Homilies on John, Homily 38

“Afterward Jesus finds him in the Temple and says to him, Look, you have been made well; sin no more, so that nothing worse happens to you.” [1.] Sin is a terrible thing, terrible, and it ruins the soul. Often its harm becomes so great that it spills over and attacks people’s bodies too. For usually we feel no pain when our soul is diseased, but if our body suffers even a slight injury, we make every effort to free it from its illness because we are aware of the illness. So God often punishes the body for the soul’s transgressions, so that by scourging the lesser part, the better part may also receive some healing. This is also how Paul restored the adulterer among the Corinthians: he checked the soul’s disease through the destruction of the flesh, and by applying the knife to the body, he restrained the evil ( 1 Cor. v. 5 ). He acted like an excellent physician who uses external cauterization for fluid buildup or a diseased spleen when they resist internal remedies. Christ did this too in the case of the paralyzed man, as He showed when He said, “Look, you have been made well; sin no more, so that nothing worse happens to you.” Now what do we learn from this? First, that his disease had been caused by his sins; second, that the accounts of hellfire are to be believed; third, that the punishment is long—indeed, endless. Where now are those who say, “I committed murder in an hour, I committed adultery in a brief moment, and am I punished eternally?” Look: this man had not sinned for as many years as he suffered, for the length of his punishment had consumed a whole lifetime. Sins are judged by the nature of the transgressions, not by how long they take. Besides this, we can see something else: even if we have suffered severely for former sins, if we later fall into the same sins, we will suffer much more severely. And with good reason: someone whom even punishment does not improve is afterward led to still harsher punishment as someone unfeeling and contemptuous. The fault itself should be enough to restrain someone who has once fallen and bring him to his senses. But when even the added punishment does not do this, he naturally needs more painful torments. Now if even in this world we are punished more severely than before when we fall into the same sins after punishment, shouldn’t we be terribly afraid and tremble when we have sinned and received no punishment at all, since we are about to endure something beyond remedy? “And why,” someone says, “aren’t all people punished this way? We see many wicked people with healthy bodies, full of strength, and enjoying great prosperity.” But let us not feel reassured; in this case, above all, let us mourn for them, since having suffered nothing here prepares them for harsher vengeance in the next life. As Paul declares, “But now, when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord, so that we will not be condemned with the world” ( 1 Cor. xi. 32 ). For punishments here serve as a warning; there they serve as vengeance. “What then,” someone says, “do all diseases come from sin?” Not all, but most of them; and some come from various kinds of undisciplined living, since gluttony, excess, and laziness produce sufferings like these. But the one rule we must follow is to bear every blow thankfully. Some are sent because of our sins, as in Kings we see someone afflicted with gout ( 1 Kings xv. 23 ); others are sent to prove our worth, as the Lord says to Job, “Do you think I have spoken to you for any reason except that you might be shown to be righteous?” ( Job xl. 8 , LXX.) But why does Christ bring up their sins in the case of these paralyzed men? For He also says to the man in Matthew who lay on a bed, “Son, take heart; your sins are forgiven” ( Matt. ix. 2 ); and to this man, “Look, you have been made well; sin no more.” I know that some slander this paralyzed man, claiming that he accused Christ and that this was why Christ said this to him. What, then, are we to say about the other man in Matthew, who heard nearly the same words? For Christ also says to him, “Your sins are forgiven.” So it is clear that this man, too, was not addressed this way for the reason they claim. We can see this more clearly from what follows, for the Evangelist says, “Afterward Jesus finds him in the Temple.” This indicates his great devotion: he did not go off to the marketplaces and promenades or give himself over to luxury and ease, but stayed in the Temple, although he was about to face such a violent attack and be harassed by everyone there. Yet none of these things persuaded him to leave the Temple. Moreover, when Christ found him, even after he had spoken with the Jews, He implied nothing of the kind. For if He had wanted to accuse him of this, He would have said to him, “Are you attempting the same sins again? Has your healing done nothing to improve you?” Yet He said nothing of the kind, but simply guarded him against future sin. [2.] Why, then, when He healed people who could not walk or had damaged or missing limbs, did He never mention anything like this? I think the diseases of these men (the paralytic) arose from sinful acts, while those of the others came from natural physical weakness. Or if this is not so, then through these men and the words spoken to them, He has spoken to the others too. For since this disease is more severe than any other, through the greater He also corrects the lesser. And just as, when He healed someone else, He commanded him to give glory to God, addressing this