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S TIIOMAS AQriXAS,

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NEW EDITtON.

Oxforti anti iLoiOon :

JAMES PARKEIJ AXD co.

1874.

SEEU BY PRcSi:RVATiON

COMMENTARY

ON TIIE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO

ST. JOIIN.

CIIAP. I.

Vcr. 1 . In tlie bcginning was thc Word.

Chrys. AVliilc all tlic otlicr Evangclists bcgiii witli the chns. Incarnatioii, Jolm, iiassing ovcr the Conception, Nativitv, ,*?°'V".'^" education, and growtli, spciks immcdiatcly of the Etcrnal Joan. Gencration, sa\iiig, In tlie bighuiiny u-as ihe irord. Auo. Aw-. Hb. The Grcck word " lopros" signifies both Word and Rcason. l^i^^'""

. . . . (■ill.TSt.

But in this j)assage it is bcttcr to intcrprct it Word ; as (i. 03. rcfcrring not only to the Father, but to the crcation of tliings by thc opcrative power of tlie Word ; wlicrcas Kca- son, thougli it produce nothing, is still rightly called Kcason. AuG. A\ ords by tlicir daily usc, sound, and passagc out of us, ,\„p have bccomc connnon tliings. lUit thcrc is a word which ''^"'*-

. . . Mii" r

remaincth inward, in thc vcry man himsclf; distiiict from .io!,ii. i. tlic sound which j^rocccdcth out of thc mouth. Thcrc is '^' ^' a word, which is truly and spiritually that, wliicli you undcr- stand by tlie sound, not being the actual sound. Now who- lic Trin. ever can conccivc thc notion of word, as cxisting not only J y,," /,. ^ before its sound, but cven hcforc the idca of its sound is formcd, may sce enigmatically, and as it wcrc in a ghiss, some simihtude of that \Vord of Which it is said, In the be- ginnivg icas the IVord. For whcn we givc cxprcssion to somc- thing whicli we know, tlic word uscd is ncccssarily dcrivcd from the knowledgc thus rctaincd in tlic memory, and mu^t bc of thc samc quality with that knowlcdgc. For a word is a thouglit formcd from a thing which we know; wliich word is spoken in thc heart, being neither Greek nor Latin, nor of any hanguagc, though, whcn wc want to commuiiicatc it to others, somc sigu is assumcd by which to cxprcss it. . .

VOL. IV. u

fV

2 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. I.

n.id. cap. Wherefore tlie word which sounds externally, is a sign of the

'■^0- (xi.) ^Qj.(j wiiich lies hid within, to which the name of word raore

truly appertains, For that which is uttered by the mouth

of our flesh, is the voice of the word ; and is in fact called

word, with reference to that frora which it is taken, when

r.asil. it is developed externally. Basil. ThisWord is not a human

prhic. "^ word. For how was there a human word in the beginning,

Joan. when man received his being last of all ? There was not

then any word of raan in the beginning, nor yet of Angels;

for every creature is within the liraits of tirae, having its be-

ginning of existence from the Creator. But what says tlie

Gospel? It calls the Only-Begotten Himsclf thc Word.

Chrys. Chrys. But why omitting the Father, does he proceed at

^°'"'.'." once to speak of the Son? Because thc Father was known

Joan. n. t^

[i.] §4. to all; though not as the Father, yet as God; whereas the

Only-Begotten was not known. As was meet then, he en-

deavours first of all to inculcate the knowledge of the Son on

those who knew Ilim not; thougli neither iii discoursing on

Ilim, is he altogether silcnt on the Father. And inasmuch

as he was about to teach that the Word was the Only-Be-

7ra07jTV gotten Son of God, that no one miglit think this a passible

generation, he raakes mention of the Word in the first place,

in order to destroy the dangerous suspicion, and shew that

the Son was from God irapassibly. And a second reason is,

.Tohn 15, that Hc was to dechire unto us the things of the Father.

But he does not speak of the Word simply, but with the

addition of the article, in order to distinguish It from othcr

words. For Scripture calls God's laws and comraandraents

words ; but this Word is a certain Substance, or Person, an

Essence, coraing forth impassibly from the Father Ilimself.

Ba i!. Basil. Wherefore then Word? Because born irapassibly, the

prhic*. '" Image of Him that begat, raanifesting all the Father in Him-

Joan. c. 3. self ; abstracting from Him nothing, but existing perfect in

Ang. XV. Himself Aug. As our knowledge differs from God's, so

22. ^xHi.r '^^^^^ °^^' ^ord, which arises from our knowledge, differ from

that Word of God, which is born of the Father's essence ;

we raight say, frora the Father's knowledge, the Father'?

wisdom, or, more correctly, the Father Who is Knowledge,

the Father Who is Wisdora. The Word of God then, the

c.2.3 (xiv.) Ouly-Begotten Son of the Father, is in all things like and

VER. 1. ST. JOHX. 3

equal to the Fatlier; being altogetlier what the Fathcr is, yet not the Father ; because the one is the Sou, the other the Father. And thereby He knoweth all things which the Father knoweth ; yet Ilis knowledge is from the Father, even as is Ilis being : for knowing and being arc the same with Ilim ; and so as the Father's being is not from the Son, so ncither is Ilis knowing. Wherefore the Father begat the Word equal to Ilimsclf in all things as uttering forth Ilim- sclf. For had thcre bccn more or less in Ilis Word tlian in Ilimself, He would not liavc uttercd Ilimsclf fully and per- fcctly. With rcspcct howcver to our own inncr word, which we find, iu whatevcr sense, to be likc the Word, let us not object to see how very unlike it is also. A word is a forma- cap. 25. tion of our mind going to takc placc, but not yet madc, and ^^^'' sometliing in our miud which we toss to and fro iu a shppery circuitous way, as one thing and anotlier is discovered, or occurs to our thoughts. AVhen this, which we toss to and fro, has rcached the subjcct of our knowlcdge, and bccn formcd tlicrcfrom, wlien it has assumed the most exact like- ncss to it, aud tlic conception has quite answered to thc thing; thcn we havc a true word. Who may not sce how great the differcucc is hcrc from that Word of God, which exists in thc Form of God in such wise, that It could not havc bccn first going to be formcd, aud aftcrwards formcd, nor cau cvcr havc bccn unformcd, beiug a Form absolute, and absohitely equal to Ilim from \Vliom It is. "Whcrefore in speaking of the Word of God herc nothing is said about thouglit in God ; lcst we shoukl tliink thcrc was any thing rcvolviiig iu God, which might first rcccivc form in ordcr to be a Word, and afterwards lose it, and bc carried round and rouud again in an unformcd statc. Auc. Now thc Word Auf.de of God is a Form, not a furmatioii, but thc Form of all ^^^^^' forms, a Form unchangcablc, removcd from accident, from Semi. 38. failurc, from timc, frora space, surpassing all things, and existing in all things as a kind of fuuudation uudcrncath, and summit above thcm. Basil. Yet has our outward Basil. word some similarity to the Diviue Word. For our word ^°"l' '" declarcs the wholc conccption of the mind ; since what weJ"a"'<^'3- conccive in thc mind we bring out in word. Indccd our heart is as it wcre thc source, and the uttcrcd word the

4 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CIIAP. I.

chrys. stream wliicli flows therefrora. Chrys. Observe tlie spiritual

""'"•^' wisdom of the Evangelist. Ile knew tliat men hououred

most what was most ancient, and that honouring what is be-

fore every thing else, thcy conceived of it as God. Ou this

account he mentions first the bednning, saying, In the begin-

Orig. tom. ning was tJie Word. Origen. There arc many significations

c le^^eTs"" of this word heyinnimj. For there is a beginning of a jour-

Prov. 16. ney, and begiuning of a lengtli, according to Proverbs,

Vulg. jy^g beginning of the right jmth is to do justice. There is

Job40, 19. a beginning too of a creation, according to Job, Ile is the

'chiefof, beginning^ of the ivays of God. Nor would it be incor-

^^•^•^""" rect to say, that God is the Beginning of all things. The

Vulg. pre-existcnt niaterial again, wlicre supposcd to bc original,

out of whicli any thing is produced, is considcrcd as thc

Col. 1, 18. beginning. Tlicrc is a bcginning also iu respect of form :

as where Christ is the beginniug of those who arc madc

according to the image of God. And there is a beginning

Heb. 5,12. of doctrine, according to Hebrews; When for the time ye

ovght to be teacliers, ye have need that one teach you again

which be the first principles of the oracles of God. For there

are two kinds of bcginning of doctrinc : one in itsclf, tlic

other rehitivc to us; as if we shouhl say that Christ, in that

He is the Wisdom and Word of God, was in Tlimsclf thc

beginning of wisdom, but to us, in that Ile was the Word

c. 22. incarnate. There being so many significations thcn of thc

word, we may take it as thc Beginning through Whom, i.e.

the Maker; for Christ is Creator as The Bcginning, in that

He is Wisdom ; so that the Word is in the bcginning, i.e.

in Wisdom ; the Saviour being all these cxccllences at oncc.

As life then is in the Word, so the Word is in the Bcgin-

ning, that is to say, in Wisdom. Consider then if it be

possible according to this signification to understand the

Beginniug, as meaning that all thiugs are madc according to

Wisdom, and the patterns contained therein; or, inasmuch

as the Beginning of the Son is the Father, the Beginniiig

of all creatures and existencies, to understaud by the tcxt,

Ang. de In the beginning was the Word, tiiat the Son, the Word, was

o.T'(u!) ^"^ ^^^^ Beginning, tliat is, in the Father. Aug. Or, In the

i^hfm • ^^^^^^^^^' as if it were said, before all things. Basil. Tiie

1 rinc. i^oly Ghost foresaw that men would arise, who should envy

Joan.

VER. 1. ST. JOHN. 5

the glory of the Only-Beg:otten, subverting their hearers by sophistry ; as if bccause Ile were begotten, IIc was not ; and before Ile was begotten, He was not. That none might pre- sume then to babble such things, the Iloly Ghost saith, In the beyinning was the JVord. IIilauv. Ycars, ccnturies, Hilar. ii. ages, are passed over, phacc what beginning tliou wilt in thy c*^!^""' imagining, thou graspest it not in time, for lle, from Whom it is derived, still was. Chuvs. As tlicn whcn our sliip is Ciirys. iicar shore, cities and port pass in survey before us, which on the open sea vanish, and lcave nothing whereon to fix the eye; so tlie Evangclist lierc, taking us with him in his flight above the crcated worhl, leavcs the eye to gazc in vacancy on an illimitable expanse. For the words, was in the beyin- ninf/, arc significativc of eternal anil infinite essence. Aug. Aue:. They say, howcver, if IIc is thc Son, Ile was born. Wc po^,^"^ " allow it. Thev reioin: if thc Son was born to thc Fathcr, ^^'■"'- 3«.

,.[117.]

the Father was, beforc tlie Son was born to lliin. This thc ^. a. Faith rcjects. Then thcy say, exphiin to us how the Son couhl bc borii from the Fatlicr, and yet bc cocval with Ilim from wliom Ile is born : for sons are born aftcr their fathers, to succ ed tliem on tlieir death. Thcy adducc analogies from nature; and we must endcavour likcwise to do the .samc for our doctrinc. liut how cau wc find in nature a co- eternal, wlicn we cannot find an cternal? Howcvcr, if a thing generating and a tliing gcncratcd can bc found any whcre coeval, it will bc a liclp to forming a notion of coctcrnals. Now \\'is(l()ni licrself is callcd in thc Soriptuics, thc bright- \\'is(i. 7, iicss of Evcrlasting Light, thc image of the Fathcr. Hencc " then let us take our comparison, and from coevals form a notiou of cocternals. Now no onc doubts that brightncss ])rocecds from fire : fire then we may consider the father of thc brightncss. Prescntly, whcn I light a candic, at the samc instant with thc firc, brightncss arisctii. (Jivc mc thc fire without thc brightness, and I will with thcc bclicve tliat the Fathcr was without the Son. An image is produccd by a mirror. Tlie image exists as soou as the bcholdcr ap- pcars ; yct thc bcholder existed bcforc he cauic to thc niir- ror. Lct us suppose thcn a twig, or a bladc of prass which has grown up by thc watcr side. Is it not born with its image? If thcrc had always becn thc twig, thcrc would

6 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. I.

always have been the iraage proceeding from tlie twig.

And whatever is from another thing, is born. So thcn that

which generates may be coexistent from eternity with that

which is generated from it. But some one will say perhaps,

Well, I understand now the eternal Father, the coeternal

Son: yet the Son is like the emitted brightness, which is

less briUiant than the fire, or the rcflected imagc, which is

less real than the twi.,'. Not so : there is complete cquahty

between Father and Son. I do not believc, he says; for

thou hast found nothing whereto to liken it. Ilowcvcr, pcr-

haps we can find something in nature by which we may

understand that the Son is both coetcrnal with thc Fathcr,

and in no respect inferior also : though wc cannot find any

one material of comparison that will be suflicicnt singly, and

must therefore join together two, one of which has bcen era-

ployed by our advcrsaries, the othcr by ourselvcs. For they

have drawn their comparison from things which arc prcccded

in tirae by the things which they spring from, man, for cx-

ample, from man. Ncverthelcss, man is of the samc sub-

stancewith man. We have then iu that nativity an cquality

of nature; an equality of time is wanting. But in the com-

parison which we havc drawn from the brightncss of firc, and

the reflexion of a twig, an equahty of uature thou dost not

find, of time thou dost. In the Godhcad theu there is found

as a whole, what here exists in single and separate partsj

and that which is in the creation, existing in a manner suit-

Gest. able to the Creator. Ex Gestis Concilii Ephesini. Where-

Eplj/ fore in one place divine Scripture calls Ilim the Son, in

another the Word, in another the Brightuess of the Father;

names severaliy raeant to guard against blasphcmy. For,

forasmuch as thy son is of the same nature with thyself, the

Scripture wishing to shew that the Substance of the Father

and the Son is oue, sets forth the Son of the Father, born of

the Father, the Ouly-Begotten. Next, since the terms birth

and son, convey the idea of passibleness, therefore it calls

the Son the Word, declaring by that name the impassibility

of His Nativity. But inasmuch as a father with us is neccs-

sarily older than his son, lest thou shouldest think that this

applied to the Divine uature as well, it calls the Only-Be-

gotten the Briglitness of the Father; for brightness, though

VER. 1. ST. JOHN. 7

arising from tlie sun, is not posterior to it. Understand then that Ilri(//itness, as revealiiig the coeternity of the Sou \\\t\\ the Father; JVord as proving the impassibihty of Ilis birth, and Son as convcying Ilis consubstantiality. CniiYs. But Chrys. thev sav tliat In the btninnitui does not absolutelv exnrcss l'*^'"' '"

' . ' . . J i Joan. lii.

eternity : for that the same is said of tlie heaven and tlie [ii.] §. 2. carth : In the bef/inning God made the heaven and the earth. Ceu. 1, 1. But are not made and was, altogether different ? For in like manner as tlie word is, when spokcn of man, signifies the prcscnt only, but whcn apjjlicd to Ciod, that wliich always and ctcrnally is; so too tcafi, predicatcd of our naturc, signi- fics thc past, but prcdicated ot God, ctcrnity. Origkn. Tbe Orip. vcrb to be, has a double signification, sometimes expressing , '"' ','•

' . . divers. loc.

tlie motiuns which takc phice iu timc, as othcr verbs do; somctimcs the substance of that one thing of which it is pre- dicated, without reference to time. Hence it is also callcd a substantive verb. Hilauv. Consider then the worhl, un- Hilar. ii. derstaud what is writtcn of it. In the bef/inninf/ God viade V"* ihe heaven and the earth. AVhatever thercforc is crcated is made in the bcginning, and thou wouhiest contaiu iu tiiuc, wliat, as bcing to be madc, is containcd in the bcgiuuiMg. liut, lo, for me, an iUitcrate unlcarncd fi^hcrman is in(h"pen- mfus ins- deutoftinic, unconfined l)y agcs, advancetli beyond all bc- /j'j'!j\ ginnings. For thc ^Vord was, wbat it is, and is uot boundcd by any timc, nor comincnccd tlicrcin, sccing It was not tnade in the beginning, but icas. Alcuin. To rcfute thosc who infcrred from Christ's IHrth in timc, tliat IIc had not bcen from cvcriasting, the Evangchst bcgins witli the cter- iiity of the Word, sayiug, //* the bfyinniny was the IVord.

And thc Word was witli God.

Chrys. Bccause it is an cspccial attributc of God to bc ciiry».

cternal aud Mithout a bcginning, lic laid tliis duwu Hrst :]'"'"• '"•

. . . . L""j "•

then, lcst any onc on hcaring in the beginninf/ was the Word,

shouhl supposc the Word Unbcgotteu, he instautly guardcd

against this; saying, And ihe Wordwas mih God. Hilary. niiar. ii.

From the bcginning IIc is with God : and tliough inde- ^^ *^'^'"*

pendent of timc, is not indcpcndcnt of an Author. Basil. Basil.

Again lic rcpcats this, icas, bccausc of mcn biasphemously rinc.

Joan. §. 1f

8 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO OHAP. I.

saying, tliat there was a tirae when He was not. Wherc then was the TVord? Illimitable things are not containcd in space. Whcre was He then? With God. For neither is the Father boundcd by place, nor the Son by aught Orig. circumscribing. Origen. It is* worth while noting, that, Hom. 11. ■^j^gj.gas the Word is said to corae^ [bc madel to some, as

iri J o^ii*

c- 1- to Hosea, Isaiah, Jereraiab, with God it is not made, as

^flgum ^jjQjjgi^ -^ ^gj,g jjQt ^itl^ fjim before. But, the Word having

came E.T.^QQ^ always with Ilim, it is said, and the fVord was ivith

God: for from the beginning it was not separate from the

Chrys. Fathcr. Chrys. He has not said, was in God, but was with

lloin. 111. QqjJ . gxhibiting to us that eternity which Hc had in accord-

Theoph. ance with His Person. Theopuyl. Sabellius is ovcrthrowu

in loco, ijy ^i^jg j.gj^j.^ Yov he asserts that the Father, Son, and Holy

Ghost are one Person, Who sometimcs appeared as the

Father, sometimes as the Son, soractimes as the Iloly Ghost.

But he is manifestly confounded by this text, and the fVord

was with God ; for here the Evangclist declarcs that the Sou

is one Person, God the Father anothcr.

i

i

And the Word was God.

Hilar. ii. HiLARY. Thou wilt say, that a word is the sound of the de Trin. voicc, thc cnunciation of a thing, the expression of a thought : this Word was in the beginning with God, bccause the utterance of thought is eternal, when He who thinketh is eterual. But how was that in the beginning, which exists no time either before, or after, I doubt even whether in time at all ? For speech is neitlier in cxistence before one speaks, nor after ; in the very act of speaking it vanishes ; for by the time a speech is ended, that frora which it began does not exist. But even if the first sentence, in the beginning was the Word, was through thy inattention lost upon thee, why disputest thou about the next ; and the Word tcas with God? Didst thou hear it said, " In God," so that thou shouldest understand this Word to be only the expressiou of hidden thoughts ? Or did John say ivith by mistake, and was not aware of the distinction between being in and being iuith, when he said, that what was in the beginning, was not in God, but with God? Hear then the nature and name of

VER. 1. ST. joiiy. 9

tlie Word ; and ihe IVord loas God. No more then of tlie

sound of the voice, of the expression of the thought. The

Word here is a Substance, not a sound; a jVature, not an

expression; God, not a nonentity. Hilary. But the title is Hilar. vii,

absolute, and free from the offence of an extraneous subiect. 'j'^ '•"'■iii- c. ... . ^' p, 10. n.

To Moses it is said, Ihave given ^ thee for a yod to Pharaoh : Exod. 7,i.

but is not the reason for the name added, when it is said, to '^!''v%

' ' esl. > ulg.

Pharaoh ? !Moses is given for a god to Pharaoli, uhcn he is '"/"'^ feared, whcn he is cntrcatcd, whcn he punishes, when he "* licals. And it is one thing to bc (jiven for a god, another tliing to be God. I rcmcniber too another api^lication of the name in the Psalms, / have said, ye are gods. But Ps. 82 there too it is imphed that the title was but bestowed ; and the introduction of, / said, makes it ratlicr tlie phrase of tlje Spcakcr, than the name of the thing. But when I hcar the Word was God, I not only hear the AVord said to be, but perceive It proved to be, God. Basil. Thus cutting off Basil. the cavils of bhisphcmers, and those who ask wliat the .""'": '•

^- 111 priiic.

