Homilies on the Gospel of John 48

Jesus therefore said to them:

'Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, ye have no eternal life in yourselves.'

'But he that eats My flesh, and drinks My blood, has life in himself.'

When we discourse concerning spiritual things, let there be nothing of the daily life in our souls, nothing earthly;

but let all such things withdraw, let all be banished, and let us become wholly given to the hearing of the divine oracles alone.

For if, when a king enters a city, all tumult is driven away;

much more, when the Spirit discourses to us, ought we to hear with much stillness, and with much awe.

For the things spoken today are indeed worthy of awe.

'For verily,' He says, 'I say unto you, except a man eat My flesh, and drink My blood, he has no life in himself.'

Since before they were saying that this was impossible, He shows that it is not only not impossible, but even highly necessary.

'He that eats My flesh, and drinks My blood, has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.'

For since He was saying, 'He that eats of this bread shall not die for ever;'

and it was likely that this would present an obstacle to them, as also before they were saying, Abraham died, and the prophets died, and how sayest Thou, he shall not taste of death? He set forth the resurrection, solving the difficulty, and showing that he shall not die in the end.

And He continually turns the discourse upon the mysteries, showing the necessity of the matter, and that it must by all means come to pass.

'For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.'

What is it that He says? Either He means to say this, that this is the true food which saves the soul;

or to assure them concerning the things said, so that they should not think that what was said was a riddle and a parable, but should know that they must by all means eat the body.

'He that eats My flesh abides in Me.'

And this He said, showing that he is commingled with Him.

But what follows seems to be somewhat disjointed, unless we examine the sense.

'For what connection is there,' one might say, 'after saying, He that eats My flesh abides in Me, to add, As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father?' Yet what is said has much harmony.

For since above and below He was speaking of eternal life, in establishing this He added, 'He abides in Me.'

For if he abides in Me, and I live, it is clear that he too shall live.

'As the living Father sent Me.'

Now this is comparative and by way of likeness.

And what He says is of this sort:

And that you might not think Him unbegotten, He straightway added, 'Because of the Father'-not showing by this that He has need of any activity in order to live.

For higher up, doing away with this, He was saying:

'For as the Father has life in Himself, so has He given also to the Son to have life in Himself.'

But if He needs an activity, either the Father will be found not to have given thus, and the saying is false;

or, if He gave thus, He will henceforth need nothing else to sustain Him.

What then is 'Because of the Father'? Here He only hints at the cause.

But what He says means something like this:

As the Father who lives, so also I live.

And he who eats Me, that man also shall live because of Me.

And by 'life' here He means not merely existence, but that glorious life.

And that He was not speaking of mere existence, but of that glorious and ineffable life, is plain from this:

For all, even the unbelieving and the uninitiated, live, though they have not eaten of that flesh.

You see that the discourse is not about this life, but about that other one? And what He says means this:

He who eats My flesh shall not perish when he dies, nor shall he be punished.

Yet neither is He speaking of the general resurrection;

for all alike rise again;

but of that special resurrection—the

glorious one, and the one that carries a reward.

This is the bread which came down out of heaven;

not as your fathers ate the manna, and died.

He who eats this bread shall live forever.

Again and again He turns the same thing over, so as to imprint it upon the mind of His hearers (for this was, as it were, the ultimate teaching concerning these matters), and to confirm the doctrine of the resurrection and that of eternal life.

Therefore He adds the resurrection also, partly because He had spoken of eternal life, and partly to show that this life is not now, but after the resurrection.

And whence are these things made plain, one may ask? From the Scriptures.

For everywhere He refers them to that source, bidding them learn these things from the Scriptures themselves.

And having said, 'giving life to the world,' He stirs them also to emulation, so that, even if they were grieved that others enjoyed the gift, they might not remain outside.

And He continually reminds them of the manna, both setting forth the difference and leading them on to faith.

For if it was possible for forty years to sustain their life apart from harvest and grain and the rest of that natural sequence,

much more now will He be able to do this, since He has come for greater things.

And besides, if those things were certain types, and men gathered what was provided without sweat and toil,

much more shall this be so now, where the difference is great—both the never dying, and the enjoyment of the true life.

And well does He make frequent mention of life, since this is what men long for, and nothing is so sweet as not to die.

For even in the Old Testament this was the promise—length of days and many years;

but now it is not length merely, but a life that has no end.

And at the same time He wishes to show that He is now recalling the punishment that came from sin, undoing that sentence which brought death;

and that He is bringing in life not merely, but eternal life, contrary to the former things.

These things He said in the synagogue, teaching in Capernaum, where most of His mighty works had been done, so that He ought there especially to have been listened to.

But for what reason did He teach in the synagogue and in the temple? Partly because He wished to catch the multitude of them, and partly because He wished to show that He was not opposed to the Father.

And many of the disciples, when they heard, said:

This word is hard.

What is the meaning of 'It is hard'? Harsh, painful, laborious.

And yet He had said nothing of the sort;

for He was not discoursing about conduct, but about doctrines, turning up and down the faith that was to be placed in Himself.

What then is the meaning of 'The word is hard'? Is it that He promises life and resurrection? that He said He had come down from heaven? Or is it that it is impossible for the man who has not eaten His flesh to be saved? Tell me, then, are these things hard? And who would say so? What then is the meaning of 'hard'? It means hard to receive, surpassing their weakness, filled with much fear.

For they thought that He was uttering things greater than befitted Him, and beyond Himself.

'Who can hear Him?' they said, making excuse perhaps for themselves, since they were about to spring away.

And Jesus, knowing in Himself that His disciples murmured at this (for this too belongs to His deity, to bring into the open the things that are hidden), then says:

Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascending where He was before?

This He did also in the case of Nathanael, saying, 'Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these';

and in the case of Nicodemus, that 'No one has ascended into heaven, except the Son of Man who is in heaven.'

What then? Does He join perplexities to perplexities? No;

but by the greatness and abundance of the doctrines He wishes to draw them to Himself.

For He who had said simply, 'I have come down out of heaven,' and added nothing more, would rather have offended them;

but He who said, 'My body is the life of the world,' and He who said, 'As the living Father sent Me, I also live because of the Father';

and He who said, 'I have come down out of heaven,' resolves the perplexity.

For he who utters just one great thing about himself might well become suspected, as one who invents;

but he who strings together so many things in succession removes all suspicion.

And He does and says everything so as to lead them away from thinking that Joseph was His father.

It was not, then, because He wished to heighten the offense that He said this,

but rather to remove it.

For he who supposed Him to be from Joseph would not have received what was said;

but he who was persuaded that He had come down out of heaven, and would ascend there, would more readily have given heed to what was said.

And along with these He brings forward yet another solution, saying:

It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh profits nothing.

But what He says means this:

The things concerning Me must be heard spiritually;

for he who heard in a fleshly way gained nothing, nor did he reap any good.

And it was fleshly to dispute how He had come down out of heaven, and to think that He is the son of Joseph, and to say, 'How can He give us His flesh to eat?' All these things are fleshly;

which ought to have been understood mystically and spiritually.

And whence, one asks, were they able to understand what eating flesh could be? Then they ought to have waited for the fitting time, and to have inquired, and not to have despaired.

The words which I have spoken to you are spirit, and are life;

that is, they are divine and spiritual, having nothing fleshly, nor any natural sequence;

and they are freed from all such necessity, and stand above even the laws that are laid down here below;

and they have another, an altogether different meaning.

As, then, here He said 'spirit' instead of 'spiritual things,' so, when He said 'flesh,' He did not mean fleshly things, but the hearing in a fleshly way, at the same time also hinting at them, that they were always longing after fleshly things, when they ought to have reached out after spiritual ones.

For if one should take this in a fleshly way, he gained nothing.

What then? Is His flesh not flesh? Most certainly it is.

And how then did He say, 'The flesh profits nothing'? He was not speaking of His own flesh;

but of those who received His words in a fleshly manner.

And what is it to understand in a fleshly manner? It is to look simply at the things set before us, and to imagine nothing beyond.

But we ought not to judge thus by the things that are seen, but to contemplate all the mysteries with the inward eyes.

For this is to understand spiritually.

Therefore he who does not eat His flesh and drink His blood [has no life in himself].

How then does the flesh profit nothing, without which it is impossible to live? Do you see that the saying, 'The flesh profits nothing,' was not spoken concerning His flesh, but concerning a fleshly hearing? 'But there are some of you who do not believe.'

Again, according to His custom, He invests His words with dignity, foretelling things to come, and showing that He spoke these things not from a desire for their good opinion, but out of care for them.

But by saying 'Some,' He excepted the disciples.

For at the beginning He had said:

'And you have seen Me, and yet you do not believe Me';

but here, 'There are some of you who do not believe.'

For He knew from the beginning who they were that did not believe, and who it was that should betray Him.

And He said, 'For this cause I have told you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been given to him from above by My Father.'

Here the evangelist hints to us the willing nature of the dispensation, and its long-suffering.

And the phrase 'from the beginning' is not set down here without purpose, but that you may learn His foreknowledge from above, and that before these words, and not after the murmuring, nor after the traitor was offended, but even before this He knew—which belonged to His Godhead.

Then He added, 'Unless it has been given to him from above by My Father,' persuading them to regard God as His Father, and not Joseph, and showing that it is no ordinary thing to believe in Him.

For He all but says this: They who do not believe neither disturb, nor trouble, nor astonish Me;

I have known this from above, before it came to pass;

I know to whom the Father has given.

But when you hear that 'He has given,' do not suppose it a mere allotment, but believe this: that he who offered himself worthy to receive, himself received.

From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him.

The evangelist well says, not that they withdrew, but 'They went back,' showing that they cut themselves off from advancement in virtue, and that they lost the faith which they had of old, by severing themselves.

But the twelve did not suffer this.

Wherefore He also says to them:

'Do you also want to go away?' showing again that He did not need their ministry and

their attendance, nor did He lead them about for the sake of making a display of this.

For how could He, who spoke these things even to them? Why then did He not praise them? Why did He not marvel? At once He preserved the dignity befitting a teacher, and at the same time showed that they ought rather to be drawn by this very manner.

For if He had praised them, thinking that they were bestowing a favor on Him, they might have suffered something human;

but by showing that He had no need of their following, He rather held them fast.

And observe how wisely He said it.

for [to say outright, 'Depart'] would have belonged to one thrusting them away;

but He asks, saying, 'Do you also want to go away?' which was the act of one taking away all force and compulsion, and of one not wishing them to be attached to Him out of any shame, but with a sense of gratitude.

And by neither openly accusing those men, but gently touching upon them, He showed how one ought to bear oneself wisely in such cases.

But we experience the very opposite;

and reasonably so, since, clinging to our own glory, we do all things.

Therefore we also think that our concerns are diminished by the withdrawal of those who attend upon us.

But He neither flattered, nor thrust them away, but asked.

This then was not the act of one despising them, but of one not wishing to hold them by force and compulsion.

For to remain in such a way is equivalent to departing.

What then does Peter say? 'To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.'

'And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'

Do you see that it was not the words which caused offense, but the inattention and slothfulness and thanklessness of the hearers? For even if He had not spoken, they would have been offended, and would not have ceased ever cleaving to bodily food, and being nailed to the earth.

And besides, these also heard together with those men;

yet nevertheless they declared the opposite of those men, saying:

'To whom shall we go?' The saying is expressive of much affection.

For it shows that the Teacher was to them more precious than all things—than fathers, than mothers, than all that exists—and that if they departed from Him, there was nowhere left for them to flee.

Then, lest 'To whom shall we go?' should seem to have been said by him for this reason—as though there were none who would receive them—he immediately added:

'You have the words of eternal life.'

For those men heard in a fleshly manner and with human reasonings, but these spiritually, and committing all to faith.

'The words that I have spoken to you are spirit';

that is, do not suppose that the teaching of My words is subject to the sequence of things, or to the necessity of what comes to pass.

Spiritual things are not such;

they do not endure to be enslaved to the laws that are upon earth.

This Paul also declares, saying:

'Do not say in your heart, Who shall ascend into heaven?'—that is, to bring Christ down;

'or, Who shall descend into the abyss?'—that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.

'You have the words of eternal life.'

These men had already accepted the resurrection, and that whole portion in the world to come.

And observe the loving brother, the affectionate one, how he makes his defense on behalf of the whole company;

for he did not say, 'I have known,' but 'We have known';

or rather, consider how he comes to the very words of the Teacher, not uttering the same things as the Jews.

'This is the son of Joseph';

but this man said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God';

and, 'You have the words of eternal life';

having perhaps often heard Him saying, 'He who believes in Me has eternal life.'

For he showed that he held fast all that had been said, by reminding them of the very words.

What then does Christ do? He did not praise Peter, nor did He marvel, although elsewhere He had done this;

but what does He say? 'Did I not choose you the twelve, and one of you is a devil?' For since he had said, 'And we have believed,' He removes Judas from the company.

For there He said nothing concerning the disciples, but it was Christ who spoke, saying:

'But whom do you say that I am?' He asks;

'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'

But here, since Peter had said, 'And we have believed,' Christ with good reason does not permit Judas to be counted in that company.

This He did, checking the traitor's wickedness from afar and from the outset, knowing indeed that it would avail nothing, yet doing what pertained to Himself.

He neither made him manifest, nor allowed him to remain hidden: the former, lest the man be put to shame and become more contentious;

the latter, lest, thinking himself unnoticed, he should carry out the daring deed without fear.

Wherefore also, as He proceeds, He brings forward more open reproofs.

For at first He numbered him with the rest, saying, 'There are some of you who do not believe' (and that He also numbered the traitor, the Evangelist made clear by saying:

'For He knew from the beginning who they were that did not believe, and who it was that should betray Him');

but when the man persisted, He brings the reproof more vehemently: 'One of you is a devil,' and He establishes fear common to all, wishing to keep the man concealed.

It is worth inquiring here why it is that now the disciples say nothing, but afterwards they are afraid and are perplexed among themselves, looking and asking, 'Is it I, Lord?' And Peter beckons to John to learn who the traitor is, and to inquire of the Master who it is.