exhortation not only to him but through him to everyone, so He addresses to these men, and through them to all the rest of humanity, the exhortation and advice He gave them directly. Besides this, we may also say that Jesus recognized great endurance in his soul and addressed the exhortation to him as someone able to receive His command, keeping him healthy both through the benefit he had received and through fear of future suffering. And notice His lack of boasting. He did not say, “Look, I have made you well,” but, “You have been made well; sin no more.” And again, not, “so that I do not punish you,” but, “so that nothing worse happens to you.” In both expressions He avoids referring to Himself and shows that the healing came from grace rather than merit. For He did not tell him that he had been delivered after suffering the punishment he deserved, but that he had been made well through lovingkindness. If this had not been the case, He would have said, “Look, you have suffered enough punishment for your sins; stand firm from now on.” But He did not speak that way. What did He say? “Look, you have been made well; sin no more.” Let us continually repeat these words to ourselves, and if we have been delivered after being punished, let each of us say to himself, “Look, you have been made well; sin no more.” But if we suffer no punishment while continuing in the same ways, let us use these words of the Apostle as our protective charm: “The goodness of God leads [us] to repentance, but because of [our] hardness and unrepentant heart, [we] store up anger for [ourselves].” ( Rom. ii. 4, 5.) He gave the sick man strong proof of His Divinity not only by strengthening his body, but in another way too. By saying, “Sin no more,” He showed that He knew all the transgressions the man had previously committed, and through this He would win his belief about the future. Ver. 15. “The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.” Again, notice that he continues to show the same right attitude. He does not say, “This is the one who said, Pick up your bed.” Instead, as they continually pressed this apparent charge, he continually offered his defense, again identifying his Healer and seeking to draw others to Him and bind them to Him. For he was not so unfeeling that, after such a benefit and command, he would betray his Benefactor and speak as he did with evil intent. Had he been a wild beast, had he been something inhuman and made of stone, the benefit and the fear would have been enough to restrain him. With the threat lodged within him, he would have feared suffering “something worse,” since he had already received the greatest assurances of his Physician’s power. Besides, if he had wanted to slander Him, he would have said nothing about his own healing, but would have mentioned the violation of the Sabbath and pressed it against Him. But that is not the case; surely it is not. His words show great boldness and frankness; he proclaims his Benefactor just as much as the blind man did. For what did that man say? “He made clay and anointed my eyes” ( c. ix. 6 ). And so this man we are now discussing says, “It is Jesus who made me well.” Ver. 16. “Therefore the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath day.” What, then, does Christ say? Ver. 17. “My Father has been working until now, and I work.” When He needed to defend the Disciples, He brought forward David, their fellow servant, saying, “Haven’t you read what David did when he was hungry?” ( Matt. xii. 2.) But when He needed to defend Himself, He turned to the Father, showing His Equality in two ways: by calling God His Father in a unique sense, and by doing the same things He did. “And why did He not mention what happened at Jericho?” Because He wanted to lift them above earthly things, so that they would no longer regard Him as a man, but as God and as someone entitled to lay down laws. For if He had not been The True Son and of the same Essence, His defense would have been worse than the charge. If a viceroy who had changed a royal law were accused of doing so and defended himself this way, saying, “Yes, for the king too has repealed laws,” he would not escape; instead, he would make the charge more serious. But here, since their dignity is equal, the defense is fully established on the firmest grounds. “Acquit Me,” He says, “of the charges of which you acquit God.” That is why He first said, “My Father”: through reverence for His clearly asserted Sonship, He might persuade them, even against their will, to grant Him the same rights. If anyone says, “And how does the Father ‘work,’ when He rested on the seventh day from all His works?” let him learn how He “works.” How, then, does He work? He cares for and holds together everything that has been made. So when you see the sun rising and the moon moving along her path, the lakes, springs, rivers, and rains, the course of nature in seeds and in our own bodies and those of irrational creatures, and everything else that makes up this universe, recognize the Father’s ceaseless work. “For He makes His sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.” ( Matt. v. 45.) And again, “If God so clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire” ( Matt. vi. 30 ); and speaking of the birds, He said, “Your Heavenly Father feeds them.” [3.] In that passage, then, He did everything on the Sabbath day by words alone and added nothing further, but refuted their charges by what was done in the Temple and by their own practice. But here, where He commanded a