AVord is, he repHcs, and the Word icas God. TiiKoriiYL. Joau. c. 4 Or combine it thus. From thc Word being with God, it follows phiinly tliat tlicre are two Pcrsons. Bnt thcsc two are of one Naturc; and thcrcforc it procceds, /// ///c Word was God : to shew that Father and Son are of Onc Nature, l)cing of One Godhcad. Oiugex. AVe must add too, that Ong. the "Word illuminatcs the Prophets with Divine wisdom, f'""' "• in that He cometh to them ; but tliat with God Ile ever in priuc. is, bccause Ile is God ^ For which reason he placed and the Word was ivith God, before and the Word was God. CniiYS. Not asscrting, as Plato does, one to be intcHi- Chry», gence ^ thc othcr soul- ; for tlie Divinc Naturc is vcry dif- r^|°-|"r''['

fcrent from this But you say, thc Fathcr is called \ vov%^

God with tlie addition of thc article, the Son without it. jy [f,].] 3. What say you thcn, whcn thc Apostle writes, The great Tit. 2, 13. God and our Savionr Jesus Christ ; and again, IVho is Rom. 9 5. over all, God ; and Grace be unto you and peace from God i\om.\, 7.

» Tlie Greek lias, vph% 5f toi- &ihv eqiially present witli God. S. Thomas

liQfb^ iffrlTvyx^-vuv^aTTo ruv tlvai TTpus avoids the apparent tautology in the

al)-t6v, lit. " but with Goil, God is jiru- origiual hy substituting "apnd Deuin

sent at all tiines, bccau.^^e He is wiih vero est Verbum oblincre ab eo quod

lliin," i.e. Tiryxaceic and (Ivai are one sit Deus." M ith God. The Word, as God, is alway s

de Trin. c. 16.

10 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. I.

our Father ; without the article ? Besides, too, it were super- fluous here, to affix what had been affixed just before. So that it does not foUow, though the article is not affixed to the Son, that He is therefore an inferior God.

2. The same was in the beginning with God.

Hilar. ii, HiLARY. "Whcreas he had said, the Word was God, the

fearfulness, and strangeness of the speech disturbed me;

the prophets having declarcd that God was One. But, to

quiet ray apprehensions, the fishcrman reveals the schcme

of this so great mystery, and refers all to one, without dis-

honour, without obHterating [the Person], without refer-

ence to time^ saying, The Same was in the beyhining loith

God ; with One Unbegotten God, from whom Hc is, the

Onc Only-begotten God. TnF.opnYL. Again, to stop any

diabolical suspicion, that the AVord, because Hc was God,

might have rebelled against His Father, as ccrtain Gcntiles

fable, or, being separate, have bccome the antagonist of

the Father Himself, he says, The Same ivas in the bcginning

with God ; that is to say, this Word of God never existed

Clirys. separate from God. Chrys. Or, lest hearing that Tn the

r"^ s^i ^^U^^^^^^d ^^^ ^^^ Word, you shoukl regard It as eternal,

but yet understand the Father^s Life to have some degree

of priority, he has introduced the words, The Same was in

the beginning with God. For God was never solitary, apart

ibid. 3. from Him, but always God with God. Or forasmuch as he

said, the Word was God, that no one might think the

Divinity of tlie Son inferior, he immediately subjoins the

marks of proper Divinity, in that he both again mentions

ThZnfii- Eternity, The Same was in the beginning with God; and

ox/p-ytK V j^jjjg jjjg attribute of Creator, All things were made by Ilim.

Orig-., Origen. Or thus, the EvangeUst having begun with those

in Joan. propositions, reunites them into one, saying, The Same was

<5* *• in the beginning with God. For in the first of the three we

learnt in what the Word was, that it was in the beginning ;

in the second, with whom, with God ; in the third who the

*> Since He was 1. "in the begin- nor 3. inexisting in God only, so as

niiig," and 2. " God," and 3. " vvith to confound or destroy the PLTionality.

God," He was 1. not " in time," nor [trom S. Hil. 1. c.] 'J a word, but The Word, (see p. 8,)

VER. 3. ST. JOIIX. 11

TVord was, God. Ilaviiig, then, by the term, The Same, sct bcforc us iri a manner God thc Word of Whom hc had spoken, hc collccts all into the fourth proposition, viz. Iii the he(finning was the Word, and the Word tvas tcith God, and the JFord was God ; iuto, the Same was in the be- ginning with God. It raay be asked, liowever, why it is not said, In the beginning was the Word of God, and the Word of God was with God, and the Word of God was God? Now wlioevcr will admit that truth is one, must nceds admit also that the demonstration of truth, tliat is, wisdom, is one. But if trutli is one, and wisdom is onc, the Word wliich enunciatcs truth and dcvch)pcs wisdom iu those wlio are cnpablc of rcceiving it, must be One also. And thcrc- fore it wouhl have bcen out of phice hcrc to have said, thc Word of God, as if there wcrc other words bcsidcs that of God, a word of angcls, word of men, and so on. Wc do not say this, to dcny that It is the Word of God, but to shcw the u.se of omitting the word God. John him- sclf too in the Apocalypse says, And IJis ^V«me is callcd the Rcv. 19, IVord of God. Alcuin. Wherefore does hc usc the sulj- ^'^' stantive vcrb, ivas? That you mij;lit uu(h'rstaud that the Word, Which is coeternal with God tlie Father, was bcfore all tiuic.

3. All things wcrc madc by Iliiii.

Alcuin. Aftcr spcaking of tlic naturc of tlie Son, hc procecds to llis opcrations, sayiug, All things were made bij Him, i. c. evcry thing, w hcther substance or property. HiL\UY. Or thus : [It is said], the Word indced was in Hiiar. ii. tlie bcginning, but it mav bc that IIc was not bcforc the^^^.V"*

P ° • c. 17.

bcgiuuiug. But what saith hc; All things were 7nade by

Ilim. He is infiuite by Whora every thing, which is, was

niade : and sincc all things werc madc by Ilim, time is like-

wise*^. CuiiYs. ]Moscs indccd, in the bcginuiug of tlic Old rhrjF.

Testament, spcaks to us iu much detail of the uatural world, ['"7/'

saying, In the bcginni/ig God made the hcavcn and the earth ;

* That is lo say, The text, All For Ile Wlio made all tliinps, maHc

things tvete madc by Uim, niakcs iip tiinc, aiid so must have cxistcd bcfore

for thc words, i;j thv bif^iiiniiif;, shoiild tiiiic, i. e. froiii ctcrnity. Ihcse appcar to fall short of etcruity.

12 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CIIAP. T.

and then relates how that the light, and the firmaraent,

and the stars, and the various kinds of animals were created.

But the Evangelist suras up the whole of this in a word, as

farailiar to his hearers ; and hastens to loftier raatter, making

the whole of his book to bear not on the works, but on the

Au?. 1. Maker. Aug. Since all things were made by Ilim, it is evi-

ad Ht!"" dent that Hght was also, when God said, Let there be light.

cap. 2. ^^^ jjj likg manner the rest. But if so, that which God

said, viz. Let there be light, is eternal. For the Word of

God, God with God, is coeternal with the Father, though the

world created by Him be teraporal. For whereas our when

and sometimes are words of time, in the Word of God, on thc

contrary, when a tliing ought to be raade, is etcrnal ; and

the thing is then raade, when iu that Word it is that it

ought to be raadc, wliich Word hath in It ncitlier ichcn, or

Auo;. at sometime, since It is all ctcriuil. Aug. IIow thcn can thc

tMct. i.' Word of God be made, when God by tlie AVord made all

*=• il- things? For if the A\'ord Itsclf wcre niade, by what othcr

Word was It raade? If you say it was the Word of the Word

by Which That was raade, that Word I call the Only-Be-

gotten Son of God. But if thou dost uot call It the Word

1 Verbum of thc Word \ thcu graut that that Word was not madr, l)v

Verbi

ed. Ben. which all tliiugs wcrc made. Aug. Aud if It is not made,

Dei Aq. j^ jg j^Q^ ^ crcature ; but if It is not a crcaturc, It is of the

1\ni\. same Substance with thc Fathcr. For cvcry substancc which

c. 9. (vi.) is y^Q^ Qq^ js 3 crcature; and what is not a crcature is God.

Theoph. Theophyl. The Arians are wout to say, that all things are

spoken of as made by the Son, iu the sense in which we

say a door is made by a saw, viz. as an instrument ; not

that He was Hiraself the Maker. Aud so they talk of

the Son as a thing made, as if He were made for this pur-

pose, that all things might be made by Him. Now we to

the inventors of this lie reply simply : If, as ye say, the

Father had created the Son, in order to make use of Him as

an instrument, it would appear that tlie Son were less honour-

able than the things made, just as things made by a saw are

more noble than the saw itself ; the saw having been made for

their sake. lu like way do they speak of the Father crcating

the Son for the sake of the thiugs made, as if, had He thought

good to create the universe, neither would Hc have produccd

VER. '6. ST. JOIIX. 13

tlie Son. Wliat can be more insane tlian such langunge? Tliey argue, however, why was it not said that the AVord made all things, instead of the preposition by ^ being used ? '5ii For this reason, that thou mightest not understand an Un- begottcn and Unoriginate Sou, a rival God*^. Ciiuvs. If the Chrys. preposition bi/ perplcx thec, and tliou wouldest learn fi"oni j^°'"" ^" Scripture tliat tlie Word Itse/f va^de all thiugs, hear David, [iv.] c 2. Thou, Lord, in tlie beyinniny hust laid the foundation of the Ps. 101. earth, and the heavcns are the ivork of Thy hands. That he spoke this of thc Only-Begottcn, you lcarn froni thc Apostle, wlio in tlie Epistlc to the Ileljrews applics thcse words to the Son. CiiuYs. lUxt if you say that tlie prophet spoke this of Chrys. the Father, and that Paul appHed it to tlie Son, it comes to '' ^"a^' the sanie thing. For he would not have mentioned that as applical)le to tlie Son, unlcss he fully considcrcd that the Father and the Scju werc of equal dignity. If again thou drcani that in the prcposition bi/ any suljjcction is iniplicd, wliy docs Paul usc it of the Fathcr? as, God is faithfnl, bij \ Cor. iriiotn ye were callcd into the fellowshij) <f llis Son ; and .,'/,* again, Tanl an Ajiostle by the xcill of God. Oiugen. Ilcrc l. l. too Valcntinus errs, saying, that thc Word sui^plicd to thc jj (![ g. Crcator thc cause of tiie crcation of thc world '^ . If this intcrprctation is true, it should have becn writtcn that all things had their cxistcnce from tlie Word through the Crea- tor, not contrariwisc, throu^h the Word froni thc Crcator.

