Commentary on John 1 part 56/94

But if the Word, having come to be among certain of them, sufficed to make bright with the honour of the Godhead even those who were men, how could He fail to be God by nature, who procured for others also the splendour thereof? Now, refuting the Jews, He says that it was not because He said 'I and the Father are one' that they were stoning Him, but in vain. If, He says, because I called Myself God I seem to blaspheme, why, when the Father said through the Law to men 'You are gods,' did you not judge this to be blasphemy? And He says this, not summoning them to say anything against the Father;

but refuting them, that they are ignorant of the Law and of the God-inspired Scriptures.

And since between those called gods and the God who is such by nature there is a great gulf, by the words He uses He teaches the difference;

for if the men to whom the Word of God came have been called gods, and were made bright with the honour of the Godhead, having lodged and received the Word of God within them according to the soul, how could He fail to be God by nature, through whom those were gods? For the Word was God, according to the voice of John;

He who procured this brightness for the others also.

For if the Word of God, through the Holy Spirit, raises men up to a grace beyond man, and adorns with divine honour those in whom He may come to be, why, He says, do you say that I blaspheme, when I call Myself the Son of God and God? — seeing that by the very things entrusted to me by Him I am witnessed to be God by nature.

'For having sanctified Me, He sent Me into the world' as Saviour of the world — which belongs to God alone by nature, namely to be able to save men from the devil and from sin and from corruption.

He frames the saying to his own error, and will doubtless say somewhere that 'you who refuse to say the Son is less than the Father, how do you not see Him sent by Him as by one greater and superior?' What then shall we say? Either that the title of being sent befits above all the measures of the self-emptying;

for you hear that Paul, joining both together, says that the Son was then sent by the Father, when He also came to be of a woman and under the Law as man among us, though He is Lawgiver and Lord.

But if the Son be understood as having come to be in the form of a servant, and then be said to be sent by the Father, He undergoes no harm whatever as to being both consubstantial with Him and of equal glory and in no way whatever inferior.

For the expressions used by us, if they be applied to God, decline exact scrutiny;

and one must understand them not thus according to the custom among us, I mean, but as would befit the divine and supreme nature itself.

For what if the tongue of man does not possess utterances able to suffice for the interpretation of the divine glory? It is therefore absurd that, because of the weakness of the human tongue and the poverty in language, the pre-eminence of the glory that is highest of all should be wronged.

Therefore, whenever anything is said of God in human fashion, let it be understood in a manner befitting God.

Therefore the expressions that are according to us signify the things that are above us, if they be spoken of God.

Do you wish to understand something of things so difficult? Then your mind is too weak for the comprehension, and, suffering this, do you perceive it? Be not vexed, O man; confess the weakness of your own nature; remember Him who says, 'Seek not things too strong for you.' When you strain the eye of the body toward the disc of the sun, you at once turn away, overcome by the impact of the light.

Know then that the divine nature also dwells in unapproachable light;

unapproachable to the minds of those who pry too curiously.

One must therefore, whenever the things concerning God are spoken of even in human words, reckon nothing lowly, but in the poverty of our expressions behold as in a mirror the riches of the divine glory.

For what if the Son is sent by the Father? Will He on that account be less? When from the body of the sun the light that is from it is sent forth, is it of a different nature from it, and in things inferior to it? And yet how is it not ignorant even to conceive this alone? Being therefore the light of the Father, the Son is sent to us, as it were a ray flashing forth from the sun;

But the word 'sanctified' Scripture receives in many senses.

For that which is dedicated to God is said to be sanctified.

And indeed He said to Moses, 'Sanctify to Me every firstborn.' Again, that which is appointed by God to perform something according to His will is sanctified;

when He wished to make war: 'Giants come to fulfil My wrath, rejoicing and at the same time exulting insolently;

they are sanctified, and I lead them.' Again, that which has come to be in participation of the Holy Spirit is sanctified.

The Son therefore says that He has been sanctified by the Father, as one appointed by Him for the setting right of the life of the world, and for the overthrow of the adversaries;

or again, inasmuch as He was sent to be slain on behalf of the salvation of the world;

for the things also that are set apart for sacrifice to God are called holy.

And we say that He was sanctified with us in human fashion also, when He became flesh;

for His flesh was sanctified, having received the Word who was united to it, though it was not holy by nature;

and by the means whereby this comes to pass, He is sanctified by the Father;

for one is the Godhead of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

'If I do not the works of My Father, believe Me not;'

'but if I do, though you believe not Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.'

