Homilies on John, Homily 69

“Nevertheless, even among the chief rulers many believed in Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue: for they loved human praise more than the praise of God.” [1.] We must avoid all the passions that corrupt the soul, but especially those that produce numerous sins of their own. I mean things like the love of money. It is truly a terrible disease in itself, but it becomes much worse because it is the root and mother of every kind of evil. The same is true of the craving for empty glory. See, for instance, how these men were cut off from faith by their love of honor. “Many,” it says, “even among the chief rulers believed in Him, but because of the Jews they did not confess Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue.” As He had also said to them before, “How can you believe, when you receive honor from one another and do not seek the honor that comes from God alone?” ( c. v. 44.) So they were not rulers, but slaves in the deepest slavery. However, this fear was later overcome, for nowhere in the time of the Apostles do we find them gripped by this feeling, since in their time both rulers and priests believed. When the grace of the Spirit came, it made them all firmer than adamant. Since this, then, was what kept them from believing at this time, listen to what He says. Ver. 44. “Whoever believes in Me does not believe in Me, but in Him who sent Me.” It is as though He had said, “Why are you afraid to believe in Me? Faith passes through Me to the Father, and so does unbelief.” See how in every way He shows that His Essence is exactly the same as the Father’s. He did not say, Whoever believes “Me,” so that no one could claim He was speaking about His words; that could have been said of mere human beings, for whoever believes the Apostles does not believe them, but God. But to teach you that He is speaking here about belief in His Essence, He did not say, “Whoever believes My words,” but, “Whoever believes in Me.” “And why,” someone asks, “has He never said the reverse: Whoever believes in the Father does not believe in the Father but in Me?” Because they would have replied, “Look, we believe in the Father, but we do not believe in You.” Their disposition was still too weak. Yet when speaking with the disciples, He did say this: “You believe in the Father; believe also in Me” ( c. xiv. 1 ); but because these people were then too weak to hear such words, He leads them another way, showing that it is impossible to believe in the Father without believing in Him. And so that you will not think these words are spoken as those of a mere man, He adds, Ver. 45. “Whoever sees Me sees Him who sent Me.” What then! Does God have a body? Certainly not. The “seeing” He speaks of here is seeing with the mind, and by this He shows their Consubstantiality. And what does “Whoever believes in Me” mean? It is as though someone were to say, “Whoever takes water from the river does not take it from the river but from the spring”; or rather, this image is too weak compared with the matter before us. Ver. 46. “I have come into the world as a light.” Since the Father is called by this name everywhere, both in the Old (Testament) and in the New, Christ also uses the same name; that is why Paul also calls Him “Brightness” ( Heb. i. 3 ), having learned to do so from this passage. Here He shows His close relationship with the Father and that there is no separation between them, since He says that faith in Him is not in Him, but passes on to the Father. And He called Himself “light” because He delivers people from error and dispels the darkness of the mind. Ver. 47. “If anyone does not hear Me and does not believe, I do not judge him, for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.” [2.] To keep them from thinking that He let those who despised Him go because He lacked power, He said, “I did not come to judge the world.” Then, so that this would not make them more careless, once they had learned that “whoever believes is saved, and whoever disbelieves is punished,” see how He also places a terrifying court of judgment before them by going on to say, Ver. 48. “Whoever rejects Me and does not receive My words has One to judge him.” “If the Father judges no one, and You have not come to judge the world, who judges him?” “The word that I have spoken will itself judge him.” Because they said, “He is not from God,” He says this: “They will not be able to say these things then, but the words I have spoken now will act as an accuser, convicting them and cutting off every excuse.” “And the word that I have spoken.” What kind of word? Ver. 49. “For I have not spoken on My own, but the Father who sent Me gave Me a commandment about what I should say and what I should speak.” And other things like this. Surely these things were said for their sake, so that they would have no excuse to offer. Otherwise, what advantage would He have over Isaiah? For Isaiah too says the very same thing: “The Lord God gives me the tongue of the learned, so that I may know when I ought to speak a word.” ( Isa. l. 4 , LXX.) What advantage over Jeremiah? For he too was inspired when he was sent. ( Jer. i. 9.) What, then, about Ezekiel? For he too spoke after eating the scroll. ( Ezek. iii. 1.) Besides, those who were going to hear what He said would turn out to be the cause of His knowledge. For if He received the commandment about what He should say only when He was sent, you will then argue that before He was sent He did not know. And what could be more impious than these assertions, if (that is) someone takes Christ’s words in this sense and does not understand why they are so humble? Yet Paul says that both he and those who became disciples knew “what was the good and acceptable and perfect will of God” ( Rom. xii. 2 ), and did the Son not know until He had received a commandment? How can this make sense? Do you not see that He makes His language exceedingly humble, both to win those men over and to silence those who would come afterward? This is why He speaks in terms suited to a mere man, so that even in this way He may compel us to reject a lowly interpretation of these sayings, recognizing that the words do not belong to His Nature but are adapted to the weakness of His hearers. Ver. 