task to be done, picking up a bed, (something of little importance to the miracle, although through it He made one point clear: an obvious violation of the Sabbath,) He raises His discussion to something greater, wanting to fill them with greater awe by referring to the Father’s dignity and to lead them to higher thoughts. So when He speaks about the Sabbath, He does not defend Himself only as man or only as God, but sometimes in one way and sometimes in the other. He wanted to convince them both of the condescension of the Dispensation and of the Dignity of His Godhead. So He now defends Himself as God, since if He had always spoken to them merely as a man, they would have remained in the same low state. To prevent this, He brings forward the Father. Yet creation itself “works” on the Sabbath, (for the sun moves, rivers flow, springs bubble, women give birth,) but to teach you that He is not part of creation, He did not say, “Yes, I work, for creation works,” but, “Yes, I work, for My Father works.” Ver. 18. “Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He had not only broken the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.” And He asserted this not merely through words, but through deeds, for He declared it not only in speech but even more often through actions. Why? Because they could object to His words and accuse Him of arrogance, but when they saw the truth of His actions proved by their results and His power proclaimed by His works, they could say nothing against Him. But those who refuse to receive these words with the right attitude claim that “Christ did not make Himself equal to God; the Jews only supposed this.” Come, then, let us go over what has been said from the beginning. Tell me, did the Jews persecute Him or not? It is clear to everyone that they did. Did they persecute Him for this or for something else? Again, it is admitted that it was for this. Did He break the Sabbath or not? No one can dispute the fact that He did. Did He call God His Father or not? This too is true. Then the rest follows in the same way. His calling God His Father, His breaking the Sabbath, and His being persecuted by the Jews for the former and especially for the latter were actual facts, not false impressions. In the same way, saying that He made Himself equal to God declared the same truth. We can see this more clearly from what He had said before, for “My Father works, and I work” is the statement of One declaring Himself equal to God. In these words He has indicated no difference. He did not say, “He works, and I serve,” but, “As He works, so do I”; and He has declared absolute Equality. But if He had not wanted to establish this, and the Jews had supposed it without reason, He would not have allowed their minds to be misled, but would have corrected them. Besides, the Evangelist would not have been silent about it, but would have said plainly that the Jews supposed this, while Jesus did not make Himself equal to God. Elsewhere he does this very thing when he recognizes that something was said in one sense and understood in another. For example, Christ said, “Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise It up” ( c. ii. 19 ), speaking of His Flesh. But the Jews did not understand this and supposed that He was speaking about the Jewish Temple, so they said, “This temple took forty-six years to build, and will You raise it up in three days?” Since He said one thing and they imagined another, (for He spoke of His Flesh, while they thought He was speaking about their Temple,) the Evangelist comments on this, or rather corrects their misunderstanding, and goes on to say, “But He was speaking of the Temple of His Body.” So here too, if Christ had not made Himself equal with God, had not wanted to establish this, and yet the Jews had imagined that He did, the writer would also have corrected their supposition here. He would have said, “The Jews thought that He made Himself equal to God, but in fact He was not speaking of equality.” And this happens not only in this passage or only in this Evangelist; elsewhere we see another Evangelist do the same. For when Christ warned His disciples, saying, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” ( Matt. xvi. 6 ), they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we brought no bread.” He was speaking of one thing, calling their teaching “leaven,” but the disciples imagined another, supposing that He was speaking about bread. This time it is not the Evangelist who corrects them, but Christ Himself, saying, “How do you not understand that I was not speaking to you about bread?” But here there is nothing of the kind. “But,” someone says, “to remove this very idea, Christ added, Ver. 19. “‘The Son can do nothing of Himself.’” My friend! He does the opposite. He says this to confirm His Equality, not to take it away. But pay close attention, for this is no ordinary question. The expression “of Himself” appears in many places in Scripture, referring both to Christ and to the Holy Spirit. We must learn what the expression means so that we do not fall into the gravest errors. For if someone takes it in isolation in its most obvious sense, consider what an absurdity follows. He did not say that He could do some things of Himself and could not do others, but made the universal statement, [4.] “The Son can do nothing of Himself.” I ask my opponent, then, “Tell me, can the Son do nothing of Himself?” If he replies, “He can do nothing,” we will say that He has done of Himself the very greatest of all good things. As Paul cries out, “Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself nothing and took on the form of a servant.” ( Phil. ii. 6, 7.) And again, Christ Himself says elsewhere, “I have power to lay down My life, and I have power to take it up again”; and, “No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.” ( c. x. 18.) Do you see that He has power over life and death, and that He carried out such a mighty Dispensation of Himself? And why do I speak about Christ, when even we, than whom nothing is lower, do many things of ourselves? Of ourselves we choose vice; of ourselves we pursue virtue. And if we do not do this of ourselves and do not have the power to do so, we will neither suffer hell if we do wrong nor enjoy the Kingdom if we do right. What, then, does “can do nothing of Himself” mean? That He can do nothing in opposition to the Father, nothing foreign to Him, nothing at odds with Him. This is above all the assertion of One declaring Equality and complete agreement. But why did He not say that “He does nothing contrary” instead of “He cannot do”? Through this, too, He wanted to show that the Equality is unchanging and exact. The expression does not attribute weakness to Him; it even shows His great power. For elsewhere Paul says of the Father, “That by two unchangeable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie” ( Heb. vi. 18 ); and again, “If we deny Him—He remains faithful,” for “He cannot deny Himself.” ( 2 Tim. ii. 12, 13.) In truth, this expression, “impossible,” indicates power, not weakness—unspeakable power. What He means is this: “That Essence does not allow such things.” For just as, when we say, “It is impossible for God to do wrong,” we do not attribute any weakness to Him but acknowledge in Him an indescribable power, so when He says, “I can of My own Self do nothing” ( v. 30 ), His meaning is, “It is impossible, My nature does not allow it, for Me to do anything contrary to the Father.” And to show you that this is really what He means, let us examine what follows and see whether Christ agrees with what we say or with what you say. You say that the expression takes away His Power and His own Authority and shows His might to be weak. But I say that it proves His Equality, His unchanging Likeness, (to the Father,) and the fact that everything is done as though by one Will and Power and Might. Let us then ask Christ Himself and see from what He says next whether He interprets these words according to your understanding or ours. What, then, does He say? “For whatever the Father does, the Son also does in the same way.” Do you see how He has uprooted your claim and confirmed what we say? For if Christ does nothing of Himself, neither will the Father do anything of Himself, if Christ does everything in the same way as He does. If this is not the case, another strange conclusion follows. For He did not say that “whatever He saw the Father do, He did,” but, “unless He sees the Father doing something, He does not do it,” extending His words to all time. Now, according to you, He will be continually learning the same things. Do you see how exalted the meaning is, and how the very humility of the expression forces even the most shameless and unwilling to avoid low thoughts unworthy of His dignity? For who is so wretched and miserable as to claim that the Son learns day by day what He must do? And how can these words be true: “You are the same, and Your years will not fail”? ( Ps. cii. 27 ), or those other words, “All things were made by Him, and without Him nothing was made” ( c. i. 3 ), if the Father does certain things and the Son watches and imitates Him? Do you see that both what was stated above and what was said afterward prove His independent Power? And if He uses some humble expressions, do not be surprised. Since they persecuted Him when they heard His exalted statements and considered Him an enemy of God, He lowers only His language a little, then raises His discussion again to the higher doctrines, and then returns to the lower, varying His teaching so that even those opposed to Him might readily accept it. Notice: after saying, “My Father works, and I work,” and after declaring Himself equal with God, He adds, “The Son can do nothing of Himself, except what He sees the Father do.” Then again, in more exalted language, “Whatever the Father does, the Son also does in the same way.” Then in humbler language, Ver. 20. “The Father loves the Son and shows Him everything that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these.” Do you see how humble this language is? And with good reason. I will now repeat what I said before and will never stop saying: when He says anything lowly or humble, He takes it to an extreme, so that the very poverty of the expression may persuade even those opposed to Him to understand these ideas reverently. Otherwise, consider how absurd the claim is, testing it by the words themselves. For when He says, “And He will show Him greater works than these,” it would follow that He has not yet learned many things. This cannot be said even of the Apostles, for once they received the grace of the Spirit, in a moment they both knew and could do everything they needed to know and have the power to do. Yet Christ would turn out not to have learned many things He needed to know. And what could be more absurd than this? What, then, does He mean? He spoke this way because He had strengthened the paralyzed man and was about to raise the dead, all but saying, “Are you amazed that I have strengthened the paralyzed man? You will see greater things than these.” But He did not speak that way; instead, He continued in somewhat humbler language to calm their madness. And to show you that “will show” is not used without qualification, listen again to what follows. Ver. 21. “For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to whomever He wills.” Yet “can do nothing of Himself” conflicts with “whomever He wills.” For if He gives life to “whomever He wills,” He can do something “of Himself,” (for to “will” implies power,) but if He “can do nothing of Himself,” then He cannot “give life to whomever He wills.” For the expression “as the Father raises” shows an unchanging likeness in Power, and “whomever He wills” shows Equality of Authority. Do you see, then, that “cannot do anything of Himself” is the expression of One declaring the unchanging likeness of His Power and Will (to those of the Father), rather than taking away His (own) authority? Understand the words “will show Him” in this sense too, for elsewhere He says, “I will raise him up at the last Day.” ( c. vi. 40.) And again, to show that He does this without receiving an inward power from above, He says, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” ( c. xi. 25.) Then, so that you cannot claim that He raises and gives life to whichever dead people He wills but does not do other things in the same way, He anticipates and forestalls every such objection by saying, “Whatever He does, the Son also does in the same way.” He thus declares that He does everything the Father does, and as the Father does it. Whether you speak of raising the dead, forming bodies, forgiving sins, or anything else whatever, He works in the same way as the One who begot Him. [5.] But people who are careless about their salvation pay attention to none of these things. The love of being first is such a great evil. This has been the mother of heresies; this has entrenched the impiety of the pagans. For God wanted His invisible things to be understood through the creation of this world ( Rom. i. 20 ), but they abandoned these things and refused to learn this way. They cut out another path for themselves and so were driven off the true one. And the Jews did not believe because they received honor from one another and did not seek the honor that comes from God. But let us, beloved, avoid this disease with the greatest care and earnestness. For even if we have ten thousand good qualities, this plague of craving empty glory is enough to reduce them all to nothing. ( c. v. 44.) So if we desire praise, let us seek the praise that comes from God. For human praise, whatever kind it is, vanishes as soon as it appears; or if it does not vanish, it brings us no benefit and often comes from corrupt judgment. And what is admirable about honor from people—honor enjoyed by young dancers, morally unrestrained women, and greedy and predatory men? But someone approved by God is approved alongside those holy men, the Prophets and Apostles, who have displayed an angelic life, rather than alongside these people. If we feel any desire to have crowds following us or looking at us, let us examine the matter on its own, and we will find it utterly worthless. Indeed, if you love crowds, draw the host of angels to yourself and become a terror to the devils. Then you will care nothing for mortal things, but will trample everything splendid underfoot like mud and clay. You will see clearly that nothing so prepares a soul for shame as the passion for glory. For it cannot, it cannot be that someone who desires this should live the crucified life. On the other hand, someone who has trampled this underfoot cannot fail to trample down most other passions too. For whoever masters this will overcome envy, greed, and all the painful diseases. “And how,” someone says, “will we overcome it?” By looking to the other glory, which comes from heaven and from which this kind tries to shut us out. For that heavenly glory both brings us honor here and goes with us into the life to come. It frees us from all slavery to the flesh, which we now serve so miserably, giving ourselves entirely to the earth and earthly things. For if you go into the public square, into a house, into the streets, into soldiers’ quarters, into inns, taverns, ships, islands, palaces, courts of justice, or council chambers, everywhere you will find anxiety about present things belonging to this life, and everyone laboring for them: going or coming, traveling or staying home, sailing, farming, in the fields, in the cities—in a word, everyone. What hope of salvation do we have, then, when we live on God’s earth but care nothing for the things of God, when we are called to be strangers to earthly things but instead are strangers to heaven and citizens of earth? What could be worse than this lack of awareness, when we hear each day about the Judgment and the Kingdom, yet imitate the people in Noah’s days and those of Sodom, waiting to learn everything through actual experience? Yet all those things were written for this purpose: so that anyone who does not believe what is to come may find certain proof of what will happen in what has already happened. So, considering these things, both past and future, let us at least take a little breathing room from this harsh slavery and give some care to our souls too, so that we may obtain both present and future blessings, through the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be glory, now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen.