Homilies on John, Homily 53

“Jesus spoke these words in the treasury as He taught in the Temple; and no one laid hands on Him, because His hour had not yet come.” [1.] Oh, the folly of the Jews! They had searched for Him before the Passover, and then, after finding Him among them and often trying unsuccessfully to arrest Him, either themselves or through others, they were still not awed by His power. They persisted in their wickedness and would not stop. For the text says that they kept trying: “He spoke these words in the treasury, teaching in the Temple; and no one laid hands on Him.” He spoke in the Temple, acting as a teacher, which was even more likely to provoke them, and He said the things that stung them and led them to accuse Him of making Himself equal to the Father. For “the testimony of two men is true” proves this. Yet He still “spoke these words,” the text says, “in the Temple,” acting as a teacher, “and no one laid hands on Him, because His hour had not yet come”; that is, the proper time for Him to be crucified had not yet arrived. So even when the deed was done, it came about through His dispensation, not their power. They had wanted to do it for a long time but had been unable, and even then they would have been unable unless He had consented. Ver. 21. “Then Jesus said to them, I am going away, and you will look for Me.” Why does He keep saying this? To shame and terrify their souls. Notice how much fear this statement caused them. Although they wanted to kill Him to get rid of Him, they still ask, “where He is going,” because this led them to imagine such extraordinary things. He also wanted to show them something else: that the deed would not be accomplished by their force. But He showed them this beforehand in a figure, and with these words He was already foretelling the Resurrection. Ver. 22. “Then the Jews said, Will he kill himself?” What, then, does Christ do? To dispel their suspicion and show that such an act is a sin, He says, Ver. 23. “You are from below.” What He means is this: “It is no wonder that you imagine such things, since you are fleshly people with no spiritual thoughts. But I will do nothing of the kind, for, “I am from above; you are of the world.” Here again He speaks of their worldly and fleshly thoughts. This makes it clear that “I am not of this world” does not mean that He had not taken on flesh, but that He was far removed from their wickedness. For He even says that His disciples were “not of the world” ( c. xv. 19 ), although they had flesh. Just as Paul, when he says, “You are not in the flesh” ( Rom. viii. 9 ), does not mean that they have no bodies, so Christ, when He says that His disciples are “not of the world,” is simply testifying to their heavenly wisdom. Ver. 24. “Therefore I told you that…if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” For if He came to take away the sin of the world, and if people cannot put it off in any other way except through the washing, then anyone who does not believe must leave this life still carrying the old man. Anyone who refuses to kill and bury that old man through faith will die in him and go to that place to suffer punishment for his former sins. That is why He said, “Anyone who does not believe is already judged” ( c. iii. 18 ); not merely because he does not believe, but because he leaves this life with his former sins still upon him. Ver. 25. “Then they said to Him, Who are you?” Oh, the folly! After so much time, so many signs, and so much teaching, they ask, “Who are you?” What, then, does Christ say? “The same as I told you from the beginning.” What He means is this: “You are not worthy to hear My words at all, much less to learn who I am, because everything you say is meant to test Me, and you pay attention to none of My words. And I could now prove all this against you.” For this is the meaning of, Ver. 26. “I have many things to say about you and many things to judge you for.” “I could not only prove you guilty but also punish you. But He who sent Me, that is, the Father, does not will this. For I have come not to judge the world but to save the world, since God did not send His Son to judge the world, He says, but to save the world. ( c. iii. 17.) Now, if He sent Me for this purpose, and He is true, I have good reason to judge no one now. Instead, I say the things that lead to your salvation, not those that lead to your condemnation.” He speaks this way so they will not think that weakness kept Him from taking extreme action after hearing so much from them, or that He did not know their secret thoughts and mockery. Ver. 27. “They did not understand that He was speaking to them about the Father.” Oh, the folly! He kept speaking about Him, and they did not recognize Him. Then, when He had not drawn them to Himself even after performing many signs and teaching them, He next speaks to them about the Cross, saying, Ver. 28, 29. “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I Am, and that I do not speak on My own, and that He who sent Me is with Me. And the Father has not left Me alone.” [2.] He shows that He was right to say, “the same as I told you from the beginning.” They paid so little attention to His words. “When you have lifted up the Son of Man.” “Do you not expect that then you will certainly get rid of Me and kill Me? But I tell you that then you will know most clearly that I Am, because of the miracles, the resurrection, and the destruction (of Jerusalem).” For all these things were enough to reveal His power. He did not say, “Then you will know who I am.” For He says, “When you see that death does Me no harm, then you will know that I Am, that is, the Christ, the Son of God; I govern all things and am not opposed to Him.” That is why He adds, “and I speak nothing on My own.” For you will know both My power and My agreement with the Father. For “I speak nothing on My own” shows that His Substance does not differ (from that of the Father), and that He says nothing except what is in the Father's mind. “For when you have been driven away from your place of worship and are no longer allowed even to serve Him as you have until now, then you will know that He does this to avenge Me, and because He is angry with those who would not hear Me.” It is as though He had said, “If I had been an enemy and a stranger to God, He would not have stirred up such anger against you.” Isaiah also declares this: “He will give the wicked in return for His burial” ( Isa. liii. 9 , LXX.); and David, “Then He will speak to them in His anger” ( Ps. ii. 5 ); and Christ Himself, “Look, your house is left to you desolate.” ( Matt. xxiii. 