50. “And I know that His commandment is everlasting life; therefore, whatever I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.” Do you see how humble these words are? For someone who has received a commandment is not his own master. Yet He says, “As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life to whomever He wills.” ( c. v. 21.) Does He, then, have power to give life to whomever He wills, but no power to say what He wills? What He means by these words is this: “It is impossible by nature for Him to speak one set of words and for Me to say another.” “And I know that His commandment is everlasting life.” He said this to those who called Him a deceiver and claimed that He had come to do harm. But when He says, “I do not judge,” He shows that He is not the cause of these men’s destruction. As He is about to leave them and be with them no longer, He testifies almost explicitly through this: “I speak with you, saying nothing on My own, but everything as coming from the Father.” That is why He limited His discourse to them to humble expressions, so that He could say, “Right to the end I spoke this, My last word, to them.” What word was that? “I speak just as the Father has told Me.” “If I had been opposed to God, I would have said the opposite: that I speak nothing that pleases God, so as to draw honor to Myself. But now I have referred everything to Him so completely that I call nothing My own. Why, then, do you not believe Me when I say that ‘I have received a commandment,’ and when I so emphatically dispel your evil suspicion of rivalry? For just as those who have received a commandment cannot do or say anything except what those who sent them wish, as long as they carry out the commandment and do not falsify anything, so I too cannot say or do anything except as My Father wills. For what I do, He does, because He is with Me, and ‘the Father has not left Me alone.’” ( c. viii. 29.) Do you see how everywhere He shows Himself united with Him who begot Him, and that there is no separation? For when He says, “I have not come on My own,” He says it to rule out all estrangement or opposition, not to deny Himself power. For if human beings are their own masters, the Only-begotten Son is even more so. And to see that this is true, listen to what Paul says: “He emptied Himself, and gave Himself for us.” ( Philip. ii. 7; Eph. v. 2.) But, as I said, craving empty glory is a terrible thing, very terrible; for it made these men refuse to believe, and others believe wrongly, so that they twisted into impiety the things He said out of lovingkindness for those men’s sake. [3.] Let us, then, always flee this monster. It takes many different forms and spreads its own particular venom everywhere: in wealth, in luxury, in physical beauty. Because of it, we go beyond what we need everywhere; because of it, we have extravagant clothing and a great swarm of servants; because of it, we despise meeting practical needs everywhere—in our houses, our clothes, our dining—and extravagance prevails. Do you want to enjoy glory? Give alms, and then Angels will praise you, and God will welcome you. As things stand, the admiration goes no further than the goldsmiths and weavers, and you go away without a crown, often finding that you receive curses. But if, instead of wearing these things on your body, you spend them on feeding the poor, there will be great applause from every side, great praise. You will possess them when you give them to others; when you keep them for yourself, you do not possess them. For a house is an unreliable treasury, but the hands of the poor are a secure treasury. Why do you adorn your body while your soul is neglected and held captive by uncleanness? Why do you not give as much thought to your soul as to your body? You ought to give it more; but at any rate, beloved, we ought to give it equal care. Tell me: if someone asked you which you would choose—a vigorous, healthy, exceptionally beautiful body dressed in shabby clothing, or a deformed body full of diseases dressed in gold and finery—would you not much prefer beauty that belongs to your own body over beauty that depends on the clothes you wear? Will you choose this for your body, but the opposite for your soul? When your soul is ugly, unsightly, and black, do you think you gain anything from gold ornaments? What madness is this! Move this adornment within; put these necklaces around your soul. The things you put on your body help neither its health nor its beauty, for they will not make what is black white, or what is ugly beautiful or attractive. But if you put them on your soul, you will soon make it white instead of black; instead of ugly and unsightly, you will make it beautiful and attractive. These words are not mine, but those of the Lord Himself, who says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as snow” ( Isa. i. 18 , LXX.); and, “Give alms—and everything will be clean for you” ( Luke xi. 41 ). With such a disposition, you will beautify not only yourself but also your husband. For if your husbands see you taking off these outward ornaments, they will have little need to spend money, and without that need they will refrain from all covetousness and be more inclined to give alms. You too will be able to give them suitable advice with confidence. At present you have no such authority at all. For with what mouth can you speak about these things? With what eyes can you look your husbands in the face and ask for money for alms when you spend most of it on clothing your bodies? You will be able to speak confidently with your husband about almsgiving when you put aside your gold ornaments. Even if you accomplish nothing, you have done your whole part; but I should rather say that it is impossible for a wife not to win her husband over when she speaks through her very actions. “For how do you know, woman, whether you will save your husband?” ( 1 Cor. vii. 16.) Just as you will now have to give an account both for yourself and for him, so, if you put aside all this vanity, you will have a double crown, wearing your crown and triumphing with your husband through those unalloyed ages, and enjoying the everlasting good things. May we all obtain them through the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.