christ sent the apostles to preach, (our rule is) that no others ought to be received as preachers than those whom Christ appointed; for "no man knoweth the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him." Nor does the Son seem to have revealed Him to any other than the apostles, whom He sent forth to preach-that, of course, which He revealed to them.

With regard, however, to the Father, the very gospel which is common to us will testify that He was never visible, according to the word of Christ: "No man knoweth the Father, save the Son." For even in the Old Testament He had declared, "No man shall see me, and live.

With us, however, the Son alone knows the Father, and has Himself unfolded "the Father's bosom.

Wherefore? Because "I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world" and, "I am the way: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me; " and, "No man can come to me, except the Father draw him; " and, "All things are delivered unto me by the Father; " and, "As the Father quickeneth (the dead), so also doth the Son; " and again, "If ye had known me, ye would have known the Father also.

He exults in spirit when He says to the Father, "I thank Thee, O Father, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent." He, moreover, affirms also that to no man is the Father known, but to His Son; and promises that, as the Son of the Father, He will confess those who confess Him, and deny those who deny Him, before His Father.

In His preceding words, He said to the Father, "Father, Thou hast revealed." Lest you think that He Himself does nothing and that everything is of the Father, He says, "All things have been given to Me and both the Father and I have the same authority." And when you hear "given" do not think that means given as to a servant or a subordinate, but rather as bestowed upon a son. It is because He was begotten of the Father that those things were given to Him. For if He were not begotten and yet were of the same essence as the Father, those things need not have been given to Him because He would have already possessed them. See what He says: all things have been given, not by a master, but by My Father. As, for example, when a handsome child is born of a handsome father, the child says, "I have been given, that is, I have inherited, my father's beauty." He says something great, "There is nothing marvelous in My being the Master of all things since I possess something even greater, that is, to know the Father, and knowing Him, to reveal Him to others." Consider, then: He said, above, that the Father has revealed the mysteries to babes, and here, that the Son reveals the Father. You see, then, the single power of the Father and the Son, since both the Father and the Son reveal.

All things have been delivered to me by my Father. He had given thanks to the Father, because he revealed his secrets to little ones. But someone might suppose that he himself could not reveal; hence he excludes this: first, he touches on the greatness of his own power; secondly, he invites people to himself, as though saying, "I am powerful" (v. 28).

First, he does two things: first, he states that he is equal to the Father; secondly, he applies it spiritually to what he said (v. 27b).

He says, therefore: Someone could ask whether he can do all things. He answers that all things have been delivered to me by my Father. But note the equality, although the origin is from the Father, which is against Sabellius. But what is meant by all things? This can be explained in three ways:

All things, i.e., above every creature, as below (28:18): "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." Or all things, i.e., the elect and predestined, who have been given in a special way: "Yours they were and you have given them to me" (Jn 17:6). Likewise, all things, namely, intrinsic, i.e., every perfection of the godhead: "As the Father has life in himself, so he has given to the Son to have life in himself" (Jn 5:26). And we should not understand this in a bodily sense, because if he gave, he also kept it for himself. This explanation is Augustine's and Hilary's.

But someone could ask: How did he give? Therefore, he tells how, when he says, from my Father. Hence he received this by generation. And no one knows the Son except the Father. Now he adapts his statement in a specific way to his proposition not only that he is equal to the Father but also consubstantial. From the substance of the Father exceeds all understanding, since the very essence of the Father is said to be unknowable, as is the essence of the Son. Hence there the equality is noted and Arius answered, who said that the Father is invisible but the Son visible. And no one knows the Son except the Father. But what is this? Did not the saints know? It must be said that they knew him by attaining their goal or by faith, but not by comprehending. But does not the Holy Spirit know? Yes. But it should be noted that limiting statements are sometimes added to the essential divine names and sometimes to the personal names. And when they are added to the personal names, they do not exclude that which is the same by nature; hence terms added to the Father do not exclude the Son. Hence where it says, "honor and glory to the immortal King, the invisible and only God" (1 Tim 1:17), the others of the same nature are not excluded. Similarly, when he says, no one knows..., the Holy Spirit is not excluded, for he is the same in nature. But when he says, no one knows, it means no man except the Son. And thus it is shown that the Father knows the Son. But this is contrary to Origen. For the Son knows by comprehension. Therefore, because he knows perfectly and is knowable, he has the power to reveal, as the Father has; hence he says, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. For manifestation is by means of a word: "Father, I have manifested your name to men..." (Jn 17:6) and (1:18): "No one has ever seen God." But he knew him; therefore, he could manifest him. Consequently, what he had said of the Father he attributed to himself. For he had said, You have hid these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them to little ones. The Son also can do this, in as much as he has the same power.