Since for anyone to call God Father is easy;

but to show this through works is difficult, indeed impossible for the creature;

by the things whereby I set matters right, He says, in a manner befitting God, I appear equal to God and the Father;

and there is no excuse for you who disbelieve, when you have learned by experience that I am equal to the Father, through the God-befitting works I do, even if because of the flesh I seemed to you to be some one of the many.

From this it is possible to understand that 'I am in the Father and the Father in Me.' For the identity of essence makes the Father to be and to be seen in the Son, and the Son in the Father.

For even among us the essence of our father is known in him who is begotten of him, and again in the begetter the essence of the begotten.

For one is the definition of the nature in all, and all are one in nature;

but in that we are separated by our bodies, the many are no longer one.

Which cannot be said of the God who is such by nature;

for the Divine is incorporeal, even if we conceive the Holy Trinity in distinct subsistences.

For the Father is the Father, and not Son;

and the Son again is the Son and not Father;

and the Holy Spirit is distinctively the Spirit, even though they are not in separation, by reason of the communion and unity with one another.

Since, then, there is one Godhead in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, we say that the Father is seen in the Son, and the Son in the Father.

But it is needful to know this also: that it is not the willing of the same things as the Father, nor the holding of one mind with Him, that leads the Son to say, 'I am in the Father and the Father in Me,' and 'I and the Father are one'; rather, it is because, being the genuine offspring of the Father's substance, He displays the Father in Himself, and is Himself displayed in the Father.

For He says that He wills and speaks and is able to do the same things as the Father, and easily accomplishes whatever He wishes, and does the very things that the Father does, so that through all these He may be acknowledged as consubstantial with Him and the true fruit of His substance, and as having with Him not merely a relative unity in mere likeness of wills and in the ordinances of love.

which we say belongs even to created things.

And He went away again beyond the Jordan into the place where John was at first baptizing, and there He abode.

And many came to Him, and they said, 'John indeed did no sign;'

but all things that John spoke concerning this Man were true.'

And many believed on Him there.

The Saviour removes to a place possessing springs, leaving Jerusalem, that as by a figure He might hint that He would forsake Judea and pass over to the Church gathered from the nations, which possesses the springs of baptism;

there also many come to Him, crossing over the Jordan;

for this is what is signified by Christ's lodging beyond the Jordan.

Those, therefore, who have crossed the Jordan through holy baptism are brought home to God;

for indeed He passed over from the synagogue of the Jews to the nations;

and then many came to Him, and believed the words spoken concerning Him by the saints.

And they believe on Him there, where are the springs of the waters, where we are taught the mystery concerning Christ.

For Christ was not in the streams that lie on this side of the Jordan;

having abode firmly with the Church of the nations.

But we honour John, not as one who wrought anything befitting God, but as one who bore true witness concerning Christ.

For Christ is more wonderful than not only John, but than every saint;

for they indeed are prophets, but God is the worker of wonders.

And it is to be noted that the words of John and of the rest of the prophets are a road unto the believing in Christ.

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, of the village of Mary and Martha her sister.

It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

The Evangelist purposely makes mention of the names of the women, showing that they were of note as being God-fearing.

Wherefore also the Lord loved them.

And though many things, as is likely, had been done toward the Lord by Mary, he makes mention of the ointment not by chance, but that he might show what great thirst Mary had for Christ, in that she wiped His feet with her own hair, seeking to fasten to herself more intimately the spiritual blessing from His holy flesh;

for indeed in many places she is seen attending upon Christ more fervently and without distraction, drawing to herself intimacy with Him.

His sisters therefore sent unto Him, saying, 'Lord, behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick.'

The women send unto the Lord, always indeed wishing to have Him near them, but then doing so under a fair pretext on account of the sick man.

For they believed that, if only Christ should but appear, the one who lay sick would be delivered from his disease.

And they remind Him of the love which He had toward the sick man, drawing Him there chiefly by this;

for they knew that He cared for him;

and He was able indeed, even while absent, as God and He who encompasses all things, to heal him;

nevertheless they supposed that if He should come, He would stretch out His hand also and raise him up;

not yet possessing, even these women, the perfection of faith;

for this reason they also are distressed, as is likely, supposing that Lazarus would not have fallen sick at all, had not Christ neglected him;

for, they say, since those beloved of God have all good things from Him, for what cause is he whom Thou lovest sick? Or perhaps they say even this: Great is the audacity of the disease, that it dared to assail those beloved of God.

And perhaps they seem to say something of this kind also: Since Thou lovest and healest even Thine enemies, much more art Thou bound to show this toward those who love Thee.

