Homilies on the Gospel of John 31

He who comes from above is above all;

he who is of the earth is of the earth, and speaks of the earth.

A terrible thing is the love of glory—terrible, and laden with many evils;

it is a thorn hard to pluck out, and an untamable beast, and many-headed, arming itself against those who nourish it.

For just as the worm eats through the wood from which it is born, and rust consumes the iron whence it proceeds, and moths the wool;

so also vainglory destroys the very soul that nourishes it.

Wherefore we have need of much diligence, so as to make away with the passion.

See, then, how many things even here John chants as a charm to his disciples who are suffering from this, and with difficulty soothes them.

For, in addition to what was said before, he pours over them yet other words.

...these? 'He who comes from above,' he says, 'is above all;'

'he who is of the earth is of the earth, and speaks of the earth.'

'Since,' he says, 'you turn my testimony up and down, and by it declare me to be more worthy of belief, it is necessary for you to know this: that it is not possible for one who comes from the heavens to become worthy of belief on the ground of one who inhabits the earth.'

But what does the phrase 'above all' mean, and what does it intend to signify? This is what it is:

For by this he shows that He needs nothing, but is sufficient unto Himself, and that He is greater than all things beyond all comparison.

But when he says that he himself is 'of the earth' and 'speaks of the earth,' he does not mean that he uttered things out of his own understanding, but rather as Christ said:

'If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not,'

calling baptism thus 'earthly,' not because it was earthly, but because he was comparing what was said to His ineffable begetting;

so here too John said that he himself 'speaks of the earth,' comparing his own things to the teaching of Christ.

For the phrase 'to speak of the earth' signifies nothing else than that, compared with His, my things are small and lowly and worthless, and such as it is fitting for an earthly nature to receive.

For with Him are 'all the treasures of wisdom hidden.'

But that he is not speaking about human reasonings is evident from what follows.

'He that is of the earth,' he says, 'is of the earth.'

And yet not his whole being was of the earth, but the more principal parts were heavenly;

for he had a soul, and he partook of the Spirit, which was not of the earth.

How then does he say that he himself is of the earth? He hints at nothing else here than this: 'I am small and of no account, seeing that I come along the ground and was born on the earth;'

but Christ has come to us from above.

Having therefore by all these words first quenched their passion, he then at length speaks concerning Christ with greater boldness.

For before this it was superfluous to put forth words that could never find place in the mind of the hearers;

but when he had plucked up the thorns, he then begins with confidence to cast in the seed, saying:

'He that cometh from heaven is above all;'

'and what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth, and no man receiveth his testimony.'

Having said something great and lofty concerning Him, he again brings the discourse down to what is lowlier.

For the phrase 'What he hath heard and seen' is spoken after a more human manner.

For it was not from having received by sight, nor from having heard, that He knew what He knew;

but He possessed all things in His nature, having come forth perfect from the bosom of the Father, and needing no one to teach Him.

'For as the Father knoweth me,' He says, 'even so know I the Father.'

What then is the meaning of 'What he hath heard, he speaketh, and what he hath seen, he testifieth'? Since it is through these senses that we learn all things accurately, and are thought to be trustworthy teachers concerning the things which we have either received by sight or accepted by hearing, inasmuch as we neither invent nor speak falsehoods;

this very thing John also wished here to establish when he said the words 'What he hath heard and seen;'

that is to say, nothing of the things that come from Him is false, but all are true.

In just this way indeed we too, when we examine things closely, often ask:

'Didst thou hear it? Didst thou see it?' And if this be shown, the testimony is beyond doubt.

And when He Himself says, 'As I hear, I judge,' and, 'What I have heard from my Father, that I speak,' and, 'What we have seen, we speak,' and whatever other such things He utters, it is not that we may learn that He speaks what He speaks as one being taught (for to imagine this is the utmost folly);

but rather that none of the things spoken should be held in suspicion by the shameless Jews.

For since they did not yet hold the fitting opinion concerning Him, He continually takes refuge in the Father, thereby making His words worthy of belief.

And why dost thou marvel if He takes refuge in the Father,

seeing that He Himself often has recourse even to the prophets and to the Scriptures? as when He says, 'They are they which testify of me.'

Shall we then say that He is even less than the prophets, because He draws His testimonies from thence? God forbid!

For it is because of the weakness of the hearers that He thus frames His discourse, and says that He speaks the things He spoke as having heard them from the Father, not as needing a teacher, but that they might believe that nothing of the things spoken is false.

But what John says is of this kind:

For He comes from above, announcing the things from thence, which He alone knows clearly;

for the phrase 'He hath seen and heard' is that of one signifying this.

'And no man receiveth his testimony.'

And yet He had disciples, and many gave heed to the things He said.

How then does he say 'no man'? This is now said instead of 'few';

since if he had said 'no one,' how could he have added, 'He that hath received his testimony hath set his seal that God is true'? Here he even lays hold of his own disciples, as being not yet very ready to believe in Him.

For that even after this they did not believe His words is evident also from what was said afterwards.

For it was on this account that, even while dwelling in the prison, he sent them thence to Him, that he might bind them the more closely to Him.

But they even then scarcely believed, which very thing Christ also hinted at when He said:

'And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.'

For no other reason, therefore, did he say, 'And no man receiveth his testimony,' than to make his own disciples secure, all but saying:

'Do not, because few for the present are going to believe in Him, on that account think that the things spoken are false;'

'For what he hath seen, that he testifieth,' he says.

And he says these things while at the same time laying hold of the Jewish insensibility.

This very thing indeed the Evangelist also, at the beginning, rebuked them for, saying thus, that 'He came unto his own, and his own received him not.'

But this is no charge against Him, but an accusation of those who did not receive Him.

'He that hath received his testimony hath set his seal that God is true.'

Here he even puts them in fear;

for he shows that he who believeth not in Him disbelieveth not in Him alone, but also in the Father.

'For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God.'

Since therefore both he that believeth and he that believeth not utters (his verdict upon) the things which are His, in Him he both believeth and disbelieveth.

And the word 'hath set his seal' is equivalent to 'hath shown.'

Having spoken thus, and yet further increasing their fear, he adds:

showing that one could in no other way disbelieve in Him, unless he condemned as a liar the God who sent Him.

Since therefore He says nothing apart from the things of the Father, but all that is His, he that disobeyeth Him hath disobeyed Him that sent Him.

Seest thou how by these things also he strikes them with awe? For until now they thought it no great matter to disobey Christ.

For this reason he suspended so great a peril over the unbelievers, that they might learn that they who disobey Christ disobey God Himself.

Then he even pursues this argument, condescending to the lowliness of their understanding, and saying:

'For God giveth not the Spirit by measure.'

Again, as I said, he brings the discourse down to what is lowlier, varying it and making it easy for those who then heard to receive.

For there was no other way to heighten and increase the fear.

For if he had said anything great and lofty concerning Him, they would not have believed, but would even have despised it.

For this reason he refers everything up to the Father, again discoursing for the present about Christ as though about a man.

But what does he mean when he says, 'God does not give the Spirit by measure'? He wishes to show that all of us have received the working of the Spirit by measure;

for here by 'Spirit' he means the operation;

for this is what is apportioned;

but He possesses the whole operation without measure and in its entirety.

But if His operation is beyond measure, much more is His essence. Do you see that the Spirit also is infinite? He, then, who has received the whole operation of the Spirit, who knows the things of God, who says, 'What we have heard, we speak, and what we have seen, we testify' — how could he justly be held in suspicion? For he says nothing that is not of God, nor anything that is not of the Spirit.

And for the present he utters nothing concerning God the Word, but from the Father and the Spirit he renders his teaching worthy of belief.

For that He was God they knew, and that He was Spirit they were aware, even if they did not hold the fitting opinion concerning Him;

but that He was Son, they did not know.

For this reason he always takes refuge in the Father and in the Spirit, confirming his words from that source.

Since if anyone were to remove this cause and examine the saying by itself, it would fall very far short of the dignity of Christ.

For it is not on this account that He is worthy of their belief, because He has the operation of the Spirit;

for He does not need the help that comes from that source, but is Himself sufficient.

But for the present he speaks to the notion of those who are more imperfect, wishing gradually to lead them up from lowly things.

And I say these things, that we may not simply run past what lies in the Scriptures, but may also thoroughly learn the aim of the speaker, and the weakness of the hearers, and many other things that are contained in them.

For teachers do not speak all things as they wish, but for the most part as the condition of the weak requires.

'I could not speak to you as to spiritual, but as to carnal.'

'I gave you milk to drink, not solid food.'

For 'I wished indeed,' he says, 'to speak to you as to spiritual, but I was not able.'

How so? Not because he himself was unable, but because they were not able so to hear.

So also John wished to teach the disciples certain great things, but they were not yet able to endure to receive them;

for this reason he dwells especially on the more lowly matters.

We ought, therefore, to search out all things with exactness.

For indeed the things from the Scriptures are spiritual weapons.

But unless we know how to fit the weapons and to arm the disciples well, the weapons themselves retain their own strength, yet can profit those who receive them nothing.

For let us suppose there is a strong breastplate, and a helmet and a shield, and a spear;

then let someone take these weapons, and put the breastplate about his feet, and the helmet, instead of on his head, upon his face, and let him not hold the shield before his breast, but contend to hang it about his feet;

will he then be able to gain any benefit from these weapons, and not rather even be harmed? It is surely plain to everyone.

But this is not because of the weakness of the weapons, but because of the inexperience of the one who does not know how to use them well.

If we confound their order, they will indeed retain their own power even so, but will profit us nothing.

Discoursing these things to you always, both privately and publicly, I accomplish nothing more;

for indeed I see you nailed all the time to worldly affairs, having no share, not even in a dream, in spiritual things.

For this reason our life too has been neglected, and though we contend for the truth, we have not much strength, but become a laughingstock both among the Greeks, and among the Jews, and among the heretics.

And if, being negligent in other matters, you were displaying the same slackness here also, even so what is happening would not be worthy of any excuse.

But as it is, in worldly matters each of you is sharper than a sword, both those who pursue the crafts and those who transact civic affairs;

yet in the necessary and spiritual matters, we are more slothful than all, using the incidental things as though they were our chief work, while the things which ought to be reckoned more necessary than all works, these we do not even consider to be incidental.

Or do you not know that what was written was written not for the sake of the first men only, but also for our sake? Do you not hear Paul saying that 'These things were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come';

'that through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope'? And I know indeed that I speak in vain;

for in doing this I shall make my defense before God, even if there be no one who hears.

For he who speaks to those who give heed has, as the encouragement of his speaking, the persuasion of his hearers;

but he who speaks continually and is not heard, and yet does not cease from speaking, would be worthy of greater honor, because, on account of what is pleasing to God and though no one gives heed, he fulfills all that is his part.

But nevertheless, even if the reward be greater for us from your disobedience, we nevertheless desire rather that this be diminished, and that your salvation be increased, reckoning your good repute to be a great reward.

And we say these things now, not that we may make our discourse burdensome and heavy, but that we may show you the pain which we have because of your slackness;

from which may it be granted that we all, being delivered, may hold fast to spiritual zeal, and attain the heavenly good things, by the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father be glory, together with the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of the ages. Amen.