Whence do we all thus labour, but that we are mortal men, bearing vessels of clay which cause us much difficulty. But if the vessels of flesh are straitened, the regions of love will be enlarged. To what end then does He say, Come unto me, all ye that labour, but that ye should not labour?

As to the other one, about the burden of our sins being intolerable, it might be clearer if we said 'unbearable', because that still has two meanings: you say 'I cannot bear it,' when you mean it gives you great pain, but you also say 'That bridge will not bear that truck' — not meaning 'That bridge will feel pain,' but 'If that truck goes on to it, it will break and not be a bridge any longer, but a mass of rubble.' I wonder if that is what the Prayer Book means; that, whether we feel miserable or not, and however we feel, there is on each of us a load which, if nothing is done about it, will in fact break us, will send us from this world to whatever happens afterwards, not as souls but as broken souls.

It would be a bold and silly creature that came before its Creator with the boast "I'm no beggar. I love you disinterestedly". Those who come nearest to a Gift-love for God will next moment, even at the very same moment, be beating their breasts with the publican and laying their indigence before the only real Giver. And God will have it so. He addresses our Need-love: "Come unto me all ye that travail and are heavy-laden," or, in the Old Testament, "Open your mouth wide and I will fill it."

Stand apart from the inclination to love sin and to love the flesh. Turn to deeds worthy of praise. Draw near to me, so that you may become sharers of the divine nature and partakers of the Holy Spirit. Jesus called everyone, not only the people of Israel. As the Maker and Lord of all, he spoke to the weary Jews who did not have the strength to bear the yoke of the law. He spoke to idolaters heavy laden and oppressed by the devil and weighed down by the multitude of their sins. To Jews he said, "Obtain the profit of my coming to you. Bow down to the truth. Acknowledge your Advocate and Lord. I set you free from bondage under the law, bondage in which you endured a great deal of toil and hardship, unable to accomplish it easily and accumulating for yourselves a very great burden of sins."

(Mor. xxx. 15.) For a cruel yoke and hard weight of servitude it is to be subject to the things of time, to be ambitious of the things of earth, to cling to falling things, to seek to stand in things that stand not, to desire things that pass away, but to be unwilling to pass away with them. For while all things fly away against our wish, those things which had first harassed the mind in desire of gaining them, now oppress it with fear of losing them.

He calls to Him those that were labouring under the hardships of the Law, and those who are burdened with the sins of this world.

(Verse 28, 29.) Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. The weight of sin is heavy, and the prophet Zacharias testifies, saying, iniquity sits upon a talent of lead (Zacch. 5). And the Psalmist laments: My iniquities have overwhelmed me (Psalm 38:4). Certainly, it invites those who were oppressed under the heavy yoke of the Law to the grace of the Gospel.

That the burden of sin is heavy the Prophet Zachariah bears witness, saying, that wickedness sitteth upon a talent of lead. (Zech. 5:7.) And the Psalmist fills it up, Thy iniquities are grown heavy upon me. (Ps. 38:4)

Next, having brought them by His words to an earnest desire, and having signified His unspeakable power, He after that invites them, saying. "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Not this or that person, but all that are in anxiety, in sorrows, in sins. Come, not that I may call you to account, but that I may do away your sins; come, not that I want your honor, but that I want your salvation. "For I," saith He, "will give you rest." He said not, "I will save you," only; but what was much more, "I will place you in all security."

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Thus, "be not afraid," saith He, "hearing of a yoke, for it is easy: fear not, because I said, 'a burden,' for it is light."

And how said He before, "The gate is narrow and the way strait?" Whilst thou art careless, whilst thou art supine; whereas, if thou duly perform His words, the burden will be light; wherefore also He hath now called it so.

But how are they duly performed? If thou art become lowly, and meek, and gentle. For this virtue is the mother of all strictness of life. Wherefore also, when beginning those divine laws, with this He began. And here again He doeth the very same, and exceeding great is the reward He appoints. "For not to another only dost thou become serviceable; but thyself also above all thou refreshest," saith He. "For ye shall find rest unto your souls."

Even before the things to come, He gives thee here thy recompense, and bestows the prize already, making the saying acceptable, both hereby, and by setting Himself forward as an example. For, "Of what art thou afraid?" saith He, "lest thou shouldest be a loser by thy low estate? Look to me, and to all that is mine; learn of me, and then shalt thou know distinctly how great thy blessing." Seest thou how in all ways He is leading them to humility? By His own doings: "Learn of me, for I am meek." By what themselves are to gain; for, "Ye shall find," saith He, "rest unto your souls." By what He bestows on them; for, "I too will refresh you," saith He. By rendering it light; "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." So likewise doth Paul, saying, "For the present light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."

And how, some one may say, is the burden light, when He saith, "Except one hate father and mother;" and, "Whosoever taketh not up his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me:" and, "Whosoever forsaketh not all that he hath, cannot be my disciple:" when He commands even to give up our very life? Let Paul teach thee, saying, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" And that, "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us." Let those teach thee, who return from the council of the Jews after plenty of stripes, and "rejoice that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Christ." And if thou art still afraid and tremblest at hearing of the yoke and the burden, the fear comes not of the nature of the thing, but of thy remissness; since if thou art prepared, and in earnest, all will be easy to thee and light. Since for this cause Christ also, to signify that we too must needs labor ourselves, did not mention the gracious things only, and then hold His peace, nor the painful things only, but set down both. Thus He both spake of "a yoke," and called it "easy;" both named a burden, and added that it was "light;" that thou shouldest neither flee from them as toilsome, nor despise them as over easy.

But if even after all this, virtue seem to thee an irksome thing, consider that vice is more irksome. And this very thing He was intimating, in that He said not first, "Take my yoke upon you," but before that, "Come, ye that labor and are heavy laden;" implying that sin too hath labor, and a burden that is heavy and hard to bear. For He said not only, "Ye that labor," but also, "that are heavy laden." This the prophet too was speaking of, when in that description of her nature, "As an heavy burden they weighed heavy upon me." And Zacharias too, describing her, saith she is "A talent of lead."

And this moreover experience itself proves. For nothing so weighs upon the soul, and presses it down, as consciousness of sin; nothing so much gives it wings, and raises it on high, as the attainment of righteousness and virtue.

And mark it: what is more grievous, I pray thee, than to have no possessions? to turn the cheek, and when smitten not to smite again? to die by a violent death? Yet nevertheless, if we practise self-command, all these things are light and easy, and pleasurable.

But whatever I may say, my speech will present no such proof as the actual trial. Wherefore I would there were present here with us some one of those who have attained unto that summit of self-restraint, and then you would know assuredly the delight thereof; and that none of those that are enamored of voluntary poverty would accept wealth, though ten thousand were to offer it.

But would these, say you, ever consent to become poor, and to cast away the anxieties which they have? And what of that? This is but a proof of their madness and grievous disease, not of anything very pleasurable in the thing. And this even themselves would testify to us, who are daily lamenting over these their anxieties, and accounting their life to be not worth living. But not so those others; rather they laugh, leap for joy, and the wearers of the diadem do not so glory, as they do in their poverty.

Again, to turn the cheek is, to him that gives heed, a less grievous thing than to smite another; for from this the contest hath beginning, in that termination: and whereas by the former thou hast kindled the other's pile too, by the latter thou hast quenched even thine own flames. But that not to be burnt is a pleasanter thing than to be burnt, surely plain to every man. And if this hold in regard of bodies, much more in a soul.

And whether is lighter, to contend, or to be crowned? to fight, or to have the prize? and to endure waves, or to run into harbor? Therefore also, to die is better than to live. For the one withdraws us from waves and dangers, while the other adds unto them, and makes a man subject to numberless plots and distresses, which have made life not worth living in thine account.