Aiul witliout Illin was not any thinij inadc.

CnuYS. That you may not supposc, whcn lie says, All Chrya

things ivere inade by Jlini, that hc mcant only the things i„',^i'„c\

Moses liad spokeu of, he seasonably brings in, And tvithout Ilim was not any thinf/ made, nothing, that is, cognizable eithcr by the scnscs, or the undcrstanding. Or thus; Lcst you should suspcct the scntcncc, All things ivere made by Ilim, to rcfcr to tlie miracles which thc other Evangclists had rclatcd, he adds, and without Ilim was not any thiny made. IliLAKY. Or thus; That all Ihinr/s were made bi/ Ilim, is j)ro- Hilar. nounciug too much, it inav bc said. There is au Unbegotten J, "' „

"* Tlie text of Aiig. lias "et Dci con- " rhv tV aXTirtv vapfxoyra rrjs yfv4-

ditoreiii," perh.ips it shoiild he, ' et fftois rov koctixov r<Lhriiji.iovp-fi. ()rij;cn

l)co contrariuin,' (as bcfore " Patri is speakin^ of llcracleon, a disciple of

conlrariuin.") iiieoph. has avridiov. Valcniiuus.

14 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. I.

Who is made of none, and tliere is tlie Son Himself begotten

from Ilim Who is Unbegotten. The Evangelist however

again implies the Author, when he speaks of Him as Asso-

ciated ; saying, withoid Him ivas not any thing made. This,

that nothing was made without Him, I understand to mean

the Son's not being alone, for ' by whom' is one thing, ' not

Orig. without whora' another. Oiugen. Or thus, that thou mightest

iV> d"v."oc. not think that the things made by the Word had a separate

existence, and were not contained in the Word, he says,

and without Him was not any thing made : that is, not any

thing was made externally of Ilim ; for He encircles all

Aug. things, as the Preserver of all things. Aug. Or, by saying,

Te"sL N.v. without Hlm was not any thing made, he tells us not to

qu. 97. suspect Him in any sense to be a thing made. For how

can He be a thing made, when God, it is said, made notliing

Orig. in without Him ? Origen. If all things were made by the Word,

ii°c 7°.'" ^^^ ^"^ ^^^^ number of all tliings is wickedness, and the whole

influx of sin, tliese too were made by the Word ; which is

false. Now 'nothing' and *a thing which is not,' raean the

same. And the Apostle seems to call wicked things, things

Rom.4,17. which are not, God calleth ihose things which be not, as

though they were. All wickedness then is called nothing,

forasmuch as it is made without the Word. Those who say

however that the devil is not a creature of God, err. In so

far as he is the devil, he is not a creature of God ; but he,

whose character it is to be the devil, is a creature of God.

It is as if we should say a murderer is not a creature of God,

Aug. in when, so far as he is a man, he is a crcature of God. Aug.

i. c. 13. FoJ' sin was not made by Ilim ; for it is manifest that sin is

nothing, and that men become nothing when they sin. Nor

was an idol niade by the Word. It has indeed a sort of form

of man, and man himself was made by the Word ; but the

form of man in an idol was not made by the Word : for it

1 Cor, 8, 4. is written, we know that an idol is nothiiig. These then were

not made by the Word ; but whatever things were made

naturally, the whole universe, were; every creature from an

Orig. tora. angel to a worm. Origen. Valentinus excludcs frora the

tliings made by the Word, all that were made in the ages

which he believes to have existed before the Word. This is

plainly false; inasmuch as the things wliich he accounts

VER. 4. ST. joiiy. 15

diviue are tlius excluded from tlie " all tliings," and wliat he deeras wliolly corrupt are properly ' all thiugs !' Aug. TheAuor.de folly of tliose men is not to be listened to, who think nothing boni"'c!25 is to be understood herc as sometliing, bccause it is placed at the end of the sentence ^ : as if it made any difference whe- ^ Vulgate ther it was said, without Ilim nothing was made, or, without Ilim was raade nothing. Orfgen. If 'the word' be taken Orig. tom. for that whicli is in each man, inasrauch as it was iraplanted "* ^' m each by the ]Vord, which was in the beginning, then also, we coramit notliing without this * word' [reason] takiug this word 'nothing' in a popuhir sense. For the Apostle says tliat sin was dead without the law, but when the comniaud- raent camc, sin revivcd ; fur siu is not imputed when thrre is no law. But ucither was tlicre siu, wiicn there was no Word, for our Lord says, If I had not come and spoken /o jolm 15, them, they hud not had sin. For evcry cxcuse is withdrawn -- frora the sinuer, if, with the Word preseut, and enjoiuing what is to be donc, he refuses to obcy II im. Nur is the Word to be bhamed on this account ; any raorc thau a mas- ter, whose discipline leaves no excuse open to a dclinqucnt pupil on the grouud of ignorance. All thiuj^s thcn were made by tlie Word, not only the natural worUl, but also whatever is done by those acling wilhout rcasou. Vul?.

quod fic- tum est n

4. Iii lliiii was life. ipsovita

erat.

Bede. The Evangclist having said that cvcry crcature was Bedc in madc by the AVord, lcst pcrchauce any oue might tiiiuk that • ^°^- Ilis will was chaugcable, as though Ile willed on a sudden to make a crcature, which frora etcruity IIc had not made; Ile took care to shew that, though a crcature was made in tirae, in the Wisdoni of the Creator it had beeu frora eteruity arrangcd what and whcn Ile should creatc. Aug. The pas- Ang. in sage can be read thus : What was made in IJim was ^(A'^- ^"'jjj^^iy" Thcrcfore the whole uuiverse is life: for what was there not i Vulg. made in Ilini? lle is the AVisdora of God, as is said, /n Ps. lO*. IVisdom hast Thou made them all. All things thcrcfore are raade in Ilim, evcn as thcy are by Ilim. IJut, if whatcvcr w;is madc in Ilim is life, the earth is life, a stoue is life. \Vc must not iuterpret it so unsoundly, lcst the scct of the

16 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. I.

Manicliseans creep in upon us, and say, tliat a stone has life, and that a wall has life ; for they do insanely assert so, and when reprehended or refuted, appeal as though to Scripture, and ask, why was it said, That which ivas made in Him was life ? Read the passage then thus : make the stop after What was made, and then proceed, In Ilitn was life. The earth was made; but, tlie earth itself which was made is not life. In the Wisdom of God however there is spiritually a certain Reason after which the earth is made. This is Life^ A chest in workmanship is not life, a chest in art is, iuasmuch as the mind of the workman lives whercin that originai pattern exists. And in this sense the AVisdom of God, by Which all things are made, containeth in art 'all things which are made, according to that art.' And therefore whatever is madc, is not in itself life, but is life in Ilim. Origen. Origen. It may also be divided thus : That which was

Hom.ii.m y^g^g i^ Him ; and then, was life ; thc sense being, that all

div. loc. _ ... ...

ante nied. things that wcrc made by II im and in Ilim, are life in Ilim, and are one in Ilim. They were, tliat is, in Ilim; they c.xist as the cause, bcfore thcy exist iu themselvcs as cffccts. If thou ask how and in what manner all things «hich were madc by the Word subsist in Him vitally, immutably, causally, take some examples from the created world. See how that all things within the arch of the world of sense have thcir causes simultancously and harmouiously subsisting in that sun which is the greatcst luminary of the world : how multi- tudinous crops of herbs and fruits are contained in single seeds : how the most complex variety of rules, in the art of the artificer, and the mind of the director, are a living unit, how an infinite numbcr of lines coexist in onc point. Con- template these several instances, and thou wilt be able as it were on the wings of physical science, to pcnetrate with tliy intellectual eye the secrets of the Word, and as far as is allowed to a human understanding, to see how all things

The passafre continues thus in the ence by workmanship. The chest is

Tract. "Iwill explain my mcaning. then first in workmanship ; but does it

A workman niakes a chest. He first cease to be in art ? there it remains

lias that chest in liis art; for otherwise still, and there it will continue, the

he could not make it. The chest how- pattern of other chests, when the first

ever does not exist in his art, as a visible one lias rotted. Mark the dis-

visible chest; it exists there invisibly, tinction between a chest in avt, and a

and is tlien brought into visihle exibt- chest in workmansliip. A cliest," &-c.

VER. 4. ST. JOHN. 1 7

which were made by the "Word, live in Him, and were made in Him. Hii^^ry. Or it can be understood thus. In that he had said, without Ilim was not any thing made, one might have been perplexed, and have asked, Was then any thing made by another, which yet was not made without Him ? if so, tlien though nothing is made without, all things are not made by Him : it being one thing to make, another to be with the maker. On this accouut the Evangelist declares what it was wliich was not made without Him, viz. what was made in Him. This then it was which was not made without Him, viz. what was made in Him. And that which was raade in Him, was also made by Hira. For all things were created in Him and by Him, Now things were made in Him, because He was born God tlie Crcator. And for this reason also tliings that were made in Hira, were not made without Hira, viz. that God, in that He was born, was life, and He wlio tcas life, was not made life aftcr being born. Nothing then which was made in Hira, was made without Him, bccause He was life, iu AVhom they were made ; because God Who was born of God was God, not aftcr, but in that He was born^. CiiRYS. Or to give another cxphination. We will CIirvR. not put the stop at without Ilim was not any thing made, as rj" -]';„' the heretics do. For tliey wishing to prove the Holy Ghost Joan. a crcature, read, That which was mnde in Ilim, was life. But tliis cannot be so undcrstood. For first, tliis was uot tlie place for making mention of the Holy Ghost. But let us Bup- pose it was ; lct us take the passagc for tlie prcsent accord- ing to thcir rcading, we shall sce that it leads to a difhculty. For when it is said, That which was made in Him, was life ; tliey say the life spokcn of is the Holy Gliost. But this Hfe is also light ; for the Evaugclist procccds, The /ife 7vas the light of men. Whercfore according to tlicm, lie calls the Holy Ghost tlie light of all men. But the Word mentioned above, is what he here calls consccutivcly, God, and Life, and Light. Now the JVord was made flesh. It follows that the Holy Ghost is incarnate, not the Son. Dismissing tlien this rcadiug, we adopt a more suitable one, with the foUow-

*" i.e. the Son ever being wliat He Creator, in that He was, and always

is, in that He is, " Living of Living, equally the Creator, and so of all tliings,

Perfect of Perfect," not [as man] re- because what He was, He was always,

ceiving subsequently, He was tiie in that He was.

VOL. IV. C

18 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. T.

ing meaning : AU ihings were made by Him, and without Him was not any thing made ichich was made : theie we make a stop, and begin a fresh sentence : In Eim was life. -yevtirhv Without Him was not any thing made which was made ; i.e. which could be made. You see how by this short addition, he removes any difBculty which might foUow. For by intro- ' ducing without Him ivas not any thing made, and adding, which was made, he iucludes all things invisible, and excepts srifxiovp. the Holy Spirit : for the Spirit cannot be made. To the '^'"^ mention of creation, succeeds that of providence. In Him

was life^. As a fountain which produces vast dcpths of water, and yet is nothing diminished at the fountain head ; so worketh the Only-Begotten. How great soever His crea- tions be, He Himself is none the less for them. By the word life here is meant not only creation, but that providence by which the things created are preserved. But when you are told that in Him icas life, do not suppose Him compouuded ; John 5, 26. for, as the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself. As then you would not call the Father compounded, so neither should you the Son. Ori?. t.ii. Origen. Or thi^s i Our Saviour is said to be some things *^' not for Himself, but for others ; others again, both for Him-

self and others. When it is said then, That which was made in Him was life ; we must enquire whether the life is for Himself and others, or for others only ; and if for others, for whom ? Now the Life and the Light are both the same Person : He is the light of men : He is therefore their Hfe. The Saviour is called Life here, not to Himself, but to others; whose Light He also is. This life is insepa- rable from the Word, from the time it is added on to it. For Reason or the Word must exist before in the soul, cleansing it from sin, till it is pure enough to receive the life, which is thus ingrafted or inborn in every one who renders himself fit to receive the Word of God. Hence ob- serve, that though the Word itself in the beginning was not made, the Beginning never having been without the Word ; yet the Ufe of men was not always in the Word. This life

' rbj' irepl t^s ■jrpovoias \6yov. Life, might not be incredulous as to so he says. The Hom. coiitinues: " Life, many things having conie from Him the Evangelist says, in order that we For as, &c."

VER. 4. ST. JOHN. 19

of men was made, in that It was the light of men ; and this light of men could not be before man was; the light of men being understood rclatively to men ''. And therefore he says, That which was made in the Word was life ; not Tliat which was in the "Word was life. Some copies read, not araiss, " That which was made, in Ilim is life." If we understand the life in the Word, to bc He who says below, ' I aw the John n, life,' we shall confcss that nonc who believe not iu Christ ' ' ' live, and that all who live not iu God, are dead.

And thc life was thc light of men.

Theopiiyl. Ile had said, In Ilim icas life, that you might Theopii. not suppose that the "Word was without hfe. Now he shews '" '^^' that that hfe is spiritual, and the light of all reasonable crea- tures. And the life icas the lii/ht ofmen: i.e. not sensible, but intcllcctuul hglit, illuminatiiig the vcry souh Aug. Life Aup. in of itsclf givcs illuminatiou to mcn, but to cattlc not : for j °J" ^^' they have not rational souls, by wliich to disccru wisdom ; whcreas man, bcing made iu the image of God, has a rational soul, by which he cau discern wisdom. IIcucc that life, by which all things are made, is hght, not howcver of all animals whatsoevcr, but of mcn. Theophyl. Ile saith not, the Light of the Jcws ouly, but of all mcn : for all of us, in so far as we have received intellcct aud reason, from that AVord wliicli crcatcd us, arc said to bc ilhiminatcd by llim. Tor thc rcason which is givcn to us, and which con- stitutes us the rcasonablc bcings we arc, is a hght dirccting us what to do, and what not to do. Oiugen. Wc must not orip:. orait to noticc, that hc puts the life bcfore the liyht of men. "°" ""• For it would be a contradiction to suppose a being without life to be illuminatcd ; as if hfe wcre an addition to illu- mination. But to procced : if the life was the liyht of men, tom. ii. mcaning men only, Christ is the hght and the lifc of meu '^' only ; an heretical supposition. It does not follow then, whcn a thing is predicated of any, that it is predicatcd of those only ; for of God it is writtcn, that Ile is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ; aud yct Ile is not the God of thosc fathcrs only. In thc same way, the li(jht of men is c. 17. not excludcd from bcing the hght of others as wclh Some

*" ToC (puTOi Tuv &i'0pu>n(a)i' KaTo, T^v TTphi avdpwiTots a^tdLV vooviiivou.

c 2

20 CUSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. I.

Gen.1.26. moreover contend from Genesis, Let us make man after our image, that man means whatever is made after the image and similitude of God. If so, the light of men is the light of any rational creature whatever.

5. And the light shineth in darkness.

Aug. Tr. AuG. Whereas that hfe is the Hght of men, but fooHsh

^- "^- ^^- hearts cannot receive that hght being so encumbered with

sins that they cannot see it ; for this cause lest any should

think there is no Hght near them, because they cannot see it,

he continues : And the light shineth in darkness, and the

darkness comprehended it not. For suppose a bHnd man

standing in the sun, the sun is present to him, but he is ab-

sent from the sun. In Hke manner, every fool is bhnd, and

wisdom is present to him ; but, though present, absent from

his sight, forasrauch as sight is goue : the truth being, not

that she is absent from him, but that he is absent from her.

Orig. in Origen. This kind of darkness however is not in men by na-

fiT'i4 ^^^^> according to the text in the Ephesians, Ye were some-

F.nh.5, 8. time darkness, buf now are ye light in the Lord^. Origen.

iiom. il. Oj' thus, The light shineth in the darkness of faithful souls,

iiiaiv. loc. 1 j^icolai, for this passage wliich is IVe were sometime darhiess, but now

incorrectly given, substitutes the ibl- light in the Lord ; although we be in

lowing. (Origeu, tom. ii. c. 13. in some degree holy and spiritual. Who-

Joh.) " Now if the Hfe is one with the soever was sometime darkness, did, as

light of men, none who is in darkness Paul, become darkness, altliough being

lives, and none who lives is in dark- capable and framed such as to be made

ness; since every one who lives is also light in the Lord. And again, The

in light, and conversely, whoever is in light of men is our Lord Jesus Clirist,

light, also Hves. Again, as in thus dis- Who manifested Himself in human na-

coursing on contraries, we may under- ture to every rational and intelligent

stand the contraries to them which are creature, and opened to the hearts of

omitted, and life, and the light of men, the laitlifui tlie mysteries of His Di-

are the subjects of our discourse; and vinity, in Which He is equaj to the

the contrary of life is death, and the Fatlier ; according to the Apostle's

contrary of the light of men is thedark- saying, (Eph. 5, 8,) Ye were some-

ness of men : we may perceive, that time darkness, but now are ye light

whoever is in darkness, is also in death, in the Lord. Hence the Hght shineth

and he who does the works of death, is in darkness, because tlie wlioie human

certainly in darkness; whereas he wlio race, not by iiature but as the desert

does the things which are of the Hght, of original sin, was in the darkness of

that is, he whose works shine before ignorance of Ihe trutli ; but after His

men, and who is mindful of God, is Birth of the Virgin, Clirist shineth in

not in death, as we read in Ps. vi. He the hearts of those who discern Him.

is not in death who remembereth Thee. But because there are some who still

[Vulg. Quoniam non est in morte qui abide in the most profound darkness

niemor sit tui. Eng. T., In death no of impiety and deceit, the EvangeHst

nian remembereth Thee.] But whether adds, And the darkness coinprehended

men's darkness and death are so byna- it not ; as though he would say, The

ture or not, is another consideration. Light," &c.

VER. 5. ST. JOHN. 21

begimnng froin faith, and drawiugonwards to liope ; but the

deceit and ignorance of undisciplined souls did not com-

prehend the light of the Word of God shining in the flesh.

That however is an ethical meaning. The metaphysical

signification of the words is as follows. Huraan nature, evea

tliough it sinned not, could not shine by its owu strength

siraply; for it is not naturally light, but only a recipicnt

of it; it is capable of containing wisdom, but is not wisdom

itself. As the air, of itself, shineth not, but is called by the

aarae of darkness, even so is our nature, considered in itself,

a dark substance, which however adraits of and is made par-

takcr of the light of wisdora. And as whcn tlie air receives

the sun's rays, it is not said to shine of itself, but the sun'3

radiance to be apparcnt in it; so tlie reasonable part of our

nature, while posscssing the presence of the Word of God,

does not of itself understand God, and intellectual things,

but by raeans of the divine light irapLinted in it. Thus,

The liyht shineth in darkness : for the Word of God, the life

and the light of raen, ceaseth not to shine in our nature ;

though regarded in itself, that nature is without form and

darkness. And forasrauch as pure light cannot be corapre-

heudcd by any crcaturc, hcnce the tcxt : The darkness com-

prehended it not. Chrys. Or thus : throughout the whole ciiryR.

foregoiug passage hc had bcen spcaking of crcation ; then nvTc.*

he racntions thc spiritual bcncfits which the Word brought

with it : And the life was thc liyht of men. 11 e saith not,

the light of Jcws, but of all racn without cxccption; for not

thc Jews only, but thc Gcntilcs also havc conic to this know-

lcdge. The Angels he omits, for he is speaking of humau

nature, to whora the Word carac briugiug glad tidiugs.

OiuGEN. But thcy ask, why is not tlic Word Itsclf callcd Orip.

the light of raeu, instead of the life which is in the Word? J"'')'^"^^

\Ve reply, that the life hcre spoken of is not that which ra- c lu,

tional and irrational aniraals havc in coraraon, but tliat whicli

is anncxed to the Word which is within us through partici-

pation of the primaeval Word. For we must distinguish the

cxternal and false lifc, frora the desirable and true. Wc are

first madc partakcrs of life : and this Ufe with sorae is hght

poteutially only, not in act ; with those, viz. who are not

eager to search out thc thiugs which appertain to know-

22 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. I.

ledge: witli others it is actual ligbt, those who, as the Apostle saith, covet earnestly the best gifts, that is to say, the word of wisdom. {U^ the life and the light of men are the same, whoso is in darkness is proved not to live, and none who liveth abideth in darkness.) Chrys.* Life having come to us, the empire of death is dissolved ; a light having shone upon us, there is darkness no longer : but there re- maineth ever a life which death, a light which darkness cannot overcome. Whence he continues, And the light shineth in darkness : by darkness meaning death and error, for sensible Hght does not shine in darkness, but darkness must be removed first; vvhereas the preaching of Christ shone forth amidst the reign of error, and caused it to disappear, and Christ by dying changed death into life, so overcoming it, that those who were already in its grasp were brought back again. Forasmuch then as neither dcath nor error hath overcome His light, which is every where conspicuous, shining forth by its own strength; thercfore he adds, And the darkness comprehended it not^. Origex. As the light of men is a word expressing two spiritual things, so is darkness aLo. To one who possesses the light, we attribute both the doing the deeds of the light, and also true understanding, inasmuch as he is illuminated by the light of knowledge : and on the other hand, the term darkness we apply both to uulawful acts, and also to that knowledge, which seems such, but is not. Now as the Tather is light, and in Ilim is no darkness at all, so is the Saviour also. Yet, inasmuch as He underwent the similitude of our sin- ful flesh, it is not incorrectly said of Him, that in Him there was some darkness ; for He took our darkncss upon Him- self, in order that He might dissipate it. This Light there- fore, which was made the life of man, shines in the darkness of our hearts, when the prince of this darkness wars with the human race. This Light the darkuess persecuted, as is clear

'' Nicolai omits this clause, as not that life which is received by creation,

being Origen's, nor fittiiig in with but that perpetual and immortal life

what precedes and substitutes, " which which is prepared for us by the Provi-

is afterwards followed by the word of dence of God." Life having, &c.

knowledge, &c." " i. e. could not get hold of it ; for

' Nicolai inserts from S. Chrys., in Chrysostom adds, " it is too strong to

order to make the connection clear, be contended with." " The word ' life ' means here not only

VER. 6 — 8. ST. JOHN. 23

from Tvhat our Saviour and His children suffcr ; the dark-

ness fighting against the children of light. But, forasrauch

as God takes up the cause, they do not prevail ; nor do they

apprehend the light, for thcy are either of too slow a nature

to overtake the light's quick course, or, waiting for it to

come up to tliem, they are put to flight at its approach.

We should bear in mind, however, that darkness is uot

ahvays uscd in a bad sense, but sometiracs in a good, as in

Psalm xvii. He made durkness Ilis secret place : the things Ps. 18, 11.

of God being unknown and incomprehcnsible. This dark-

ness thcn I will call praiscwortliy, siuce it tends toward light,

and lays hold on it : for, tliough it wcre darkucss bcfore,

while it was not known, yet it is turned to light and know-

ledge in him who has learned. Auo. A ccrtaiu Platonist Aup:.

... de Civit.

once said, that the beginning of this Gospel ought to be 13^1, 1. x. copied in letters of gold, and phiccd in the most conspicuous '^: ^^- place in every cliurch. Bede. Tlie other Evangehsts de- ikde, scribc Christ as born in time ; John witnesseth that Ile was '" °*^" in the bcginning, saying, In the beginniny was t/ie Jford. The othcrs describe Ilis sudden appcarance among men ; he witnesscth that Ile was evcr with God, saying, And the irord was wilh (Jod. Thc othcrs provc llim vcry man ; he very God, saying, And tlie Uord icas God. Thc others cxhibit Ilim as man conversing with mcn for a season ; he prououuccs llira God abidiug with God in the begiuning, saying, The Same was in the bcginning ivith God. The othcrs rclate the grcat dccds wliich IIc did amongst men ; he tliat God the Fatlicr made evcry creature tlirough Ilim, saying, All things were made by Ilini, and without Ilini was not a)nj thi/tf/ niade.

6. Thcre was a man scnt from God, whose name was John.

7. The same came for a witness, to bear witncss of the Light, that all mcn tlu-ough him niight bclieve.

8. He was not that Light, but was sent to bcar witness of that Light.

AuG. What is said abovc, rcfcrs to the Divinity of Christ. Aup. Tr. He camc to us iu thc form of man, but mau in such scnsc, as "" ^'

24 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CIIAr. I.

that the Godhead was concealed within Him. And therefore there was sent before a great man, to declare by his witness that He was more than man. And who was this ? He was a man. Theophyl. Not an Angel, as many have held, The

Aug. Evangelist here refutes such a notion. Aug. And how could

'^'^*"' he declare the truth concerning God^ uuless he were sent

Chrys. from God. Chrys. After this esteera nothing that he says

?°!|^" ^V as human ; for he speaketh not his own, but His that sent him. And therefore the Prophet calls him a messenger, 1

Mal. 3, 1. send My messenger, for it is the excellence of a messenger, to say nothing of his own. But the expression, was sent, does

Isai. 6, 1. not mean his entrance into life, but to his office. As Esaias was sent on his commission, not from any place out of the world, but frora where he saw the Lord sitting upon His high and lofty throne ; in like manner John was sent from the

John },33. desert to baptize ; for he says, He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, JJpon Whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Ilim, the same

Aug:. is He which baptizeth with the Holij Ghost. Aug. What was he called ? whose name icas John ? Alcuin. That is, the grace of God, or one in wliora is grace, who by his tes- tiraony first raade known to the world the grace of the New Testraent, that is, Christ. Or John may be taken to meau to whom it is given : because that through the grace of God, to him it was givcn, not only to herald, but also

Aug. Tr. to baptize the King of kings. Aug. Wherefore came he ? The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light.

Oriir. t. ii. Origen. Somc try to undo the testiraonies of the Prophets to Christ, by saying that the Son of God had no need of such witnesses ; the wholesorae words which He uttered and His miraculous acts being sufficient to produce belief ; just as Moses deserved belief for his speech and goodness, and wanted no previous witnesses. To this we may reply, that, where there are a number of reasons to make people beUeve, persons are often impressed by one kind of proof, and not by auother, and God, Who for the sake of all men became man, can give them many reasons for belief in Him. And with respect to the doctrine of the Incarnation, certain it is that some have been forced by the Prophetical writings into an adrairatiou of Christ by the fact of so

VER. G — 8. ST. JOHX. 25

many prophets having, before His Advent, fixed the place of Ilis uativity; and by other proofs of the sarae kind. It is to be remembered too, that, though the display of miraculous powers might stimulate the faith of those who lived in the same age with Christ, they miglit, in the lapse of time, fail to do so; as some of them might even get to be regarded as fabulous. Prophecy and miracles to- gether are more convincing than simply past miracles by themselves. We must rccollect too that meu receivc honour themselves from the witness which they bear to God. He deprives the Prophetical choir of immcasuraljle honour, who- ever denies that it was their office to bear witness to Clirist John when he comes to bear witness to thc light, follows in the train of tliose who went before him. Ciirys, Not be- C.rys. cause the light wanted the testimony, but for the reason (-v^t";,,*'' which John himsclf gives, viz. that all mijht believe on Ilim. Joh. c i. For as He put on flesh to save all men from death ; so He sent before II im a human preacher, that thc sound of a voice like their own, might the rcadier draw men to Ilim. Beue. Bede Ile saith not, that all men should believe in him ; for curserf j" ^ °*j'7 §_ be the man that trusteth in man ; but, that all men throuijh hhn might believe ; i. e. by his tcstimony bclievc in tlic Liglit. Theophyl. Though some however might uot bclieve, he is not accountable for them. When a man shuts himself up in a dark room, so as to reccive no light Irom the sun's rays, he is the cause of the deprivation, not the sun. In like manner John was sent, that all meu might believe ; but if no such result followed, he is not the cause of tlie failure. Chrys. Forasmuch howcver as with us, the one wlio wit- Chrys, nesses, is commonly a morc iraportant, a raorc trustworthy injoj,^'* pcrson, than tlie one to whora he bears witness, to do away c. 1. with any such notion in thc present case thc Evangelist pro- cceds ; Ile was not that Li(/ht, but was sent to bear witness of that Liyht. If this were not his intcntion, in repeating the words, to bear witness of the Liyht, the addition would be supcrfluous, and rather a vcrbal repetition, than the explana- tiou of a truth. Theophyl. But it will bc said, that we do not allow Joiin or any of the saints to be or ever to have heeu light. The diffcrence is this : if we call any of the saiuts light, wc put light «ithout thc aiticlc. So if askcd

26 GOSPEL ACCOKDING TO CHAP. I.

whether John is light, without the article, thou mayest allow without hesitation that he is : if with the article, thou allow it not. For he is not very, original, Hght, but is only called so, on account of his partaking of the light, which cometh from the true Light.

9. That was the true Light. which lighteth every man that cometh iiito the world.

Aug. AuG. What Light it is to which John bears witness, he

in Joan. ghews himself, saying, That was the true Light. Chrys. Or

chrys. thus ; having said above that John had come, and was sent,

Hoin. in ^Q jjgg^j. witness of the Light, lest any from the recent coming

[vi.j 1. of the witness, should infer the same of Him who is wit-

nessed to, the Evangehst takes us back to that existence

which is beyond all beginning, saying, That ivas the true

Aug, Light. AuG. Wherefore is there added, true ? Because man

/ii^^Job" enhghtened is called hght, but tlie true Light is that which

§ 7. hghtens. For our eyes are called hghts, and yet without

a lamp at niglit, or the sun by day, these hghts are open

to no purpose. ^Vherefore he adds : which lighteneth every

man : but if every mau, then John himself. He Himself

then enHghtened the person, by whom He wislied Himself

to be pointed out. And just as we may often, from the re-

flexiou of the sun's rays on some objcct, know the sun to

be risen, though we cannot look at the sun itself ; as even

feeble eyes can look at an illuminated wall, or some object

of that kind : even so, those to whom Christ came, beinir

too weak to behold Him, He threw His rays upon John ;

John confessed the illumination, and so the Illuminator Him-

self was discovered. It is said, that cometh into the world.

Had man not departed from Him, he had not had to be

enhghtened; but therefore is he to be here enhghtened,

because he departed thence, when he might have been en-

ThLopi). hghtened. Theophyl. Let the Manichsean blush, who pro-

in loc. nounces us the creatures of a dark and mahgnant creator :

for we should never be enhghtened, were we not the chikh-en

Cbrys. of the true Light. Chrys. Where are those too, who deny

^■^'c. 2. -^^"^ ^^ ^® ^^"^y ^^^ "^ ^e see here that Ile is called very

Light. But if He hghteneth every man that cometli into

VER. 10. ST. JOHN. 27

the world, how is it that so many have gone on without

light? For all have not known the worship of Christ.

The answer is : He only enlighteneth every man, so far as

pertains to Him. If men shut their eyes, and will not re-

ceive the rays of this light, their darkness arises not from

the fault of the light, but from their owu wickedness, inns-

much as they voluntarily deprive themselves of the gift of

grace. For grace is poured out upon all ; and they, who

will not enjoy the gift, may impute it to their own bhndness.

AuG. Or the words, Ughteneth every man, may be understood .\\.\g. de

to mean, not that there is no one who is not enlightened, pt^Kemiss!

but that no one is enlightened except by Him. Bede. In- >• ^- x^v.

cluding both natural and divine wisdom ; for as no one can

exist of himself, so no one can be wise of himself. Ohigen. OHg.

Or thus : we must not uuderstand the words, lighicnelh every i,j°j"v\ jqc

man tliat cometh into the tcorld, of the growth from hidden

seeds to organizcd bodies, but of the entrance into the in-

visible worhl, by the spiritual rcgcneration and gracc, which

is given in Baptism, Those theu the true Light lighteneth,

who come into the world of goodness, not those who rush

iiito the world of sin. Theophyl. Or thus : the intellect Thoopii.

whicli is givcn in us for our dircction, and wliich is callcd '"

natural reason, is said here to be a light given us by God.

But some by the ill usc of their rcason havc darkcncd

themselves.

10. He was in thc world, and the world was made by Him, and thc world kncw Ilim not.

AuG. The Light which lighteneth every raan that cometh Aug. Tr.

in Joan ii. c. 8.

into the worhl, came hcre in tlie flcsh ; bccause wliile lle 1|' "'"^"

was hcre in His Uivinity alone, the foolish, bhud, and un- rigliteous could not discern Him ; those of whora it is said above, The darkness comprehended it not. Hence the text ; Jle was in the ivor/d. Origen. For as, whcn a person lcaves q^- off speaking, his voice ceases to be, and vanishes ; so if the Hom. 2, ircavcnly Fatlicr sliouhl cease to speak His Word, the effect ot that Word, i.e. the universe which is created in the Word, shall cease to exist. Auo. You raust not suppose, however, Aug. Tr. that lie was in the world in the same sense in which the "• '^- ^^*

28 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. I.

earth, cattle, men, are in the world; but in the sense in

which an artificer controls his own work; whence the text,

And the world was made by Him. Nor agaiu did He make

it after the mauner of an artificer ; for whereas an artificer

is external to what he fabricates, God pervades the workl,

carrying on the work of creation in every part, and uever

abseut from any part; by the presence of Ilis Majesty He

both makes aud coutrols what is made. Thus He was in the

Ciirys. world, as He by Whom the world was made. Chrys. And

•^*Joan agaiu, because He was in the world, but not coeval with the

viii. c. 1. world, for this cause he introduced the words, and the world

was made by Him : thus taking you back again to the eternal

existence of the Only-Begotten. For when we are told that

the whole of creation was made by Him, we must be very

dull not to acknovvledge that the Maker existed before the

Theoph. work. Theoph YL. Hcre hc ovcrthrows at oucc thc iusaue no-

'" "'^* tion of the Mauichsean", who says that the world is the work

of a maliguaut creature, aud the opiuion of the Arian, that

Au^. Tr the Son of God is a creature. Aug. But what meaneth this,

ii! c. 11. ^^^^ world was made by Him ? The earth, sky, and sea, and

all that are therein, are called the world. But in another

sense, the lovers of the world are called the world, of whom

he says, And the world knew Him not. For did the sky, or

Augels, not know their Creator, Whom the very devils con-

fess, Whom the whole universe has borne witness to? Who

then did uot know Him ? Those who, from their love of the

world, are called the world ; for such live in heart in the

world, wliile those who do not love it, have their body in the

Phil.3,20. world, but their heart in heaven; as saith the Apostle, our

conversation is in heaven. By their love of the world, such

men merit being called by the name of the place where they

live. And just as in speaking of a bad house, or good house,

we do not mean praise or blanie to the walls, but to the

inhabitants ; so when we talk of the world, we mean those

Chrys. ^ho livc therc in the love of it. Chrys. But they who were

c. 8. 5Q. ' the friends of God, kuew Him eveu before His presence in

the body ; whence Christ saith below, Your father Abraham

rejoiced to see My day. When the Gentiles then interrupt

us with the question, Why has He come in these last time&

" So Theoph. Other copies have " of Marcion."

VER. 11 — 13. ST. JOHN. 29

to work our salvation, having neglected us so long ? we reply, that He was in ihe world before, superintending what He had made, and was known to all who were worthy of Him ; and that, if the world knew Him not, those of whom the world was not worthy knew Him. The reason foUows, why the world knew Him not. The Evangelist calls those men the world, who are tied to the world, and savour of worldly things; for there is nothing that disturbs the mind so much, as this melting with the love of present things.

11. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.

12. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name :

13. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the w^ill of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Chrys. When he said that the world knew Him not, Chrys.

Hom. i Joan.ix.l.

he referred to the times of the old dispcnsation, but what ^°'"- '"

follows lias reference to the tirae of His preaching ; Ile came unto His own. Aug. Because all things were made by Him. Aug. in Theophyl. By Ilis oivn, understand either the workl, or ■^°''"' Judffia, which Ile had clioscn for His iuheritance. Chrys. chrys. Ile came then uuto His own, not for His own good, but for J^°'I'v^- the good of others. But whence did HeWho fills all things, and is every where present, come ? Ile carae out of conde- scension to us, though in reahty He had been in the world all along. But the world not secing Ilim, because it knew Him not, He deigned to put on flesh. And this manifes- tation and condescension is called His advent. But the merciful God so contrives His dispensations, that we may shine forth in proportion to our goodncss, and therefore Ile will not compel, but invites men, by persuasion and kind- ness, to come of their own accord : and so when He came, some received Ilim, and others received Ilira not. He desires not an unwilUng and forced service ; for no one who comes unwilUngly devotes Himself wholly to Ilim. Whence what follows, And Ilis own received Him not. He here calls Hom. ix.

[viii.] 1.

Joan- ii. 12,

30 GOSPEL ACCORDING TQ CHAP. I.

the Jews His own, as being His peculiar people ; as indeed

are all raen in some sense, being made by Him. And as

above, to the shame of our common nature he said, that the

world which was made by Him, knew not its Maker; so

here again, indignant at the ingratitude of the Jews, he

brings a heavier charge, viz. that His own received Him not.

Aug. Tr. AuG. But if none at all received, none will be saved. For

no one will be saved, but he who received Christ at His

coming; and therefore he adds, As many as received Him.

Ciirys. Chrys. Whcther they be bond or free, Greek or Barbarian,

Joan x" ^^^^ o^ unwise, women or men, the young or the aged, all

[ix.] 2. are made meet for the honour, which the Evangelist now

proceeds to mention. To them gave He power to become

Aug. Tr. the sons of God. Aug. O amazing goodness ! He was born

"' ' the Only Son, yet would not remain so ; but grudged not to

admit joiut heirs to His inheritance. Nor was this narrowed

Chrys. by raany partaking of it. Chrys. He saith not that He made

rixl 2^^ them the sons of God, but gave them power to become the

sons of God : shewing that there is need of much care, to

preserve the image, which is formed by our adoptioa in

Baptism, untarnished : and shewing at the same time also

that no one can take this power from us, except we rob our-

selves of it. Now, if the delegates of worldly governments

have often nearly as much power as those governments them-

selves, much more is this the case with us, who derive our

dignity from God. But at the same time the Evangelist

wishes to shew that this grace coraes to us of our own will

and endeavour : that, in short, the operation of grace being

supposed, it is in the power of our free will to make us the

sons of God. Theophyl. Or the meaning is, that the most

perfect sonship will only be attained at the resurrection, as

Rom. 8, saith the Apostle, JFaiting for the adoption, to wit, the re-

demption of our hody. He tlierefore gave us the power to

become the sons of God, i.e. the power of obtaining this

Chrys. grace at some future time. Chrys. And because in the

^"'•'^" ' matter of these ineffable benefits, the giving of grace belongs

to God, but the extending of faith to man, He subjoins,

even to those who believe on His name. Why then declarest

thou not, John, the punishment of those who received Him

not ? Is it because there is no greater punishment than that,

VER. 14. ST. JOHN. 31

wlien the power of becoming the sous of God is ofFered to

men, they should not beconie such, but voluntarily deprive

themselves of the dignity? But besides this, inextinguish-

able fire awaits all such, as will appear clearly fartlier on.

AuG. To be made then the sons of God, and brothers of Aug. Tr.

Christ, they must of course be born ; for if thcy are not "' ^*'

born, how can they be sons? Now the sons of men are born

of flcsli and blood, and the will of man, and the embrace of

wcdlock; but how tJicse are born, the next words dcclare:

Not of bloods ^ ; that is, the male's and the female's. Bloods i i^ alfia-

is not correct Latin, but as it is plural in the Greek, the "^"^

translator preferred to put it so, though it be not strictly

grammatical, at the same time explaining the word in order

not to offend thc weakncss of onc's hearers. Bede. It shoukl

be understood that in holy Scripture, blood in the plural

uumber, has the signific:ition of sin: thus in thc Psalms, i»s. 51, ii.