What then is the cause? Peter had not yet heard, 'Get behind Me, Satan.'

For this reason he had no fear;

but after he was rebuked, and though he spoke out of great affection yet won no approval but was even called 'Satan,'

then hearing, 'One of you shall betray Me,' with good reason he now became afraid.

And besides, not even now does He say, 'One of you shall betray Me,' but, 'One of you is a devil.'

Therefore neither did they understand what was said, but supposed that they were merely being reproached for wickedness.

But why did He say, 'Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?' Showing that His teaching was free from all flattery.

For since, when all the rest had forsaken Him, these alone had remained, and through Peter had confessed Him to be the Christ, in order that they might not think that on this account He would flatter them, He leads them away from this suspicion.

And what He means is this:

'Nothing puts me to shame so as to keep me from reproving the wicked;

do not suppose that, because you have remained, I shall choose to flatter you;

or that, because you have followed me, I do not reprove the wicked.

For that which is far greater than this, tending to put a teacher to shame, does not put me to shame either.

For he who remains offers proof of his own affection;

but he who was chosen by the teacher, and yet is cast out among the foolish, fastens a reputation of folly upon the teacher, being reckoned foolish.

But nevertheless not even this draws me away from reproofs.

This very thing, indeed, is what even now the Greeks lay to the charge of Christ, coldly and senselessly.

For God is not wont to make men good by necessity and force, nor is His election and choosing coercive of those who are called, but exhortatory.

That the calling does not compel, consider how many of those who were called it befell to perish.

Whence it is manifest that both to be saved and to perish lie in our own will.

Hearing these things, then, let us be trained always to be sober and watchful.

For if he who belonged to that holy company, who had enjoyed so great a gift, who had wrought signs (for he too, with the others, was among those sent to raise the dead and cleanse the lepers), yet, when he was seized by the dread disease, the evil of avarice, and betrayed his own Master, was nothing profited, neither by the benefits, nor the gifts, nor by being with Him, nor by the care shown him, nor by the washing of his feet, nor by sharing the table, nor by holding the money-box, but these very things became to him provisions for his punishment;

let us too be afraid, lest at any time we imitate Judas through the love of money.

You do not betray Christ? But when you overlook a poor man wasting away with hunger, or perishing with cold, you draw upon yourself the same condemnation.

And when we partake of the mysteries unworthily, we perish alike with those who slew Christ.

When we plunder, when we throttle those of lower estate, we shall draw upon ourselves the greatest punishment;

for how long shall the love of these present things, superfluous and unprofitable, so hold us in its grip? For wealth consists in superfluities, in which there is no benefit at all.

How long shall we be nailed to vain things? How long shall we not look up into the heavens, not be sober, not take our fill

of these earthly and fleeting things? Are we not taught by experience of them their worthlessness? Let us consider those who grew rich before us.

Were not all those things a dream? Were they not a shadow and a flower, a stream flowing past? Were they not a tale and a fable? Such a one grew rich;

and where now is his wealth? It has perished and been utterly destroyed;

but the sins committed for its sake remain, and the punishment for those sins.

Or rather, even if there were no punishment, nor a kingdom set before us, we ought to reverence our common kinship and common race, we ought to be moved to pity by our common frailty.

But as it is, we feed dogs;

and many feed even wild asses and bears, and various beasts;

yet we overlook a man wasting away with hunger, and to us that which is another's is more precious than our own kindred, and our own kin is held in less honour than that which is nothing to us and has no connection with us.

But is it a fine thing to build splendid houses and to have many servants, and to recline and behold a golden ceiling? Nay, it is superfluous and unprofitable.

There are other buildings far more splendid and more august than these;

upon such it is fitting to delight the eyes.

Do you wish to behold a most beautiful ceiling? When evening has come on, look upon the heaven bespangled with stars.

'But this ceiling is not mine,' he says.

And yet this is more yours than that other.

For it was made for your sake, and it is common to you together with your brethren;

but that other is not yours, but belongs to those who after your death inherit it.

And the one will be able to profit you most greatly, sending you on by its beauty to the Creator;

but the other will injure you most greatly, becoming your greatest accuser in the day of judgment, when it is clothed in gold, while Christ has not even a necessary garment.

Let us not, then, endure such folly;

nor let us pursue the things that flee, and flee the things that abide;

nor let us betray our own salvation, but let us cling to the hope that is to come;

we who are old, since we know plainly that but a little span of life is left to us;

and the young, since they are plainly persuaded that what remains is not much.

For as a thief in the night, so does that day come.

Knowing these things, then, let wives exhort their husbands, and husbands admonish their wives, and let us teach the younger men and the virgins, and let us all instruct one another to despise the things present and to long for the things to come, that we may also be able to attain them, 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, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.