Homilies on the Gospel of John 13

John bears witness concerning Him, and has cried out, saying:

'This was He of whom I said, He that comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.'

Are we perhaps running and toiling in vain? Are we perhaps sowing upon the rocks? Do our seeds perhaps escape our notice as they fall beside the way and among the thorns? For I am greatly anxious and afraid lest our husbandry prove unprofitable to us;

and this, though I myself am not about to be injured in the reward of this labour;

for the case of teachers is not the same as that of husbandmen.

For the farmer, after his often year-long labours, and that hardship, and those sweats, if the earth brings forth nothing worthy of his toils, will be able to find from no other source any consolation for his labours;

but he returns with shame and dejection from the threshing-floor to his house, and to his wife and children, having no one from whom to demand the recompense of his long diligence.

But in our case nothing of the kind shall be, but even though the land we till bring forth no fruit when we have displayed all our labour, He who is Lord both of it and of us will not overlook us as we depart with empty hopes, but will give the recompense.

'For each one,' it says, 'shall receive his own reward according to his own labour,' not according to the outcome of the matter.

And that this is so, hear:

'And you also,' He says, 'son of man, testify solemnly to this people, whether then they will hear, whether then they will understand.'

And this may be learned also through Ezekiel;

for if the watchman has forewarned what one ought to flee and what to choose, he has delivered his own soul, even if there be no one who gives heed.

But nevertheless, though we have this strong consolation, and are confident concerning the recompense to us, whenever we see your work not making progress, we are disposed no better than those husbandmen who groan and lament, who hide their faces and are ashamed.

For this is a teacher's sympathy, this is a father's tender care.

Since Moses too, when it was open to him to be rid of the Jewish thanklessness, and to receive a more illustrious headship of another and far greater nation,

for He says, 'Let Me alone, and I will blot them out, and make you into a nation greater than this,'

since he was holy and a servant of God, and a genuine and noble friend exceedingly, he could not endure even to hear this voice, but chose rather to perish together with those once allotted to him than to be preserved apart from them and to be in a greater dignity.

Such ought he to be who presides over souls.

For indeed it is absurd that one who has worthless children should be unwilling to be called the father of others rather than of those born from him;

but that we, having been entrusted with disciples, should keep exchanging some for others continually, now presiding over these, and again over those, and after these once more snatching up the presidency of yet others, being intimately disposed toward no one—

But God forbid that we should ever suspect such things concerning you.

For we are persuaded that you rather abound in the faith which is toward our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the love which is toward one another and toward all.

But we say these things wishing that your earnestness may be intensified, and that the virtue of your manner of life may be increased yet more.

and that the virtue of your citizenship may be augmented.

For thus you will be able to lay up the meanings of the discourses set before us into their very depth, if no rheum of wickedness darkens the eyes of your understanding and confounds their keen and clear-sighted power.

What, then, is that which is set before us today? 'John bears witness concerning Him, and has cried out, saying:

This was He of whom I said, He that comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.'

This evangelist is much given to turning John this way and that, up and down, and to carrying about his testimony in many places.

And he does this not without purpose, but very shrewdly.

For since all the Jews held this man in great admiration (for indeed Josephus too reckons the war as due to his death, and shows that on his account the city which had once been the metropolis was no more, and strings together long discourses of praise concerning him)—

wishing therefore to put the Jews to shame from this man, he continually reminds them of the testimony of the Forerunner.

And the other evangelists make mention of the more ancient prophets, and at each of the things done concerning Him refer the hearer there, saying, when He is born:

'Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying:

Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son;'

and when He is plotted against, and everywhere so exactly sought out that even the tender age is slain by Herod, they bring Jeremiah forward from afar into the midst, saying:

'A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and weeping and much mourning, Rachel weeping for her children;'

and, making mention of Hosea, when He comes up again out of Egypt, quoting him too as saying, 'Out of Egypt have I called My Son;'

and everywhere they do this.

But this evangelist, producing a testimony that is clearer and fresher, inasmuch as he speaks with a louder voice than the others, brings continually into the midst not those who are gone, nor those who have died only, but him who was living and present, who pointed Him out and baptized Him—this man;

not striving to render the Master trustworthy by means of the servant, but condescending to the weakness of the hearers.

For just as, had He not taken the form of the servant, He would not have become easily acceptable,

so, had He not first exercised the ears of His fellow-servants by the voice of the servant, the many of the Jews would not have received the word.

And besides this, another thing great and wonderful was being prepared.

For since a man's saying something great concerning himself makes the testimony suspect, and often gives offence to many of the hearers, another comes forward to bear witness concerning him.

And apart from these things, since the many are somehow wont rather to run to the voice that is more familiar and native to them, inasmuch as they recognize it more than the others;

for this reason the voice from heaven came once or twice, but that of John many times and continually.

For those who had risen above the weakness of the people, and were rid of all things sensible, were able also to hear the voice from above, and did not greatly need the human voice, inasmuch as they were persuaded by that voice in all things and were led by it;

But those who still turned about below, and were shrouded in many veils, had need of this more lowly manner of teaching.

So it was, at any rate, with John also: since he had stripped himself on every side of things sensible, he had no need of human teachers, but was instructed from the heavens.

'For he that sent me to baptize with water,' he says, 'the same said unto me:'

'Upon whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit of God descending, this is he.'

But the Jews, being still children and not yet able to attain to that height, had a man for their teacher, one who told them not his own things, but declared to them the things from above.

What then does this man say? 'He beareth witness of him, and crieth, saying:'

What is meant by 'He cried'? With boldness, he means, with freedom, without any reserve at all he proclaims it aloud.

And what does he proclaim? What does he witness and cry aloud? 'This was he,' he says, 'of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for he was before me.'

For he did not say, 'This is the Son of God, the Only-begotten';

but what? 'This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for he was before me.'

For just as the mother birds do not teach their nestlings the whole art of flying at once nor in a single day, but now lead them out only so far as to get outside the nest, and now, having first let them rest, bring them again to the flight, and on the following day add another and much longer one, and thus gently and little by little lead them up to the fitting height;

in the same way also the blessed John did not at once lead the Jews to lofty things, but for the time being taught them to fly up a little from the earth, saying that Christ was greater than himself.

For even this was no small thing for the time being: that those who heard so wonderful a man—I mean John—so illustrious, to whom all ran, and whom they supposed to be an angel, should be able to believe that one who had not yet appeared nor worked any miracle was greater than he.

For the time being, then, he was zealous to establish this in the minds of his hearers: that the one witnessed to is greater than the one who witnesses, that he who came afterward is greater than he who came first, that he who had not yet appeared is greater than the manifest and illustrious one.

And observe how wisely he introduces the testimony.

For he does not point him out only when he has appeared, but proclaims him even before he appears.

For the phrase 'This is he of whom I spake' belongs to one who is making this plain;

just as Matthew also says that, when all were coming to him, he said:

'I indeed baptize you with water;'

'but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.'

For what reason, then, did he do this even before Christ appeared? That the testimony might be readily received when he did appear, since the minds of the hearers had already been preoccupied by the things spoken concerning him, and the meanness of his outward attire might do it no harm.

For if, having heard nothing at all beforehand, they had seen Christ himself, and together with the sight had received the testimony of words so wonderful and great, at once the meanness of his appearance would have stood in the way of the greatness of the things spoken.

For Christ was clothed in an appearance so mean and common to all men, that even Samaritan women, and harlots, and publicans dared with much freedom to draw near to him and to converse with him.

As I said, then, if they had at the same time both heard these words and beheld him, they would likely have laughed to scorn the testimony of John.

But as it was, hearing many times before Christ appeared, and being stirred by the things said concerning him, they experienced the opposite: they did not cast out the teaching of the words because of the sight of the one witnessed to, but from their faith in the things already said even reckoned him to be more glorious.

But the phrase 'He that cometh after me' means 'he who preaches after me,' not 'he who came into being after me.'

This, at any rate, Matthew also hints at, saying, 'After me cometh a man;'

not speaking of his birth from Mary, but of his coming forth in connection with his preaching.

For if he were speaking of his birth, he would not have said 'He cometh,' but 'He hath come';

for he had already been born when these things were being said.

What then is the meaning of 'is preferred before me' (literally 'is become before me')? More glorious, more honorable.

'Do not suppose,' he means, 'that because I came first to preach, on that account I am greater than he;'

'for I am far inferior, and so much inferior that I am not worthy even to be reckoned in the rank of a servant.'

For this is the meaning of 'is preferred before me';

which Matthew, indicating in another way, said:

'I am not worthy to unloose the latchet of his shoe.'

And that the phrase 'is preferred before me' is not spoken with reference to his coming forth into being, is plain from what follows.

For if he had meant to say this, the added clause 'for he was before me' would have been superfluous.

For who is so foolish and senseless as not to know that he who came into being before another was prior to him? For if it were about his pre-eternal existence, the saying would mean nothing else than that 'He that cometh after me came into being before me.'

Otherwise the saying would also be inconceivable, and the reason would have been thrown in at random.

For, on the contrary, if he had wished to make this plain, he ought to have said that 'He that cometh after me was before me, since he also came into being before me.'

For of one's being first, someone might reasonably assign this cause, namely his having come into being first;

but of one's having come into being first, being first is no longer the cause.

But what we say would be very reasonable.

For you all surely know this, that not the things which are plain, but the things which are obscure, always require a reason to be given.

But if the discourse were about coming into being, it would not have been obscure that what came into being first must be first;

since, however, he is discoursing about honor, he reasonably resolves the seeming difficulty.

For it was likely that many were perplexed, from what source and on what account he that came later had become before;

that is, appeared more honorable.

For this inquiry, therefore, he at once supplies the cause;

and the cause is that he himself was first.

'For it is not,' he says, 'from any advancement that, having cast me who was first behind, he has become before; but he was before me, even though he comes later.'

'And how is it,' someone says, 'if the discourse was about his manifestation to men, and about the glory that was going to follow to him from them, that he speaks of what had not yet reached its fulfillment as though it had already come to pass? For he did not say, He will become, but, He has become.'

It is because this is a custom of the prophets from of old, in many places to discourse about things to come as about things that have already happened.

Isaiah, at any rate, speaking of his slaughter, did not say, 'He shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter,' which would have been of one still to come;

but, 'As a sheep he was led to the slaughter';

and yet he had not yet been made flesh; but nevertheless the Prophet speaks of what was to be as of what had already come to pass.

And David, making plain the cross, did not say, 'They shall pierce my hands and my feet';

but, 'They pierced my hands and my feet';

and, 'They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.'

And discoursing of the traitor who had not yet been born, he speaks in some such way as this:

'He that eateth my bread hath magnified his heel against me.'

Likewise also he speaks of the things that came to pass at the cross:

'They gave me gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.'

Do you wish us to bring forward what follows as well, or do these suffice? For my part, I think they do.

For even if we have not dug over the field in breadth, yet at least we have dug down into it in depth;

and this too involves no less labor than the other;

and we are afraid lest, by straining you beyond measure, we cause you to sink down.

Wherefore let us put the fitting end to our discourse.

And what is the fitting end? The doxology that befits God;

But what is fitting is not only that which is offered through words, but much more that which is offered through deeds.

For 'Let your light so shine before men,' He says, 'that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.'

For indeed, beloved, nothing is more radiant than the best manner of life.

Making this plain, one of the wise men also says:

'But the paths of the righteous shine like the light.'

And they shine not only for those who kindle the light through their works and guide themselves to the right way, but also for those who are near to them.

Let us therefore pour oil upon these lamps, that the fire may rise higher, that the light may appear in abundance.

For this oil has great power not only now;

but even when the sacrifices were still flourishing, it far surpassed their power in its own way.

'For I desire mercy,' He says, 'and not sacrifice'—and quite rightly so.

For that altar is lifeless, but this one is living;

and there everything laid upon it becomes fuel for the fire, and ends in dust, and is scattered into ashes, and the smoke dissolves into the nature of the air;

but here there is nothing of the kind;

rather, it bears other fruits.

And Paul made this plain when he said—for while recounting the treasures of the Corinthians' love for the poor, he wrote thus:

'That the ministration of this service not only supplies the wants of the saints, but is also abundant through many thanksgivings unto God;'

and again, 'Glorifying God for the obedience of your confession unto the Gospel, and for the liberality of your fellowship toward them and toward all men, and by their prayer for you, longing after you.'

Do you see it resolved into thanksgiving, and praise of God, and the continual prayers of those who have been well treated, and warmer love? Let us then sacrifice, beloved, let us sacrifice upon these altars every day.

For this sacrifice is greater than prayer and fasting and many other things;

only let it be from righteous gain and from such labors, and pure from all covetousness and rapine and violence.

For such offerings God accepts, but the others He both turns away from and hates.

For He does not wish to be honored out of others' misfortunes.

For such a sacrifice is unclean and profane, and would rather provoke God than propitiate Him.

Wherefore we must use all diligence, lest under the guise of worship we insult Him whom we honor.

For if Cain, when he offered the second-rate portions—and that though he had wronged no one else—paid the utmost penalty, when we offer something out of rapine and covetousness, how shall we not suffer things more grievous? For this very reason God has shown us the form of this commandment, that we might have mercy, not that we might punish our fellow servants.

But he who takes what belongs to others and gives it to another has not shown mercy, but has taken vengeance, and has committed the utmost injustice.

As then a stone could not beget oil, so neither could cruelty beget loving-kindness.

For when it has such a root, such an act is no longer almsgiving.

Therefore I exhort you to look not only to this, that we give to those in need, but also that it be not from the plundering of others.

For when one prays and another curses, to whose voice will the Master listen? If we thus conduct ourselves with exactness, we shall be able, by the grace of God, to obtain much loving-kindness and mercy and pardon for the sins we have committed throughout all this long time, and to escape the river of fire;

from which may we all be delivered, and ascend into the kingdom of heaven, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen.