Homilies on the Gospel of John 55

Then said Jesus to the Jews who had believed on Him:

'If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.' I.

Our affairs stand in need of much patience, beloved.

And patience comes to be, when the doctrines are rooted deep down.

For just as an oak that has let its roots down into the lower recesses and is bound fast with exactness, no wind that falls upon it will be able to tear up,

so too the soul that is nailed fast by the fear of God, no one will be able to overturn;

for to be nailed fast is more than to be rooted.

This, at any rate, is what the Prophet prays for, saying:

'Nail down my flesh with the fear of You.'

Do you likewise nail it down and fasten it, as though it were pierced through with a nail.

For just as such men are hard to capture, so their adversaries become easy to capture and are easily cast down;

which is exactly what the Jews then suffered.

For having heard and having believed, they again turned aside.

Wishing therefore to deepen their faith, that it might not be superficial, Christ digs into the soul with more piercing words.

For it belonged to those who believed to bear also with reproofs;

And how does He do this? First He gives a charge:

'If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples, and the truth shall make you free;'

all but saying, 'I am about to make a deep incision, but do not be shaken.'

Or rather, by these very words He also put down the arrogance of their mind.

Free from what, tell me? From sins.

What then say those boastful ones? 'We are Abraham's seed, and have never been in bondage to any man.'

Their mind fell down straightway;

But this came about from their being enthralled by the things of this world.

'If ye continue in my word'—by this He was making manifest what was in their heart, knowing that though they had believed, yet they had not continued.

And He promises a great thing: that they should become His disciples.

For since some had earlier withdrawn from Him, alluding to them He says, 'If ye continue';

seeing that those also had heard and believed, and yet withdrew, because they did not continue.

For 'many of His disciples went back, and no longer walked openly with Him.'

All the things of the Jews were a type;

'but the truth ye shall learn from me, and it shall set you free from your sins.'

For just as He said to those others:

'Ye shall die in your sins';

so also to these He said, 'It shall set you free.'

And He did not say, 'I will deliver you from bondage';

but this He left for them to perceive of themselves.

What then said those men? 'We are Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man.'

And yet, if there were cause for indignation, it would have been reasonable over the former saying—that is, over His having said, 'Ye shall know the truth'—and to have said:

'What then? Do we not now know the truth? Is the Law then a lie, and our knowledge?' But for none of these things did they care; rather they grieved over worldly matters, having suspected bondage in what was said.

For there are, yea even now there are, many who are ashamed over things indifferent and over this kind of bondage;

but over the bondage of sin they are no longer ashamed, and would sooner choose to be called slaves ten thousand times over in that bondage than once in this.

Such men were those also, and they knew not even of any other bondage, and they say:

'Hast Thou called slaves those of Abraham's stock, the well-born—whom on this account Thou oughtest not to have called slaves?'

'For never,' saith he, 'have we been in bondage.'

For such are the boasts of the Jews:

'We are Abraham's seed, we are Israelites.'

Nowhere do they make mention of their own righteous deeds.

On this account John cried out against them, saying:

'Think not to say, We have Abraham to our father.'

But why did not Christ reprove them? For they had often been in bondage—to the Egyptians, to the Babylonians, and to many others.

Because the things He spoke were not for the sake of contention, but for their salvation and for their benefit, and to this end He was pressing.

For else He would have named the four hundred years;

He would have named the times under the judges—at one time twenty years, at another two, at another seven;

He would have told how they never ceased from being in bondage.

But it was not this that He was earnest to show—their having become slaves of men—but slaves of sin, which is indeed the most grievous bondage, from which God alone is able to deliver.

For to remit sins belongs to none other;

and this even they themselves confessed.

Since therefore they confessed this to be the work of God, He leads them on to this point, and says:

'Whosoever committeth sin is the slave of sin'—showing that He is speaking of this freedom, the freedom from this bondage.

'And the slave abideth not in the house;

but the son abideth for ever.'

Gently, even from this point, He overthrows the things of the Law, alluding to the former times.

For lest they should have recourse and say:

'We have the sacrifices which Moses enjoined;

these are able to deliver us';

for what consistency would the words that were spoken have had? 'For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace'—the priests themselves also.

For this reason Paul also says concerning the priest:

that 'he ought,' he says, 'to offer for himself, even as for the people, since he also is beset with weakness.'

And this is shown by His saying, 'The slave abideth not in the house.'

And here He shows both His equality of honour with the Father, and the difference between slave and free man;

for this is what the parable means—that is, the slave has no authority;

But why, in discoursing about sins, did He make mention of a house? To show that just as the master rules in the house, so He Himself has authority over all.

And the phrase 'abideth not' means this:

He has no authority to grant favours, seeing that he is not the master of the house;

but the Son is the master of the house.

For this is the meaning of 'He abideth for ever'—borrowing a figure from human affairs—that they might not say, 'Who art Thou? All things are mine;'

'For I am the Son, and I abide in the house of the Father';

calling authority 'a house.'

For indeed elsewhere also He calls the Father's dominion a house:

'In my Father's house are many mansions.'

For since the discourse was about freedom and bondage, He fittingly employed this figure, saying that those men had no authority to remit.

'If then the Son shall make you free.'

Seest thou His consubstantiality with the Father, and how He shows that He has the same authority as He? 'If the Son shall make you free,' no one henceforth gainsays it, but ye have your freedom secure.

'who is he that condemneth?' Here He shows both that He Himself is pure from sin, and He hints at the freedom that goes no further than the name;

for this even men bestow, but that other freedom God alone.

And by this He persuades them not to be ashamed over this bondage, but over the bondage of sin.

And wishing to show that, even though they were not slaves before, yet by having rejected that freedom they had all the more become slaves, He straightway added, 'Ye shall be truly free.'

And by this addition He also intimates that this freedom is not the true one.

Then, lest they should say, 'We have no sin' (for it was likely they would say this), see how He cast them into this accusation.

For leaving aside the reproving of their whole life, He brings into the midst this thing now in hand, which they were still minded to do, and says:

'I know that ye are Abraham's seed;

but ye seek to kill me.'

Gently and little by little He casts them out of that kinship, teaching them not to think highly of themselves on this account.

For just as freedom and slavery are known from one's deeds, so also is kinship.

And He did not say at once, 'You are not of Abraham, you who are the murderers of the righteous One';

but for a while He even goes along with them, and says:

'I know that you are the seed of Abraham';

but that is not the point in question. And thereafter He employs this discourse in a more forceful and cutting manner.

For indeed one may observe, as often happens, that when He is about to do some great thing, after He has done it He uses greater boldness of speech, since the testimony arising from His works stops their mouths.

'But you seek to kill Me.'

'What then,' one might say, 'if it be justly?' But it is not even that;

wherefore He also states the reason, that 'My word has no place in you.'

How then does the Evangelist say that they believed in Him? But, as I said, they shifted their ground again.

Therefore He also rebuked them very sharply.

For if you boast of your kinship with that man, you must also display his manner of life.

And He did not say, 'You do not receive the word,' but, 'My word has no place in you,' thereby showing the loftiness of His teachings.

And yet not even on this account ought they to kill Him, but rather to honour Him and to give heed, so as to learn.

'What then,' one says, 'if You speak these things of Yourself?' On this account He added:

'The things which I have seen with My Father, these I speak;

and you do the things which you have heard from your father.'

'Just as I,' He says, 'manifest the Father both by My words and by the truth, so also do you manifest your father by your deeds.'

'For I have not only the same essence, but also the same truth as the Father.'

'We have Abraham for our father.'

'If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.'

'But now you seek to kill Me.'

Continually here He turns upon their murderous purpose, and makes mention of Abraham.

And He does this because He wishes to lead them away from this kinship, and to remove their vain boasting, and to persuade them no longer to place the hopes of their salvation in that man, nor in kinship according to nature, but in that which is according to purpose of will.

For this was what hindered them from coming to Christ: their thinking that that kinship sufficed for their salvation.

And what truth does He mean? That He is equal to the Father.

For it was on this account that the Jews sought to kill Him, and He says:

'You seek to kill Me, because I have told you the truth, which I heard from [the Father].'

Showing that these things are not contrary to the Father, He again takes refuge in Him.

'We were not born of fornication;

we have one Father, even God.'

What are you saying? You have God for your Father, and yet you find fault with Christ for saying this? Do you see that He said God was in a special sense His Father?

Since, then, He had cast them out from kinship with Abraham, having nothing to say, they venture on something else greater, having recourse to God.

But from this honour also He casts them out, saying:

'If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I came forth and am come from God;

and I have not come of Myself, but He sent Me.'

'Why do you not understand My speech? Because you cannot hear My word.'

'You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will to do.'

'He was a murderer from the beginning, and stood not in the truth.'

'When he speaks the lie, he speaks of his own.'

He cast them out from kinship with Abraham;

and when they dared yet greater things, then at last He inflicts the blow, saying that they are not only not of Abraham, but that they are even of the devil, dealing the cut as a counterweight to their shamelessness;

and He does not leave this without witness, but establishes it by proofs.

For to murder, He says, belongs to that one's wickedness.

And He did not say simply 'the works,' but 'You do his lusts,' showing that both he and these men cling vehemently to murder, and that envy was the cause.

For neither having anything to charge against Adam, but merely out of malice, he slew him.

This, then, is what He here hints at.

'And he stood not in the truth';

that is, in the upright life.

For since they continually accused Him of not being of God, He says that this too proceeds from that source.

For that one first begot the lie, saying:

'In the day that you eat, your eyes shall be opened.'

And he himself first made use of it.

For men use it not as their own, but as belonging to another;

'But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.'

What manner of consequence is this? Having nothing to charge Me with, you desire to kill Me.

For since you are enemies of the truth, on this account you persecute Me.

Since, if it be not for this, tell the accusation.

'Which of you convicts Me of sin?' Then they:

'We were not born of fornication.'

And yet many of them were born of fornication;

for they contracted unlawful unions;

but He does not reprove even this, but keeps to that other point.

For since He had shown that they were not of God, but of the devil, from all these things (for both to murder is devilish, and to lie is devilish,

both of which you do), He shows that to love — this is the sign of being of God.

'Why do you not understand My speech?' For since they were always at a loss, saying:

'What does this mean that He says, Where I go, you cannot come?' — on this account He says:

'You do not understand My speech, because you have not the word of God.'

'And this happens to you because of the groveling nature of your mind, and because My things are far greater.'

What then, if they were not able to comprehend? Here the 'not being able' is the 'not being willing,' because you have trained yourselves to be base, because you imagine nothing great.

For since they said that they persecuted Him out of zeal for God, therefore He everywhere endeavors to show that their persecution of Him is the act of men who hate God;

whereas, on the contrary, He says, to love Him is the mark of those who know God.

'We have one Father, even God.'

It is from these things that they take their pride—from honor, not from good deeds.

It is not, then, a proof that I am a stranger to God, that you do not believe;

rather, your unbelief is a sign that you do not know God.

And the cause of this is your wishing to lie and to do the works of the devil.

This a mean and worthless soul does, as the Apostle says:

'For where there is strife and envy among you, are you not carnal?' And why can you not? Because you wish to do the desires of your father; you are zealous, you are contentious.

You see that the words 'You cannot' mean 'You will not'? For Abraham did not do this.

But what are his works? Gentleness, mildness, obedience.

But you stand in the opposite, being harsh and cruel.

But whence did it occur to them to take refuge in

God? He showed them to be unworthy of Abraham.

So, wishing to escape this, they mounted to a greater claim.

For since He had reproached them with murder, they say this as though making some defense, that they are avenging God.

He shows, then, that this very thing is the act of those who set themselves against God.

And the words 'I came forth' show that He is from thence.

He says 'I came forth,' hinting at His coming to us.

And since it was likely that they would say, 'You speak strange and novel things,' He says that He comes from God.

'Reasonably, then, you do not hear them,' He says, 'being of the devil.'

For on what account do you seek to kill Me? What charge have you to bring? If this be not the reason, why do you not believe Me? Thus, having shown them to be of the devil by their lying and murder, He showed also that they were strangers both to Abraham and to God—both by their hating one who had done them no wrong, and by their not hearing His word.

And He shows, up and down, that He was neither opposed to God, nor was it for this reason that they did not believe, but because they were strangers to God.

For He who had committed no sin, who declared that He came from God and was sent from thence, who spoke the truth, and so spoke the truth as to summon all to conviction—when such a One is not believed, it is plain that He is not believed because those men were carnal.

For sins know, indeed they know, how to make the soul base and grovelling.

For this reason he says, 'Since you have become dull of hearing.'

For when a man cannot despise the things on earth, how shall he ever love wisdom concerning the things in heaven? IV.

For this reason, I beseech you, let us do all things, that our life may be set aright, that the mind may be cleansed, that no defiling hindrance may arise in us.

For kindle for yourselves the light of knowledge, and sow not upon thorns.

For he who does not know that covetousness is an evil, when will he learn the greater thing? He who does not abstain from these, when will he lay hold of those? It is good to seize—yet not the things that perish, but the kingdom of heaven.

'For the violent,' He says, 'seize it.'

It is not, then, with slackness that one can attain it, but with earnestness.

And what is meant by 'the violent'? There is need of much violence (for narrow is the way), and there is need of a vigorous and noble soul.

Those who seize wish to get ahead of all;

they look to nothing—not to condemnation, not to accusation, not to punishment;

but they become intent on one thing only, to grasp what they wish to seize, and they outrun all who are before them.

Let us, therefore, seize the kingdom of heaven.

For here there is no blame in seizing, but praise;

the blame is in not seizing.

Here our wealth does not come from another's loss.

Let us, then, be diligent to seize it;

and though anger trouble us, though desire trouble us, let us do violence to nature;

let us toil a little, that we may rest for ever.

Seize not gold, but seize the wealth that shows gold to be mire.

If lead and gold lay before you, which would you seize? Is it not plain that you would seize the gold? Then, where he who seizes is punished, you prize the greater thing;

but where he who seizes is honored, do you betray the greater thing? For if there were punishment on both sides, would you not rather have come to this? But here there is nothing of the kind, but even a blessing.

'And how is it possible to seize?' one asks. Cast away the things that are in your hands.

For as long as you hold these fast, you will not be able to seize those.

For consider with me a man having his hands full of silver;

will he be able, so long as he holds this, to seize gold, unless he cast it away and become unencumbered? For he who seizes must be light-girt, so as not to be held back.

For indeed even now there are opposing powers running down against us, to take from us.

But let us flee them, let us flee, dragging along no handhold from without.

Let us cut the ropes, let us become stripped of the things of this life.

What need is there of silken garments? How long shall we unwind this mockery? How long shall we bury our gold? I would fain cease from ever saying these things;

but you do not permit it, for ever furnishing me with occasions and subjects.

But now at least let us desist, that, having instructed others also by our life, we may attain the good things that are promised, by the grace and lovingkindness of

our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom to the Father be glory, together with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.