Homilies on the Gospel of John 53

The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them:

'Why have you not brought Him?' The officers then answered:

'Never did a man speak thus, as this man speaks.' [Section 1]

Nothing is clearer than the truth, nothing simpler, if only we do not deal deceitfully;

just as, for those who do deal deceitfully, nothing is more perplexing.

For behold: the Pharisees and the scribes, who forsooth seemed to be wiser, being always in Christ's company for the sake of plotting against Him, both seeing His miracles and reading the Scriptures, profited nothing, but were even harmed;

whereas the officers, having none of these advantages, were won over by a single discourse, and having gone forth to bind Him, returned themselves bound by the wonder of it.

And one may marvel not only at their understanding—that they needed no signs, but were captured by the teaching alone (for they did not say, 'Never did a man work miracles thus');

but what did they say? 'Never did a man speak thus'—

so then, one may marvel not only at their understanding, but also at their boldness, that they said these things to those who had sent them, to the Pharisees, to those who warred against Him and did everything for this end.

'For the officers came,' it says, 'and the Pharisees say to them:

Why have you not brought Him?' Now their coming was far greater than their remaining behind.

For then, indeed, they would have been rid of the vexatiousness of these men;

but as it is, they become heralds of Christ's wisdom, and display their boldness in a greater degree;

and they do not say, 'We could not because of the crowd, for they attended to Him as to a prophet';

but what? 'Never did a man speak thus.'

And yet they could have offered that excuse;

but they make manifest their own right judgment.

For this was the mark not merely of those who admired Him, but also of those who accused these men, in that they had sent to bind Him whom they ought rather to have heard.

And yet they had not even heard a long discourse, but a brief one.

For when the understanding is unbribed, there is no need even of long words.

What, then, do the Pharisees do? When they ought to have been pricked in conscience, they do the very opposite: they turn the accusation back upon the officers, saying, 'Are you also led astray?'

They still flatter them, and do not employ their speech in a crushing manner, fearing lest they should be utterly severed from them;

yet they betray their anger, and speak with a certain restraint.

For when they ought to have asked what He had said, and to have marveled at His words, this they do not do;

for they knew that they would be caught.

Instead, they draw their conclusion against the officers from an exceedingly senseless proof.

'For why,' says he, 'has none of the rulers believed in Him?' Is it Christ, then, tell me, whom you accuse by this, and not those who have refused to believe? 'But this crowd,' he says, 'which does not know the Law, they are accursed.'

But this is the greater charge against you: that the crowd believed, while you refused to believe.

And indeed, it was those very people who were doing the works of those who know the Law;

how then are they accursed? For you are the accursed ones, who do not keep the Law;

not they, who obey the Law.

But it was not right to slander the One who is disbelieved on the ground of those who disbelieve.

For this is not a sound manner of reasoning.

Since you also disbelieved God, as Paul says:

'For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faithfulness of God of no effect? God forbid.'

For the prophets also were ever accusing them, saying:

'Hear, you rulers of Sodom;'

and, 'Your rulers are disobedient;'

and again, 'Is it not for you to know judgment?' And

everywhere they set upon them more vehemently.

What then? Will anyone on this account bring a charge against God? Away with the thought!

For this accusation belongs to those men themselves.

And what other sign could one give that you do not know the Law, than your not obeying it? But since they had said, 'Has any of the rulers believed in Him?' and, 'Those who do not know the Law,' Nicodemus fittingly takes hold of them, speaking thus:

'Does our Law judge a man, unless it first hears from him?' For he shows that they neither know the Law nor keep the Law.

For if the Law commands no one to put a man to death without first hearing him, but these men rushed to this before hearing, they are transgressors of the Law.

And since they had said, 'And none of the rulers has believed in Him,' on this account the Evangelist notes that he was one of them, showing that rulers too had believed in Him.

For they did not yet display the boldness that was fitting;

but observe how even with restraint he brings his rebuke.

For he did not say, 'But you wish to kill Him, and you simply condemn the man as a deceiver.'

He did not speak thus, but more gently, checking their unspeakable impulse, and their thoughtlessness and murderous intent.

For this reason he turns his discourse to the Law, saying:

'Unless it hear accurately, and know what one is doing.'

So that there is need not of a bare hearing, but of an accurate one.

For this is the meaning of 'And know what he is doing'—what he intends, and why, and to what end; whether it be for the overthrow of the commonwealth and as an enemy.

Being thus at a loss, since they had said, 'None of the rulers has believed in Him,' they dealt with him neither vehemently nor with restraint.

For what consistency has it, tell me, when he had said, 'Our Law judges no one,' for them to say, 'Are you also of Galilee?' For instead of showing that they had not sent to summon Him without judgment, or that there was no need to grant Him a hearing, they employed their rejoinder in a more boorish and passionate manner:

'Search and see, that out of Galilee no prophet has arisen.'

For what had the man said? That He is a prophet? He had said that one ought not to be put to death without judgment.

But they, insultingly, as though he knew nothing about the Scriptures, added these words;

for this is what 'Search and see' means.

What then does Christ do? Since they kept turning Galilee and the prophet over and over, He, freeing all from this misplaced suspicion, and showing that He is not one of the prophets, but the Master of the world, says:

Not of Galilee, not of Palestine, nor of Judea.

What then do the Jews say? 'You bear witness concerning Yourself; Your witness is not true.'

He referred them again and again to the Scriptures, and they say, 'You bear witness concerning Yourself.'

And what had He witnessed? 'I am the light of the world.'

Great was the saying, and truly great;

yet it did not strike them very hard, since He did not now make Himself equal to the Father, nor did He say that He was His Son, nor God, but for the present only light.

They wished, then, to overturn this also;

and yet this was far greater than to say, 'He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness,' speaking of light and darkness in a spiritual sense;

that is, he does not remain in error.

Here He draws Nicodemus along and encourages him, as one who had spoken with much boldness, and He praises the officers who had done this.

For the very crying aloud belongs to one who wishes to establish his point, so that even those men might hear;

and at the same time He also secretly hints at those very men who were weaving their plots in secret, and in darkness and error;

but they shall not prevail over the light.

And He reminds Nicodemus of those words which He had spoken earlier:

'Everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.'

For since they were saying that none of the rulers had believed in Him, on this account He says, 'He who does evil does not come to the light,' showing that their not coming was not due to any weakness of the light, but to their own perverted disposition.

They answered and said to Him:

'Do You bear witness concerning Yourself?' What then does He say? 'Even if I bear witness concerning Myself, My witness is true;'

'for I know where I came from and where I am going;'

'but you do not know where I came from.'

The very thing which He had said before, this they now put forward as though it had been spoken as their leading argument.

What then does Christ do? Overturning it, and showing that those earlier words were spoken with reference to them and to their suspicion—since they supposed Him to be a mere man—He says:

'Even if I bear witness concerning Myself, My witness is true, because I know where I came from.'

What is this? I am of God, and God, and the Son of God.

And God is a witness worthy of belief unto Himself;

'You are willfully malicious,' He says, 'and though you know, you pretend not to know;'

'but you utter everything according to human reasoning, wishing to understand nothing beyond what appears.'

'You judge according to the flesh.'

Just as living according to the flesh means living wickedly;

Thus to judge according to the flesh is to judge unjustly.

'And if I judge, my judgment is true.'

What He means is something like this:

'And even if we do judge unjustly,' He says, 'why do you not bring a charge? Why do you not punish? Why do you not condemn?' 'Because I did not come for this purpose,' He says.

For this is the meaning of, 'I judge no man;'

'and yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true.'

'Since, had I willed to judge, you would have been among the condemned.'

'And these things I say, not as one judging,' He says.

But He did not say, 'I speak not as one judging,' because He lacked confidence—as though, had He judged, He could not have overcome them; for indeed, had He judged, He would justly have condemned them—

but rather because now is not the time of judgment.

And concerning the judgment to come He hinted when He said, 'For I am not alone, but I and the Father who sent me.'

And here He hinted that it is not He alone who condemns them, but the Father also.

Then He veiled this, leading them on to His own testimony:

'And in your own law it is written that the testimony of two men is true.'

What then could the heretics say here? What advantage would He have over men, if we were to take what is said in so simple a manner? For in the case of men this was ordained for this reason, because by himself no one is worthy of belief;

but in the case of God, how could this hold reason? How then is 'Two' spoken? Is it because they are two, or because they are men that it is therefore two? For if it is because they are two, why did He not resort to John, nor say, 'I bear witness concerning myself, and John bears witness concerning me'? Why not to the angel? Why not to the prophets? For indeed He could have found countless other testimonies.

But He does not wish to show this alone—that they are two—but that they are also of the same substance.

'Who is your Father?' Then He says:

'You neither know me, nor my Father.'

For since, knowing, they spoke as though not knowing, and as tempting Him, He does not deem them worthy even of an answer.

For this reason He henceforth speaks all things more plainly and with greater boldness, taking the testimony from the signs and from the teaching of those who followed, since the cross was near at hand.

'For I know,' He says, 'whence I come.'

This alone would not have greatly stung them;

but to add, 'And where I am going,' would rather have frightened them, since He was not going to remain in death.

But why did He not say, 'I know that I am God,' but rather, 'I know whence I come'? He always mingles lowly things with lofty ones, and even these very lowly things He conceals.

For having said, 'I bear witness concerning myself,' and having shown this, He came to the lowlier matter, as though He were saying:

'I know from whom I have been sent, and to whom I am departing.'

For in this way they would have had nothing to say in reply, hearing that He was sent from Him, and departs to Him.

'For I would not have spoken any falsehood,' He says, 'coming thence and departing thither, to the true God.'

'But you do not know God;'

'therefore you judge according to the flesh.'

'For you who have heard so many proofs and refutations still say, He is not true;'

'and you deem Moses worthy of belief, both for what he says concerning others and for what he says concerning himself;'

'This is to judge according to the flesh.'

And indeed He says that 'The Father judges no man.'

How then does He say here, 'And even if I judge, my judgment is just, for I am not alone'? Again He speaks to their supposition:

that is, 'My judgment is the Father's;'

the Father, in judging, would not judge otherwise than as I;

and I would not judge otherwise than as the Father.

But for what reason did He also make mention of the Father? Because they did not consider the Son worthy of belief unless He also took to Himself the testimony of the Father;

and otherwise, what was said does not even stand.

For in the case of men, when two bear witness to a matter belonging to another, then the testimony is true;

for this is what it is for two to bear witness;

but if someone is going to bear witness to himself, they are no longer two.

Do you see that He has said this for no other reason than to show that He is of the same substance, and again through Himself to show that He does not need any other testimony;

and to show that He has nothing less than the Father? Behold, then, the authority.

'I am one who bears witness concerning myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness concerning me.'

But had He been of a lesser substance, He would not have set this down.

But now, that you may not suppose that He was included merely for the sake of number, observe the authority as having nothing altered.

A man bears witness when he is of himself worthy of belief, not when he needs testimony, and this in a matter belonging to another;

but in his own matter, when he needs the testimony that comes from another, he is no longer worthy of belief.

But here it is entirely the opposite.

For bearing witness in His own matter, and saying that He is witnessed to by another, He declares Himself worthy of belief, showing His own authority from every side.

For why, having said, 'I am not alone, but I and the Father who sent me,' and, 'The testimony of two men is true,' did He not fall silent, but added, 'I am one who bears witness concerning myself'? Clearly to make plain His authority.

And first He set down Himself:

'I am one who bears witness concerning myself.'

He shows here both the equality of honor, and that they gain nothing by saying they know God as Father, while not knowing Him.

And He says that the cause of this is their being unwilling to know Him.

He says, then, that it is not possible to know His Father apart from Him, so that even in this way He might draw them to the knowledge of Himself.

For since, letting Him go, they were always seeking to learn the Father, He says:

'You cannot know the Father apart from me.'

So that those who blaspheme the Son do not blaspheme Him alone, but also Him who begat.

Let us flee these things, and let us glorify the Son.

And yet, if He were not of the same nature, He would not have spoken thus.

For if He merely taught, but were of a different substance, it would be possible to know the Father while being ignorant of Him;

and again, it would not necessarily follow that one who knew Him knew the Father.

For neither does one who knows a man thereby know an angel;

for indeed one who knows the creation knows God.

For there are many who know the creation;

or rather all men (for they behold it), and yet they do not know God.

Let us therefore glorify the Son of God, not by this glory alone, but also by that which comes through our works.

For this glory apart from that is nothing.

Behold, he says, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast in God.

Thou therefore who teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? Thou that gloriest in the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? Take heed lest we too, glorying in the rightness of our faith, dishonour God by displaying a life that does not accord with the faith, and cause Him to be blasphemed.

For He wills that the Christian be a teacher of the world, and leaven, and light, and salt.

And what is the light? A shining life, having nothing darkened.

The light is not profitable to itself, neither the salt, nor the leaven; but they display their usefulness towards others.

So too we are required to render not only our own profit, but that of others also.

For if the salt do not season, it is no longer salt.

And it shows yet another thing also: that if we ourselves succeed rightly, others too will assuredly do so;

but so long as we ourselves do not succeed rightly, neither shall we be able to profit others.

Let there be nothing foolish, nothing frivolous in us.

For such are the affairs of this world;

such are the cares of this life.

For this reason the virgins were called foolish, because they busied themselves about foolish things, the affairs of this world;

gathering here, where they ought not, and not laying up there.

There is fear then lest we too suffer the same thing;

fear lest we too depart clothed in filthy garments, to that place where all have bright and glorious ones.

Nothing is more filthy, nothing more unclean than this.

Wherefore the Prophet, interpreting its nature, cried aloud:

My wounds stink and are corrupt.

And if thou wouldest learn the foul stench of sin, consider it after it is done, when thou art rid of the desire, when the fire no longer troubles thee; and then thou shalt see what sin is.

Consider anger, when thou art in calm;

consider covetousness, when thou art outside the passion.

Nothing is more shameful, nothing more foul than rapine and covetousness.

These things we say continually, not desiring to trouble you, but that we may gain something great and wonderful.

For he who does not amend at the first hearing, will perhaps do so from hearing it a second time;

and he who passed it by the second time, will be set right from the third.

And may it be granted that all of us, being delivered from all wicked things, may have the sweet savour of Christ; for to Him is the glory, with the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.