38.) His parables declare the same thing when He says, “What will the Lord of that vineyard do to those tenant farmers? He will bring those wicked men to a miserable end.” ( Matt. xxi. 40, 41.) Do you see that He speaks this way everywhere because people do not yet believe Him? But if He will destroy them, as He will (for the text says, “Bring here those who did not want Me to reign over them, and kill them”), why does He say that the deed is His Father's, not His own? He accommodates their weakness and at the same time honors Him who begot Him. That is why He did not say, “I leave your house desolate,” but, it “is left”; He phrased it impersonally. But by saying, “How often I wanted to gather your children together—and you would not,” and then adding, “is left,” He shows that He brought about the desolation. “For since,” He tells them, “you would not recognize Me when you were receiving benefits and being healed of your illnesses, you will learn who I am by being punished.” “And the Father is with Me.” So they will not think “who sent Me” is a sign of inferiority, He says, “is with Me”; the first concerns the Dispensation, the second the Godhead. “And He has not left Me alone,” for I always do the things that please Him. Again He has used humbler language, continually countering their claim that He was not from God and did not keep the Sabbath. To this He replies, “I always do the things that please Him,” showing that even the breaking of the Sabbath was pleasing to Him. So, for instance, just before the Crucifixion He said, “Do you think I cannot call on My Father?” ( Matt. xxvi. 53.) Yet simply by saying, “Who are you looking for?” ( c. xviii. 4, 6 ), He knocked them backward to the ground. Why, then, does He not say, “Do you think I cannot destroy you,” when He had proved this by His action? He accommodates their weakness. For He took great care to show that He did nothing contrary to the Father. Thus He speaks more in a human way; and “I always do the things that please Him” was spoken in the same way as “He has not left Me alone.” Ver. 30. “As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.” When He used humbler language, many believed in Him. Do you still ask why He speaks humbly? Yet the Evangelist clearly pointed to this when he said, “As He spoke these things, many believed in Him.” With this he practically proclaims aloud to us, “You who are listening, do not be bewildered if you hear a humble expression. Those who, after such exalted teaching, were still not persuaded that He was from the Father were rightly given humbler words to hear, so that they might believe.” This explains the things that will be spoken in a humble way. They believed then, but not as they should have. Their belief was careless and almost accidental, because they were pleased and refreshed by the humility of His words. For the Evangelist shows that their faith was not complete through what they say afterward, when they insult Him again. And he makes clear that these are the very same people by saying, Ver. 31. “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed in Him, If you continue in My word.” This shows that they had not yet accepted His teaching but were only paying attention to His words. That is why He speaks more sharply. Before, He simply said, “You will look for Me” ( c. vii. 34 ), but now He adds something further: “You will die in your sins.” ( c. viii. 21.) And He shows how: “because once you have come to that place, you cannot appeal to Me afterward.” “These things that I speak to the world.” With these words He showed that He was now going out to the Gentiles. But because they still did not know that He was speaking to them about the Father, He speaks about Him again, and the Evangelist has given the reason for the humility of His expressions. [3.] Now, if we examine the Scriptures this way, carefully and without carelessness, we will be able to reach salvation. If we continually dwell on them, we will learn sound doctrine and how to live a perfect life. For even if someone is very hard, stubborn, and proud, and gains nothing at other times, he will at least gain something from this time and receive some benefit. Even if it is not great enough for him to notice, he will still receive it. For if someone who walks past a perfume shop or sits in one takes on its fragrance even against his will, this is much more true of someone who comes to church. For just as idleness breeds idleness, so work produces a willing mind. Even if you are full of ten thousand sins, even if you are impure, do not avoid spending time here. “Why,” someone may say, “when I hear but do not act?” It is no small benefit to recognize your own wretchedness. This fear is not useless; this dread is not misplaced. If you only groan, “I hear but do not act,” you will certainly come to act at some point. For someone who speaks with God and hears God speak cannot fail to benefit. We immediately compose ourselves and wash our hands when we want to hold the Bible. Do you see the reverence here, even before the reading? And if we go on carefully, we will gain great benefit. For we would not have washed our hands unless it helped bring the soul to reverence. And a woman, if she is unveiled, immediately puts on her veil, showing her inward reverence, while a man, if his head is covered, uncovers it. Do you see how outward behavior proclaims inward reverence? Then, too, the person who sits down to listen often groans and condemns the life he is now living. So, beloved, let us pay attention to the Scriptures. Even if we give no other part such attention, let us at least give the Gospels our close attention and keep them in our hands. For as soon as you open the Book, you will see Christ's name there and hear someone say, “The birth of Jesus Christ happened this way. When His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit.” ( Matt. i. 18.) Anyone who hears this will immediately desire virginity, marvel at the Birth, and be freed from earthly things. It is no small thing to see the Virgin considered worthy of the Spirit, and an Angel speaking with her. And this is right on the surface. But if you keep going to the end, you will loathe everything that belongs to this life and laugh at all worldly things. If you are rich, you will think nothing of wealth when you hear that a woman who was (the wife) of a carpenter and came from a humble family became the mother of your Lord. If you are poor, you will not be ashamed of your poverty when you hear that the Creator of the world was not ashamed of the humblest dwelling. When you consider this, you will not rob, covet, or take other people's possessions. Instead, you will love poverty and despise wealth. And if this happens, you will drive out all evil. Again, when you see Him lying in a manger, you will not be anxious to dress your child in golden clothes or have your wife's couch inlaid with silver. And if you do not care about these things, you will not commit the acts of greed and robbery they cause. You may gain many other things that I cannot list one by one, but those who have tried it will know them. That is why I urge you both to obtain Bibles and, along with the Bibles, to retain the thoughts they express and write them in your minds. Because the Jews paid no attention, they were commanded to hang their books from their hands. But we do not even keep them in our hands; we keep them in our houses, when we ought to stamp them on our hearts. By cleansing our present life in this way, we will obtain the good things to come. May we all receive them through the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom, to the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, now and forever, for all eternity. Amen.