For Thou art able, by Thy will alone, to do all things.

The word, therefore, is full of faith and is a proof of genuine devotion toward Christ.

But when Jesus heard it, He said, 'This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified thereby.'

The Lord says these things, not that the men going away might report them to the sisters of Lazarus, but as God foretelling what would come to pass, because He saw that the issue of the matter tended to the glory of God — not that the sickness had come about for this purpose, that He might be glorified;

but since it had come to pass, He saw that it tended also to a wondrous end.

And He calls Himself, who is God by nature, 'God'; for it was to His glory that what took place occurred.

For having said that the sickness came about for the glory of God, He added, 'That the Son of God may be glorified in it,' speaking concerning Himself.

But if He indeed said that the sickness of Lazarus was not unto death, and yet death did ensue, it is nothing to wonder at.

For looking to the end of the matter, and that he was about to rise again after a little while;

we consider not what came about in the meantime, but to what end the matter issued.

For the Lord judged it fit to show death enfeebled, and to show what came about as tending to the glory of God, that is, of Himself.

When therefore He heard that he was sick, He abode then two days in the place where He was.

And He deferred His coming, that He might not heal him while sick, but raise him up when dead;

which is a matter of greater power, that He might also be more greatly glorified.

And after this He says to His disciples, 'Let us go into Judea again.'

as though to say: There are those in need of benefaction; and since the occasion that works their profit summons us, let us go to them.

But the disciples seem, out of the love they had toward Him, to hinder Him; only that, as men, they supposed that even against His will He would be in danger by falling in with the Jews.

Wherefore they also remind Him of the Jews' fury against Him, all but saying: Why dost Thou again seek to be among the disobedient and thankless, who are softened neither by words nor by works? Who even still thirst for Thy blood, and have their wrath boiling.

Either they say this, or their word signifies this;

that He is leading them into manifest danger.

Nevertheless they obey the Teacher, as one who knows what is better.

Jesus answered, 'Are there not twelve hours of the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world;

but if any man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because the light is not in him.'

And perhaps by the ever-moving course of the day He likens the readily-swayed and novelty-loving mind of men, which does not stand fast upon one opinion, but leaps from one judgment to another, even as the day passes from one hour to another.

And thou wilt understand thus also the words, 'Are there not twelve hours of the day?' — that is, He says, 'I am day and light.'

As therefore it is not possible for the light of the day to cease before it has fulfilled the appointed season;

so neither is it among things possible that the illumination from Me should be withdrawn from the Jews, before it has advanced to the fitting measure of loving-kindness.

And He calls 'day' the season of His presence;

and 'night,' the time before this;

even as also when the Lord says, 'We must work the works of Him that sent us, while it is day.' This, then, is what He says here: that it is not now the season to sever Myself from the Jews, even though they be unholy, but rather to do all things that make for their healing.

For it is not needful that they be now punished, the divine grace withdrawing from them after the manner of the sun.

But even as the light of the day does not fail unless the twelve hours be fulfilled, so neither is the illumination from Me withdrawn before its season, but until the crucifixion I remain with the Jews, instilling into them, as light, the understanding of the knowledge of God.

For since the Jews, being in the darkness of unbelief, stumble at me as at a stone, it is necessary to go to them and to enlighten them, that they may cease from their God-fighting madness.

These things he said; and after this he says to them: 'Lazarus our friend has fallen asleep.'

'But I go that I may awaken him.'

'A weighty occasion draws me to Jerusalem;'

for the words, 'Our friend has fallen asleep,' signify this.

And if we overlook him, we shall acquire the reputation of being unmerciful.

Wherefore we ought to be moved with shame on his account, and to hasten to the salvation of our friend, disregarding the plots of the Jews.

And showing forth his own God-befitting power, he calls the departure of the human soul from the body a sleep — and very fittingly so;

for he who created man for incorruption did not see fit to call it death, according to that which is written, and who made the generations of the world unto salvation.

Nevertheless the word is also true;

for our temporary bodily death is truly, with God, a sleep and nothing else, being abolished by the mere and single nod of him who is life by nature, that is, of Christ.

And observe that he did not say, 'Lazarus is dead, and I go to raise him,' but says, 'He has fallen asleep,' avoiding all boastfulness, for our instruction and profit;

for he would not have uttered so obscure a saying, with such concealment, that not even the disciples themselves understood the word.

For he did not say, 'I go to give him life,' or 'to raise him from the dead,' but 'to awaken him' —

which for the time being was ineffectual for arousing suspicion.

Then said his disciples: 'Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.'

But Jesus had spoken concerning his death;

yet they supposed that he was speaking about the repose of sleep.

But they, not perceiving the force of the word, thought that Jesus was speaking about the repose of sleep, which, coming for the most part upon the sick, brings rest;

wherefore they say: 'The journey to make Lazarus wake from sleep is not worth while;'

for it is not profitable to awaken a sick man.

They said this, wishing to hinder him from the journey, saying that it was not worthwhile to come into the midst of murderers for the sake of doing something unprofitable.

Then Jesus said to them plainly: 'Lazarus is dead, and I rejoice for your sakes, that you may believe, because I was not there.'

The disciples, then, not having understood that he had named death 'sleep,' he indicated it more clearly, saying that he had died.

And he says that he himself rejoices, not out of love of glory, because he was about to work the miracle, but because this was to become for the disciples an occasion unto faith.

And the saying, 'Because I was not there,' declares this:

if I had been there, he would not have died, for I would have had pity on him even while he was but slightly ailing;

but now, in my absence, the death occurred, that by raising him I might work in you a great profit through faith in me.

And Christ says these things, not as though he were able to do the works befitting God only then, when he is present;

but because, if he had been present, he would not have overlooked his friend being brought down to death.

And the words, 'Let us go to him,' he says as of one living;

for the dead are alive to him as God, as those who are destined to live.

The word of Thomas has, indeed, eagerness;

yet it also has timidity, and it sprang from a mind that loves God, but was tempered with littleness of faith.

For he cannot bear to be left behind, but even persuades the others to do the same;

yet he supposes that they too are about to suffer at the hands of the Jews, even against his will, because of the murderous disposition of the Jews, not considering the power of him who saves — which he ought rather to have done.

But Christ made them timid, by bearing wrong beyond measure in the things he suffered from the Jews.

He says, then, that they ought not to be separated from the Teacher, even though undoubted peril lies before them;

and Thomas, as it were with a certain smile, said, 'Let us go,' that is, 'Let us die.'

Or he speaks thus: 'By all means, if we go, we shall die; yet let us not decline to suffer, for we ought not to love our life so much;'

'for if he raises the dead, our fear is superfluous, for we have one who is able to raise us up after we have fallen.'

Then Jesus, having come to Bethany, found that he had already been four days in the tomb.

Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off.

And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.

And he says that there were many Jews in Bethany;

and yet the place was not populous;

they had come from Jerusalem;

for the distance of the road was not great, so as to prevent devoted friends from being together with those about Martha, that is.

Since, then, the miracle had become widely heard of in Jerusalem among all, and in the surrounding country, he sets down the reason: that, there being many people there, the report was naturally spread abroad on every side;

some marvelling, but others, out of envy, speaking of what had happened so as to cast slander upon the miracle through false accusations.

Martha, then, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet him;

but Mary sat in the house.

Perhaps Martha was the more ardent in doing what needed to be done;

and so Mary, as having a more sensitive soul, remained at home, receiving the consolations of those who were comforting her, while Martha, as being the simpler, ran out, drunk indeed with grief, yet bearing it more valiantly.

Martha therefore said to Jesus: 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died;'

'and even now I know that whatsoever you shall ask of God, God will give you.'

Jesus says to her: 'Your brother shall rise again.'

Martha answered him: 'I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.'

What Martha says is of this sort: 'Not for this reason,' she says, 'did my brother die, because man's nature is subject to death, but because you were not present, who are able to conquer death by your command.'

Being deceived concerning what was fitting, she thought that the Lord could no longer do anything;

as though the opportune time had passed by;

and she supposed that he had come, not to raise Lazarus, but that he might comfort them.

For she gently even reproaches him for having delayed, and for not having come at once when he was able to help, when they sent, saying: 'Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick.' And the saying, 'Whatsoever you shall ask of God, he will give you,' belongs to one who blushes to ask openly for what she wishes;

yet she errs concerning the truth, conversing with him not as with God, but as with one of the saints, supposing, on account of the visible flesh, that whatsoever he asks as a holy man he receives from God, not indeed knowing that, being God by nature and the Power of the Father, he possesses invincible might over all things.

For if she had known that he was God, she would not have said, 'If you had been here;'

for God is everywhere.

The Lord, however, on account of his freedom from boastfulness, did not say, 'I will raise your brother,' but 'He shall rise again,' all but gently rebuking her and saying: 'He rises indeed, as you wish, yet not as you suppose.'

'For if you think that this is accomplished by prayer and petition, do you perform the part of prayer, but do not command me, the worker of wonders, who am able by my own might to raise the dead.'

The woman, having heard these things, and being ashamed to say, 'Raise him now,' yet in a certain way provoking him to do the work now, seems somehow to be distressed about the delay of time, saying: 'I know that he shall rise again at the last day, but I long to see the resurrection of my brother beforehand.'

Or, the Lord having said, 'Your brother shall rise again,' the woman all but assents to this declaration, saying, 'I know this;'

For I believe that the dead rise, even as thou hast taught.

For the hour cometh, and they shall come forth: they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; but they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment. And in like manner Isaiah too said in the Spirit: The dead shall arise, and they that are in the tombs shall be raised up. For I do not disbelieve the word of the resurrection, as do the Sadducees.

Jesus said unto her: I am the resurrection and the life.

He that believeth in me, though he die, yet shall he live; and every one that liveth and believeth in me shall never die unto the ages.

Believest thou this? She saith unto him: Yea, Lord.

I have believed that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, who cometh into the world.

Now the fruit indeed and the reward of faith in Christ is life everlasting, and in no other way does this accrue to the soul of man.

For though through Christ we all rise again, yet this is the true life: to live unendingly in blessedness.

For it differs in nothing from death, merely to come back to life unto punishment.

If therefore one sees even the saints dying, those who have received the promises of life, this is nothing; for it happens only so far as concerns the present passage of things.

But the manifestation of grace has been reserved for the fitting season, not prevailing in part, but continuously in all men, and for the saints who have already died before, having tasted of death for a little while, until the common resurrection.

For then in common shall all men enjoy the good things.

But the Saviour, in saying, If he die, he shall live, did not abolish death in the present age.

Rather he grants death only so much power over the faithful as suffices merely for its occurrence; for he has reserved the grace of resurrection for the fitting season.

He says therefore that he who believes in me shall not be exempt from the death of the flesh, because of human nature; yet nevertheless he shall suffer no harm thereby, since God is able easily to give life to whom he wills.

For he that believes in him has in the age to come unending life in blessedness and in perfect and entire incorruption.

Wherefore let none of the unbelievers laugh.

For Christ did not say, From now on he shall not see death, but speaking absolutely, He shall never see death unto the age; he spoke concerning the age to come, reserving the fulfilment of the promise for that age.

And having said to Martha, Believest thou? he requires the confession of faith as the mother and procurer of life.

And she readily assented and confessed exactly, not simply believing that he is Christ and Son of God.

For one may be called christ, that is anointed, and be also a prophet by reason of being anointed; and the same may also be understood as a son.

But by saying with the article, The Christ, the Son of God, she confessed the one and pre-eminent and truly Son.

The faith therefore is in the Son, not in a creature.

Believest thou this? Having first expounded the power of the mystery concerning himself, and having shown clearly that he is life by nature and true God, he requires assent unto the faith, thereby setting a pattern for the churches concerning this.

For we must not confess the venerable mystery by idly casting a voice into the air, but rather, having rooted faith in heart and mind, make our confession the fruit of the reality.

And we must believe without any hesitation and doubleness of soul.

For the double-souled man is insolent and halting in respect of the faith.

For this reason also he is unstable in all his ways. But it is necessary to know that it is to God that we make the confession of faith, even when we are questioned through men — I mean those who have been allotted the priesthood — when we say I believe at the receiving of holy baptism.

That thus again the pattern may hold force in the churches.

For when a newborn infant is brought forward, either to receive the chrism of the catechesis, or that of the perfecting at holy baptism, he that brings it forward cries out the Amen on its behalf.

And on behalf of those seized by mortal sickness, who on this account are about to be baptized, certain persons both renounce and enrol themselves, lending as it were out of love their own voice to those fettered by sickness.

Which very thing one may see to have come to pass in the case of Lazarus and of his sister.

And wisely and providently Martha sows beforehand the confession of faith, that she may reap the fruit thereof.

And having said these things, she departed and called Mary her sister, saying secretly: The Master is here and calleth thee.

And she, when she heard it, arose and was coming unto him.

She departed to call her sister, that she too might share in the good cheer over the thing expected, and might together receive her brother risen beyond all hope from the dead.

For she had heard, Thy brother shall rise again. And secretly she brought the good tidings of the Saviour's presence to her sister, because certain of the Jews who envied Christ working wonders were sitting by.

And we shall not find in the Gospels that Christ said, Call me thy sister.

But Martha, taking the unavoidable need of the matter and the debt owed to his presence in place of a command and a summons, says this.