Homilies on the Gospel of John 28

For God sent not his Son to judge the world, but that he might save the world.

Many of the more careless, having used the love of God toward man as an occasion for the greatness of their sins and the excess of their negligence, utter these words:

There is no hell, there is no punishment; God forgives us all our sins. Stopping the mouth of such a one, a certain wise man says:

Say not, His compassion is great, he will be propitiated for the multitude of my sins;

for mercy and wrath are with him, and his anger rests upon sinners;

and again, According to his great mercy, so also is his reproof great.

And where, one says, is the love toward man, if we shall receive our sins according to their desert? That we shall indeed receive according to our desert, hear both the Prophet and Paul saying:

the one, that Thou shalt render to each according to his works;

the other, Who shall render to each according to his work.

But that even so the love of God toward man is great, this too is evident from what follows.

For God, having divided these our concerns into the two ages of life, the present and the coming existence, and having made the one to be in the order of contests, the other in the region of crowns, displayed hereby also his great love toward man.

How and in what manner? Because, although we have committed many grievous sins, and have not ceased from youth to extreme old age to defile our soul with countless evils of our own, he demanded no reckoning of us for any of these sins, but granted their remission through the washing of regeneration, and freely bestowed righteousness and sanctification.

What then, one says, if someone, having been deemed worthy of the mysteries from his earliest age, should afterward sin countless times? Such a one is henceforth worthy of greater punishment.

For we pay not the same penalties for the same sins, but far more grievous ones, when we have transgressed after our initiation into the mysteries.

And Paul makes this clear, speaking thus:

One who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercies on the testimony of two or three witnesses;

of how much worse punishment, do you think, shall he be deemed worthy who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant a common thing, and has insulted the grace of the Spirit? Therefore such a one shall be worthy of greater punishment.

Nevertheless, even for such a one he has opened the doors of repentance, and in many ways has given him to wash away his transgressions, if he be willing.

Consider then how great these tokens of love toward man are: both to have forgiven by grace, and, after the grace, not to punish the one who has sinned and is worthy of punishment, but to give him time and a set term for making his defense.

For all these reasons Christ said to Nicodemus:

God sent not his Son to judge the world, but that he might save the world.

For there are two comings of Christ:

the one that has already taken place, and the one that is to come;

and the two are not for the same purpose, but the former came, not that he might examine the things we have done, but that he might forgive; while the latter comes, not that he might forgive, but that he might examine.

For this reason concerning the former he says:

I came not to judge the world, but that I might save the world;

but concerning the latter, When the Son shall come in the glory of his Father, he shall set the sheep on the right, and the goats on the left.

And these shall go away, some into life, and others into eternal punishment.

And yet even the former coming was of judgment, according to the account of what is just.

Why? Because before his coming there was the natural law, and the prophets, and again the written law, and teaching, and countless promises, and displays of signs, and punishments and penalties, and many other things able to set men right;

and it would have been fitting to demand a reckoning for all these things;

but since he is loving toward man, he does not make

an examination, but forgiveness for the time being.

For if he had done this, all would have been snatched away at once;

For all have sinned, he says, and come short of the glory of God.

Do you see the unutterable excess of love toward man? He that believes on the Son is not judged;

but he that believes not is judged already.

And yet, if he came not for this, that he might judge the world, how is he that believes not judged already, if the time of judgment is not yet present? Either, then, he says this, that the very fact of unbelief, unrepented of, is punishment;

for to be outside the light, even by itself, entails the greatest penalty;

For just as the murderer, even if he be not condemned by the vote of the judge, has been condemned by the very nature of the deed, so also is the unbeliever.

Since Adam also, in the day that he ate of the tree, died.

For so also the sentence ran:

In whatever day you eat of the tree, he says, you shall die.

How then did he die? By the sentence and by the nature of the deed.

For he that has made himself liable to punishment is under the penalty, even if not yet in fact, yet by the vote.

For lest anyone, hearing that I came not to judge the world, should suppose that he sins with impunity, and become more careless, he walls off this negligence too, saying, He is judged already.

For since the judgment was to come, and was not yet present, he brings near the fear of the penalty, and shows the punishment as already present.

And this very thing is of great love toward man: not only to have given the Son, but also to defer the time of judgment, so that there might be opportunity for those who have sinned and those who have disbelieved to wash away their transgressions.

He that believes on the Son is not judged;

he that believes, not he that curiously investigates;

he that believes, not he that meddlesomely inquires.

What then, if he have an unclean life and deeds that are not good? Above all, Paul says that such men are not even genuine believers;

For they profess to know God, but by their works they deny him.

Yet here he says this, that on this very account he is not judged, but for his works he shall pay a more grievous penalty, while for unbelief's sake he is not punished, because he has once believed.

Do you see how, having begun from things fearful, he has again ended in these very things? For at the beginning he said, Except a man be born of water and Spirit, he shall not enter into the kingdom of God;

and here again, that He that believes not on the Son is judged already; that is, do not suppose that the deferral profits at all one who has already become liable, unless he change.

For he that has not believed shall be no better off than those who have already been condemned and are being punished.

'And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light.'

What He means is something of this kind:

They are punished for this reason, because they were unwilling to forsake the darkness and to run to the light.

Here, then, He strips them of every excuse besides.

For if I had come to punish, He says, and to demand a reckoning for what had been done, they might have said, 'For this cause we sprang away.'

But as it is, I came to deliver them from darkness and to bring them to the light.

Who then could show pity to the man who is unwilling to come out of darkness to the light? For having nothing whereof to accuse us, He says, but being loaded with countless benefits, they spring away from us.

This too He said in another place when reproaching them: 'They hated me without a cause;'

and again, 'If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin.'

For the man who sits in darkness in the absence of light might perhaps obtain some pardon;

but he who, after the coming of the light, still cleaves to the very darkness, brings against himself the proof of a perverse and contentious disposition.

Then, since what had been said seemed incredible to the multitude (for no one would prefer darkness to light), He sets down also the cause from which they came to suffer this.

What then is this cause? 'For their works were evil,' He says.

'For everyone who does base things hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his works be exposed.'

And yet He came not judging nor examining, but pardoning and remitting the offenses committed, and granting salvation by faith.

How then did they flee? For if He had come and taken His seat in a tribunal, what has been said would have had some ground;

for the man conscious of evil in himself flees the...

but to Him who pardons, even those who have transgressed run.

If, therefore, He came to pardon, it was likely that these above all would run to Him, namely those conscious of many sins in themselves;

which indeed also came to pass in the case of many.

For tax collectors and sinners came and reclined at table together with Jesus.

What then is the meaning of what is said? He says these things concerning those who choose to remain forever in wickedness.

For He came for this very purpose, that He might forgive the former sins, and give security against those to come.

But since there are some so slack and dissolute toward the labors of virtue that they wish to cling to wickedness even to their last breath and never to depart from it, it is these whom He here mocks and exposes.

For since Christianity demands both correctness of doctrine and a sound manner of life, they are afraid, He says, to come over to us, because they are unwilling to display an upright life.

For no one could convict the man who lives in paganism.

For he who has such gods, and feasts as shameful and ridiculous as his gods, displays deeds worthy of his doctrines;

but those who belong to God, if they live carelessly, have all men as correctors and accusers;

so great is the marvel of the truth even among the enemies of the truth.

Observe, then, with what exactness He sets down what He says.

For He did not say, 'He who has done base things does not come to the light;'

but 'he who does them continually,' that is, he who ever wishes to wallow in the mire of sin, is unwilling to submit himself to my laws, but, remaining outside, commits fornication with impunity and does all the other forbidden things.

For coming hither, like a thief in the light, he is made manifest.

For these reasons he flees my dominion.

At any rate, even now one may hear many of the pagans saying that for this reason they cannot come over to our faith, because they cannot abstain from drunkenness, fornication, and such offenses.

'Are there not also Christians who do base things, and pagans who live according to philosophy?' That there are Christians who do base things, I too know;

but whether there are also pagans who live uprightly, this I do not yet know for certain.

For do not tell me of those who are by nature gentle and orderly;

but tell me of the man who endures much violence from the passions and yet lives philosophically.

For if the promise of the kingdom, and the threat of hell, and so much other teaching, scarcely restrain men in virtue,

hardly would those who are persuaded of none of these pursue virtue.

And if some do put on a pretense, they do it for the sake of reputation;

and he who does this for reputation's sake, whenever it is possible to escape notice, will not refrain from indulging his wicked desires.

Nevertheless, lest we seem to some to be contentious, let us concede that there are those who live uprightly among the pagans;

for this in no way contradicts the argument;

for He spoke of what happens for the most part, not of what occurs but rarely.

And see how from yet another side He deprives them of all excuse, in saying that 'The light has come into the world.'

For did they, He says, seek it? did they toil? did they labor to find it? The light itself came to them, and not even so did they run to it.

But since there are also some among Christians who live wickedly, we would say this: that He does not say these things concerning those who have been Christians from the beginning, and who have received their piety from their forefathers;

even if these too have often, through the exactness of the doctrines, been shaken away from an evil life;

yet nonetheless I do not think He is now speaking about these, but about those from among the pagans or Jews who ought to come over to the right faith.

For He shows that no one living in error would choose to come to the faith, without first having inscribed for himself an upright life;

and no one would remain in unbelief, without first having chosen to be forever wicked.

For do not tell me this, that he is self-controlled and does not steal;

for these things alone are not virtue.

For what profit is there, when he has these things, but is a slave of empty reputation, and, ashamed before a company of friends, remains in error? For this is not to live uprightly.

such a one works far greater and more grievous evils than the other.

But tell me of someone freed from all the passions, and free from all vice, and yet remaining among the pagans.

For indeed even those who made great boasts among them, and who, as they say, got the better of money and of the belly, were of all men most enslaved to reputation;

which is the cause of all evils.

In this way also the Jews have remained.

Wherefore also, reproaching them, He said:

'How can you believe, who receive glory from men?' And why ever did He not discuss these matters with Nathanael, to whom He even bore witness of his truthfulness, nor extend a long discourse? Because that one did not come with so great earnestness.

For this man made it his very work, and the season which others took for rest, this one made a season for listening.

But that other came having been persuaded by another;

yet He did not pass that one by either;

'From now on you shall see the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending.'

But to this man He said none of these things; rather He discourses concerning the dispensation and concerning eternal life, speaking to each one differently according to the disposition that lay before Him.

For to that one, since he both knew the things of the prophets and was not so timid, it sufficed merely to hear so much;

but to this man, since he was still held fast by timidity, He did not clearly reveal the whole to him, but shook his mind, so as to cast out fear by fear, saying both that he who does not believe is judged, and that not believing arises from an evil conscience.

For since he made much account of the glory that comes from men, and set more store by this than by punishment (for it says, 'Many even of the rulers believed on Him, but because of the Jews they did not confess Him'), He lays hold of him on this very ground also, and shows by what He says that it is not possible for one who does not believe in Me to disbelieve for any other reason than because he leads an unclean life.

and here, 'Light is come into the world.'

For in the opening words He spoke rather in a veiled manner;

But nevertheless the man was held fast by the glory of the many;

wherefore neither could he bring himself to speak openly as he ought.

Let us therefore flee vainglory;

for this passion is the most tyrannical of all.

Hence comes covetousness and the love of money;

hence hatred and wars and strifes.

For he who lusts after more will nowhere be able to stand still.

And he lusts from no other source, but from lusting after vainglory.

For tell me, on what account do the many surround themselves with a multitude of eunuchs, and droves of slaves, and much pomp? Not for any need, but that they may have those they meet as witnesses of this ill-timed display.

If then we cut off this, we shall along with the head destroy also the remaining members of wickedness, and there will be nothing to hinder us from dwelling on earth as in heaven.

For it not only thrusts toward wickedness those whom it has caught, but also stands beside the virtues;

and when it cannot cast us out from thence, it works great harm in the very virtue itself, compelling us to undergo the labors, while robbing us of the fruits.

For he who has an eye to this, though he fast, and pray, and give alms, has his reward already.

What could be more pitiable than this loss, than when it happens that one beats his breast to no purpose and in vain, and becomes a laughingstock, and falls away from the glory that is from above? For it is not possible for one who longs after both to obtain both.

For it is indeed possible to obtain both, when we desire not both, but the one only, that from the heavens;

but for one who lusts after both it is not possible to obtain both.

Wherefore if we wish to attain glory, let us flee human glory, and desire only that which is from God.

For thus shall we attain both this and that;

which may it be granted to us all to enjoy,

by the grace and lovingkindness 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.