And if thou disbelievest our sayings, hearken to them that have seen the countenances of the martyrs in the time of their conflicts, how when scourged and flayed, they were exceeding joyful and glad, and when exposed upon hot irons, rejoiced, and were glad of heart, more than such as lie upon a bed of roses. Wherefore Paul also said, when he was at the point of departing hence, and closing his life by a violent death, "joy, and rejoice with you all; for the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me." Seest thou with what exceeding strength of language he invites the whole world to partake in his gladness? So great a good did he know his departure hence to be, so desirable, and lovely, and worthy of prayer, that formidable thing, death.

But that virtue's yoke is sweet and light, is manifest many other ways also; but to conclude, if you please, let us look also at the burdens of sin. Let us then bring forward the covetous, the retailers and second-hand dealers in shameless bargains. What now could be a heavier burden than such transactions? how many sorrows, how many anxieties, how many disappointments, how many dangers, how many plots and wars, daily spring up from these gains? how many troubles and disturbances? For as one can never see the sea without waves, so neither such a soul without anxiety, and despondency, and fear, and disturbance; yea, the second overtakes the first, and again others come up, and when these are not yet ceased, others come to a head.

Or wouldest thou see the souls of the revilers, and of the passionate? Why, what is worse than this torture? what, than the wounds they have within? what, than the furnace that is continually burning, and the flame that is never quenched?

Or of the sensual, and of such as cleave unto this present life? Why, what more grievous than this bondage? They live the life of Cain, dwelling in continual trembling and fear at every death that happens; the kinsmen of the dead mourn not so much, as these do for their own end.

What again fuller of turmoil, and more frantic, than such as are puffed up with pride? "For learn," saith He, "of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls." Because long-suffering is the mother of all good things.

Fear thou not therefore, neither start away from the yoke that lightens thee of all these things, but put thyself under it with all forwardness, and then thou shalt know well the pleasure thereof. For it doth not at all bruise thy neck, but is put on thee for good order's sake only, and to persuade thee to walk seemly, and to lead thee unto the royal road, and to deliver thee from the precipices on either side, and to make thee walk with ease in the narrow way.

Since then so great are its benefits, so great its security, so great its gladness, let us with all our soul, with all our diligence, draw this yoke; that we may both here "find rest unto our souls," and attain unto the good things to come, by the grace and love towards man of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and might, now and ever, and world without end. Amen.

Now poverty is a light thing to those who possess it, and if a man were to call the poverty which is for the sake of God "riches," he would call it rightly, and even as it is. Therefore our Lord also lifted a heavy yoke from His disciples in that He made them destitute of the riches of the world, saying, "Come unto Me, all ye that are weary and are laden with heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." And who are these, unless it be those who are wearied by the superfluities of riches, and who bear the heavy yoke of the cares and anxieties of the world? And what weariness is so oppressive as this? For when thou hast come to enjoy thyself, thou art the more tired. The care for human riches is a path which hath no ending in this life, for however far a man may travel along it, it lengtheneth out before his footsteps, and there is nothing which breaketh it except death. And when a man hath gathered together riches and mammon that he may enjoy himself, and live daintily and luxuriously, his enjoyment is weariness, and if the enjoyment of the world be weariness, what shall weariness itself be called? And if the enjoyments and luxuries are heavy labours, what shall labour itself be called? For the world is heavy in all its conversation, but because of the love thereof they who carry its burdens perceive them not, and they stumble therein like blind men, but discern it not, and though they carry heavy burdens, they are light unto them, and they weary and exert themselves painfully after the merchandise of loss, but know not that it is loss. And because our Lord saw them in this empty labour, He cried unto them, saying, "Come unto Me, and I will give you rest, for in your weariness there is no rest. But your weariness begetteth weariness, and your labour bringeth forth labour, and your riches gather together poverty, and your rest is tribulation, and your enjoyment is affliction, and your refreshing is toil; for the path of the desire of riches which ye have trodden of your own freewill hath no end; but if ye will come to Me by My road it will come to an end."

(non occ.) I will not only take from you your burden, but will satisfy you with inward refreshment.

Come, He says, not with the feet, but with the life, not in the body, but in faith. For that is a spiritual approach by which any man approaches God; and therefore it follows, Take my yoke upon you.

We are naturally obliged to state our opinion clearly to such people, and to reply: O, you! Why do you reason to your own perdition rather than your salvation? And why do you pick out for yourselves the obscure passages of inspired Scripture and then tear them out of context and twist them in order to accomplish your own destruction? Do you not hear the Savior crying out every day: "As I live … I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live" [Ezekiel 33:11]? Do you not hear Him Who says: "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand" [Matthew 3:2]; and again: "Just so, I tell you, there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15:7, adapted)? Did He ever say to some: "Do not repent for I will not accept you," while to others who were predestined: "But you, repent! because I knew you beforehand"? Of course not! Instead, throughout the world and in every church He shouts: "Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). Come, He says, all you who are burdened with many sins, to the One Who takes away the sin of the world; come all who thirst to the fountain which flows and never dies. - "Second Ethical Discourse"

He calls all mankind, not only the Jews, but also the Gentiles. By those "that labour" understand the Jews, who follow the strict observances of the law and labor in the occupation of fulfilling the commandments of the law. Those who are "heavy laden" are the Gentiles, who are oppressed by the burden of sins. To all these does Christ give rest. For to believe, to confess, and to be baptized, what labor is it? Is it not, rather, rest? For here in this life you are unburdened of the things which you did before your baptism, and there in the next life rest awaits you.

Come to me, all you... Come to my blessings. First, the invitation; secondly, the need for the invitation; thirdly, its utility. He says, therefore: Come to me. This is also the word of Wisdom: "Come to me, you who desire me, and eat your fill of my produce" (Sir 24:19). Hence, draw near to me, you untaught, because I want to communicate myself. But what is the need? Because without me men labor too much: all you who labor. In a special way this can be applied to the Jews, because they labored under the yoke of the Law and commandments, as it says in Acts (15:10): "This is a burden which neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear." Likewise, in general, to all who labor on account of human frailty: "I am poor and acquainted with labors from my youth" (Ps 88:15). And are heavy laden, namely, with sins: "My iniquities weigh like a burden too heavy for me" (Ps 38:4).

And what shall we get, if we come to you? I will give you rest [refresh you]. "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink" (Jn 7:37). Then he explains the invitation: first, he explains; secondly, he assigns the reason (v. 30). Having presented the invitation and its purpose, he now wants to explain what that invitation is, when he says, take my yoke upon you. But what is this? You say that you want to refresh us and lift our labor from us, and in the same breath you tell us to carry a yoke? We believed that it would not involve a yoke. Yes, without the yoke of sin: "For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken" (Is 9:4). Not that you are without God's law, but without the yoke of sin: "Let us cast off from us their yoke" (Ps 2:3); "Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled, because of your iniquity" (Hos 14:1); "Freed from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness" (Rom 6:18).

You are to "take my yoke upon you, and learn from me." You are not learning from me how to refashion the fabric of the world, nor to create all things visible and invisible, nor to work miracles and raise the dead. Rather, you are simply learning of me: "that I am meek and lowly in heart." If you wish to reach high, then begin at the lowest level. If you are trying to construct some mighty edifice in height, you will begin with the lowest foundation. This is humility. However great the mass of the building you may wish to design or erect, the taller the building is to be, the deeper you will dig the foundation. The building in the course of its erection rises up high, but he who digs its foundation must first go down very low. So then, you see even a building is low before it is high and the tower is raised only after humiliation.

Not to create a world, or to do miracles in that world; but that I am meek and lowly in heart. Wouldest thou be great? Begin with the least. Wouldest thou build up a mighty fabric of greatness? First think of the foundation of humility; for the mightier building any seeks to raise, the deeper let him dig for his foundation. Whither is the summit of our building to rise? To the sight of God.

When grace, justice, and wisdom have been perfectly attained, one ascends to the summit of evangelical perfection, which Christ Jesus taught by word and example, who specially professed himself the master of humility, in Matthew 11: Learn from me, etc. For humility is the gateway of wisdom, the foundation of justice, and the dwelling place of grace.

Yet (and this is the strange, significant thing) even His enemies, when they read the Gospels, do not usually get the impression of silliness and conceit. Still less do unprejudiced readers. Christ says that He is 'humble and meek' and we believe Him; not noticing that, if He were merely a man, humility and meekness are the very last characteristics we could attribute to some of His sayings.

He holds forth the inducements of a pleasant yoke, and a light burden, that to them that believe He may afford the knowledge of that good which He alone knoweth in the Father.

And what is more pleasant than that yoke, what lighter than that burden? To be made better, to abstain from wickedness, to choose the good, and refuse the evil, to love all men, to hate none, to gain eternal things, not to be taken with things present, to be unwilling to do that to another which yourself would be pained to suffer.

[Daniel 4:10] "'I saw, and behold there was a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was very great...'" It was not only of Nebuchadnezzar, King of the Chaldeans, but also of all impious men that the prophet says: "I beheld the impious man highly exalted and lifted up like the cedars of Lebanon" (Psalm 37:35). Such men are lifted up, not by the greatness of their virtues, but by their own pride; and for that reason they are cut down and fall into ruin. Therefore it is good to follow the teaching of our Lord in the Gospel: "Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart" (Matthew 11:29). But as for the fact that, according to Theodotion, he mentions his kutos or height - or else his kureia, as he himself later renders it, that is to say, his dominion (a word we have translated as "his appearance") - those same detractors of the historicity of this passage slanderously assert that Nebuchadnezzar's dominion never possessed the entire world. He did not rule over the Greeks or barbarians, or over all of the nations in the north and west, but only over the provinces of the East; that is to say, over Asia, not over Europe or Libya. Consequently all these slanders require to be understood as attributable to the devil, for actually we ourselves should accept all this as spoken by way of hyperbole, having in view the arrogance of the impious king, who in Isaiah (chap. 14) makes as great a boast as this, claiming that he possesses the very heaven itself, and the whole earth besides, as if it were a nest full of birds' eggs.

Such a spirit as this let us too acquire, and whatever we may suffer we shall bear it easily, and before the Kingdom, we shall reap here the gain accruing from lowliness of mind. Thus "learn," saith He, "of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls." Therefore in order that we may enjoy rest both here and hereafter, let us with great diligence implant in our souls the mother of all things that are good, I mean humility. For thus we shall be enabled both to pass over the sea of this life without waves, and to end our voyage in that calm harbor; by the grace and love towards man of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and might for ever and ever. Amen.

Seest thou how everywhere practice is required, and the proof by works? "For by their fruits," saith He, "ye shall know them." And what commends our own life? Is it indeed a display of miracles, or the perfection of an excellent conversation? Very evidently it is the second; but as to the miracles, they both have their origin from hence, and terminate herein. For both He that shows forth an excellent life, draws to Himself this gift, and he that receives the gift, receives it for this end, that he may amend other men's lives. Since even Christ for this end wrought those miracles, that having made Himself thereby credible, and drawn men unto Him, He might bring virtue into our life. Wherefore also He lays more stress of the two on this. For He is not at all satisfied with the signs only, but He also threatens hell, and promises a kingdom, and lays down those startling laws, and all things He orders to this end, that He may make us equal to the angels.

And why say I, that Christ doth all for this object? Why, even thou, should one give thee thy choice, to raise dead men by His name, or to die for His name; which I pray thee, of the two wouldest thou rather accept? Is it not quite plain, the latter? and yet the one is a miracle, the other but a work. And what, if one offered thee to make grass gold, or to be able to despise all wealth as grass, wouldest thou not rather accept this latter? and very reasonably. For mankind would be attracted by this more than any way. For if they saw the grass changed into gold, they would covet themselves also to acquire that power, as Simon did, and the love of money would be increased in them; but if they saw us all contemning and neglecting gold, as though it were grass, they would long ago have been delivered from this disease.

Seest thou that our practice has more power to do good? By practice I mean, not thy fasting, nor yet thy strewing sackcloth and ashes under thee, but if thou despise wealth, as it ought to be despised; if thou be kindly affectioned, if thou give thy bread to the hungry, if thou control anger, if thou cast out vainglory, if thou put away envy. So He Himself used to teach: for, "Learn of me," saith He, "for I am meek and lowly in heart." He did not say, "for I fasted," although surely He might have spoken of the forty days, yet He saith not this; but, "I am meek and lowly in heart." And again, when sending them out, He said not, "Fast," but, "Eat of all that is set before you." With regard to wealth, however, He required of them great strictness, saying, "Provide not gold, or silver, or brass, in your purses."

And all this I say, not to depreciate fasting, God forbid, but rather highly to commend it. But I grieve when other duties being neglected, ye think it enough for salvation, having but the last place in the choir of virtue. For the greatest thing is charity, and moderation, and almsgiving; which hits a higher mark even than virginity.

The yoke of Christ is Christ's Gospel, which joins and yokes together Jews and Gentiles in the unity of the faith. This we are commanded to take upon us, that is, to have in honour; lest perchance setting it beneath us, that is wrongly despising it, we should trample upon it with the miry feet of unholiness; wherefore He adds, Learn of me.

We must learn then from our Saviour to be meek in temper, and lowly in mind; let us hurt none, let us despise none, and the virtues which we have shown in deed let us retain in our heart.

The yoke of Christ is humility and meekness. For he who humbles himself before all men has rest and remains untroubled; but he who is vainglorious and arrogant is ever encompassed by troubles as he does not wish to be less than anyone but is always thinking how to be esteemed more highly and how to defeat his enemies. Therefore the yoke of Christ, which is humility, is light, for it is easier for our lowly nature to be humbled than to be exalted. But all the commandments of Christ are also called a yoke, and they are light because of the reward to come, even though for a time they appear heavy.

Take, therefore, my yoke, namely, the gospel lessons. And he says, yoke, because just as a yoke fastens and joins the necks of oxen, so the doctrine of the gospel fastens the people to its yoke. And what is that? Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart. The whole Law consists in two things: meekness and humility. By meekness a man is rightly ordered to his neighbor; hence Psalm 132 (v. 1): "Remember, O Lord, David and all his meekness." By humility he is rightly ordered to himself and to God: "Upon whom will my spirit rest except on the calm and meek" (Is 66:2)? Hence humility makes a man capable of God. He had also said, "and I will refresh you." What is this refreshment? You will find rest for your souls. For the body is not refreshed, as long as it is afflicted, and when it is not afflicted any more, it is said to be refreshed. And just as hunger is to the body, so desire is to the mind; hence the achievement of desires is refreshing: "Who satisfies your desire with good" (Ps 103:5). And this rest is a rest of the soul: "I have labored little and found for myself much rest" (Sir 51:27). The meek are not at rest this way in the world; hence they will find eternal rest, namely, the fulfillment of desires.

If the yoke is easy and the burden light, why did he call "the way" "narrow"? It is narrow to the careless, for to the zealous the Lord's tasks are light. For even if they involve bodily suffering for a little while, yet the one who is now nourished with good hopes is the devout one who easily bears these pains.

So then they who with unfearing neck have submitted to the yoke of the Lord endure such hardships and dangers, that they seem to be called not from labour to rest, but from rest to labour. But the Holy Spirit was there who, as the outward man decayed, renewed the inward man day by day, and giving a foretaste of spiritual rest in the rich pleasures of God in the hope of blessedness to come, smoothed all that seemed rough, lightened all that was heavy. Men suffer amputations and burnings, that at the price of sharper pain they may be delivered from torments less but more lasting, as boils or swellings. What storms and dangers will not merchants undergo that they may acquire perishing riches? Even those who love not riches endure the same hardships; but those that love them endure the same, but to them they are not hardships. For love makes right easy, and almost nought all things however dreadful and monstrous. How much more easily then does love do that for true happiness, which avarice does for misery as far as it can?

Both harder and easier than what we are all trying to do. You have noticed, I expect, that Christ Himself sometimes describes the Christian way as very hard, sometimes as very easy. He says, 'Take up your Cross'—in other words, it is like going to be beaten to death in a concentration camp. Next minute he says, 'My yoke is easy and my burden light.' He means both. And one can just see why both are true.

Teachers will tell you that the laziest boy in the class is the one who works hardest in the end. They mean this. If you give two boys, say, a proposition in geometry to do, the one who is prepared to take trouble will try to understand it. The lazy boy will try to learn it by heart because, for the moment, that needs less effort. But six months later, when they are preparing for an exam, that lazy boy is doing hours and hours of miserable drudgery over things the other boy understands, and positively enjoys, in a few minutes. Laziness means more work in the long run. Or look at it this way. In a battle, or in mountain climbing, there is often one thing which it takes a lot of pluck to do; but it is also, in the long run, the safest thing to do. If you funk it, you will find yourself, hours later, in far worse danger. The cowardly thing is also the most dangerous thing.

It is like that here. The terrible thing, the almost impossible thing, is to hand over your whole self—all your wishes and precautions—to Christ. But it is far easier than what we are all trying to do instead.

Joseph asked Poemen, 'How should we fast?' Poemen said, 'I suggest that everyone should eat a little less than he wants, every day.' Joseph said to him, 'When you were a young man, didn't you fast for two days on end?' He said to him, 'That's right, I used to fast three days on end, even for a week. But the great hermits have tested all these things, and they found that it is good to eat something every day, but on some days a little less. They have shown us that this is the king's highway, for it is easy and light.'

Therefore let everyone who wants life and desires to see good days put down the yoke of iniquity and malice. The prophet says, "Let us burst their bonds and thrust their yoke from us." For unless one throws behind the yoke of iniquity, that is, the spark of all vices, one cannot take up the agreeable and light yoke of Christ. But if the yoke of Christ is so agreeable and light, how is it that divine religion seems so harsh and bitter to some people? It is bitter to some because the heart that has been tainted by earthly desires cannot love heavenly things. It has not yet come to Christ, so that it can take up his yoke and learn that he is gentle and humble of heart. Hence we observe, my dearest friends, from the teaching of our Lord, that unless a person is gentle and humble of heart, he or she cannot bear the yoke of Christ.

(Mor. iv. 33.) What burden is it to put upon the neck of our mind that He bids us shun all desire that disturbs, and turn from the toilsome paths of this world?

(Verse 30.) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. How is the Gospel lighter than the Law, when in the Law murder is condemned, but in the Gospel anger is condemned? In what way is the grace of the Gospel easier, when in the Law adultery is punished, but in the Gospel lust is punished? In the Law there are many precepts, which the Apostle teaches cannot be fully fulfilled (Acts 15). In the Law, works are required, and whoever does them shall live. In the Gospel, the will is sought, and even if it does not have the desired effect, it does not lose the reward. The Gospel commands what we are able to do: that we do not desire, namely, this is within our power. When the law does not punish the will, it punishes the effect, so that you do not commit adultery. Imagine a virgin prostitute in persecution. This virgin is accepted according to the Gospel, since she does not sin by her own will, but she is rejected in the Law as if corrupted.

And how is the Gospel lighter than the Law, seeing in the Law murder and adultery, but under the Gospel anger and concupiscence also, are punished? Because by the Law many things are commanded which the Apostle fully teaches us cannot be fulfilled; by the Law works are required, by the Gospel the will is sought for, which even if it goes not into act, yet does not lose its reward. The Gospel commands what we can do, as that we lust not; this is in our own power; the Law punishes not the will but the act, as adultery. Suppose a virgin to have been violated in time of persecution; as here was not the will she is held as a virgin under the Gospel; under the Law she is cast out as defiled.

But how is Christ's yoke pleasant, seeing it was said above, Narrow is the way which leadeth unto life? (Mat. 7:14.) That which is entered upon by a narrow entrance is in process of time made broad by the unspeakable sweetness of love.

And so they upbraid the discipline of monogamy with being a heresy; nor is there any other cause whence they find themselves compelled to deny the Paraclete more than the fact that they esteem Him to be the institutor of a novel discipline, and a discipline which they find most harsh: so that this is already the first ground on which we must join issue in a general handling (of the subject), whether there is room for maintaining that the Paraclete has taught any such thing as can either be charged with novelty, in opposition to catholic tradition, or with burdensomeness, in opposition to the "light burden" of the Lord.