Deliver mefrom blooduuiltiness^. Auo. In that whicli follows, Aug. Tr

Nor of the ivill of the flesh, nor of the will of man, the flcsh "' '

is put for thc fciuale ; bccause, when she was made out of

the rib, Adam said, This is now bune of my bone, and flesh of Gcn. 2,23.

nuj flcsh. The flesh thcrcfore is j^ut for thc wife, as the

spirit somctimcs is for the husband ; bccause that thc one

ouglit to govcrn, thc otlicr to obey. For what is there worse

tlian an house, whcre the woman hath rulc ovcr tlic man ?

But tliese that we spcak of are born ncithcr of the will of the

flcsh, nor the will of man, but of God. Bepe. The carnal

birth of men dcrivcs its origin from the embracc of wcdlock,

but the spiritual is dispeuscd by tlie gracc of the Iloly

Spirit. CiiKYS. Tlic Evangchst makcs this dcchxration, that Chrys.

being taught the vileness and iufcriority of our former birth, nxi 3*

which is through blood, and thc will of the flcsli, and undcr-

standing the loftiucss aud uoblcucss of tiie sccoud, which

is through gracc, we might hence receive great knowledge,

worthy of bciug bcstowcd by Ilim who bcgat us, and aftcr

this slicw forth luuch zcal.

14. And the Word was madc flesb, and dwelt among us.

AuG. Ilaving said, Born of God ; to prevent surprisc and Aug. Tr

ii 15 P Plur. in the Vulg. as in tlie Heb.

32 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. I.

trepidation at so great, so apparently incredible a grace, as that men should be born of God; to assure us, he says, And the IVord was made flesh. Why marvellest thou then that men are born of God? Know that God Himself was Chrys. born of man. Chrys. Or thus, after saying that they were flcTi.'"' born of God, who received Ilira, he sets forth the cause of this honour, viz. the Word being made flesh, God's own Son was made the Son of Man, that He might make the sons of men the sons of God. Now when thou hearest that the Word ivas made flesh, be not disturbed, for He did not change His substance into flesh, which it were indeed im- pious to supposej but remaining what He was, took upon Him the form of a servant. But as there are some who say, that the whole of the incarnation was only iu appearance, to refute such a blasphemy, he used the expression was made, meaning to represent not a conversion of substance, but an assumption of real flesh. But if they say, God is omnipotent; why then could He not be changed into flesh? we reply, that a change frora an unchangeable nature is Aug. de a contradiction. Aug. As our word i becomes the bodily ^ "^on" ^^- \ voice, by its assamption of that voice, as a means of de-

C. 20. (XI.) ' J r >

veloping itself externally ; so the Word of God was made

flesh, by assuming flesh, as a means of manifcsting Itself

to the world. And as our word is made voice, yet is not

turned into voice ; so the Word of God was made flesh, but

never turned into flesh. It is by assuming another nature,

not by consuming theraselves in it, that our word is made

P. iii. voice, and the Word, flesh. Ex Gestis Conc. Eph. The dis-

Theod. course which we utter, which we use in conversation with

Ancyr. each othcr, is incorporeal, imperceptible, impalpable; but

Dom. clothed in letters and characters, it becomes material, per-

ceptible, tangible. So too the Word of God, which was

naturally invisible, bccomes visible, and that comes before

us in tangible form, which was by nature incorporeal.

in Joan. Alcuin. Whcn wc think how the incorporeal soul is joined

^' ^- to the body, so as that of two is made one raan, we too shall

the raore easily receive the notion of the incorporeal Divine

substance being joined to the soul in the body, in unity ot

person; so as that the Word is not turned into flesh, nor

1 See above, p. 1—3.

VER. 13. ST. JOHN". 33

tlie flesh into the "Word; just as the soul is not turned iuto body, nor the body into soul.

Theophyl. Apollinarius of Laodicea raised a heresy upon Thenph. this text ; saying, that Christ had flesh only, not a rational ^" soul ; in the place of which His divinity directed aud con- trollcd His body. Aug. If men are disturbed however by its Au». con. bcing said that the IVord ivas made flesh, without meution Ari.!n. of a soul ; let them know that the flesh is put for the wliole ^- ^- C^-) man, the part for thc whole, by a figure of speech ; as in the Psalms, Unto Thee shall all flesh come ; and again in Romans, Ps. G.5, 2. By the dceds of the law there shall no flesh be justifled. In Rom. 3, tlie same sense it is said here that the Word was made flesh ; meaning that the Word was made man. Theophyl. The Theopii. EvangeUst intends by making mcntion of the flesh, to shew the unspeakable condcscension of God, and lcad us to admire His compassion, in assuming for our salvation, what was so opposite and incongenial to His nature, as the flesh : for tlie soul has some propinquity to God. If the Word, however, was madc fle.oh, and assuraed not at the same time a human soul, our souls, it would follow, would not be yet rcstorcd : for what He did not assume, He could not sanctify. "SVhat a mockcry thcn, when thc soul first sinned, to assume and sanctify the flesh only, leaving the weakest part untouched ! Tliis tcxt ovcrthrows Nestorius, who assertcd that it was not the vcry Word, even God, Who the Sclf-sarac was made man, being conceived of the sacred blood of the Airgin : but that the Virgin brouglit forth a man cndowcd with cvery kind of virtue, aud that the Word of God was unitcd to him : thus making out two sons, one born of the Virgin, i.e. man, the othcr born of God, that is, the Son of God, united to that man by grace, and relation, and lovc "■. In opposition to him the Evangehst dcclarcs, that the very Word was made !Man, not that the Word fixing upon a rightcous man united Himself to him. Cyril. The Word uniting to Himself a body Cyril. ad of flcsh animated with a rational soul, substantially, was in-

' The union of the two Natures in to describe a "nearness" of tlie Man-

our Lord, Kara (tx*'''"'. or ffxeTifci) hood, as united cxlerually, by dignity,

avv&(peia, in the Nestorian heresy, or likeness of honour, or unity of will,

stands opposed to tlie belief of their or good pleasure, or love, or aflcction,

"natural" tVoiais (pvaiKi] in one Per- or power, instead of being " taken info

8on. ffxfcris is used for " relation, God." See Petav. de lucarn. iii. 3. cognafeness, affection, conjunction,"

VOL. IV. D

34 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. I.

effably and incoraprehensibly made Man, and called the Son of man, and that not according to the will only, or good- pleasure, nor again by the assumption of the Person alone. The natures are different indeed which are brought into true union, but He Who is of both, Christ the Son, is One ; the difference of the natures, on the other hand, not being de-

Theopli. stroyed in consequence of this coalition. Theophyl. From

in V. 14. ^^g ^g^^^ j,^^ Word was made flesh, we learn this farther, that the Word Itself is man, and being the Son of God was made the Son of a woman, who is rightly called the Mother

Hil. X. of God, as having given birth to God in the flesh. Hilary.

c.^21^2'2. Some, however, who think God the Only-Begotten, God the Word, Who was in the bcginning with God, not to be God substantially, but a Word sent forth, the Son being to God the Father, what a word is to one who utters it, these men, in order to disprove that the Word, bcing substantially God, and abiding in the form of God, was born the Man Christ, argue subtilly, that, wliereas that Man (they say) derivcd His life rather from human origin than from the mystcry of a spiritual conccption, God the W^ord did not make Himself Man of the womb of thc Virgin ; but that the Word of God was in Jesus, as the spirit of prophecy iu the Prophets. And they are accustomed to charge us with hokling, that Christ was born a Man, not^ of our body and soul; wlicreas we preach the Word made flcsh, and after our likeness born Man, so that He Who is truly Son of God, was truly born Son of man ; and that, as by His own act IIc took upon Him a body of the Virgin, so of Himself He took a soul also, which in no case is derivcd frora man by mere parental origin. And seeing He, The Self-same, is the Son of man, how absurd were it, besides the Son of God, Who is the Word, to make Him another person besides, a sort of pro- phet, inspired by the Word of God ; whereas our Lord Jesus

Chrys. Christ is both the Son of God, and the Son of man, Chrys.

Joan.xi! ^*^^^ from it being said, however, that the Word was made

[x.] 2. flesh, you should infer improperly a change of His incor- ruptible nature, he subjoins, And dwelt among us. For that which inhabits is not the same, but different from the habit-

' 'Non'is omittedin sorneMSS.; but throughout guards against Sabellian- S. Hilary in writing against the Arians, ism. — Ben.

VER. 14. 6T. JOHN. 35

ation : different, I say, in nature ; though as to uuion and conjunctiou, God the Word aud the flcsh are ouc, without coufusion or extiuction of substaucc. Alcuin. Or, dwelt among us, means, lived amougst men.

14. And we saw His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, fuU of grace and truth.

CuRYS. Ilaving said that we are madc thc sons of God, ciirjs. and in no other way than because the Word was made flesh ; r^""]'"!'^"' he mentions another gift, A?id we saw His ghry. AViiich glory wc should uot have scen, had Ile uot, by Ilis alliaucc with humauity, bccorac visible to us. For if thcy could not endure to look on the glorified face of Moses, but there was nccd of a vcil, how could soilcd and earthly creaturcs, hke ourselves, have borue thc sight of uudisguiscd Divinity, which is not vouchsafed even to the higher powers themselves. Aug. Aug. in Or thus; iu that the IVord was made JJesJi and dwelt among :'."■''"• ^*"' us, Ilis birth bccame a kiud of oiutraeut to anoint thc eyes of our heart, that we might through His humanity disceru Ilis majesty ; aud thcrcforc it follows, And ive saw Ilis glort/. No oue could sce Ilis glory, who was not hcalcd by the hu- raiHty of the flesh. For there had flown upon man's eye as it were dust from thc earth : the eye had bcen diseascd, aud earth was scnt to hcal it agaiu ; the flcsh liad bhndcd thcc, the flcsh rcstorcs thee. The soul by couscutiug to carual afi^ections had become carnal ; heuce the eye of the miud had bccn blindcd : thcn the physiciau madc for thce oint- mcnt. Ile camc iu such wise, as that by thc flcsli IIc de- stroyed the corruptiou of the flesh. Aud thus the JFord WdS made flesh, that thou mightcst bc aljlc to say, We saw Jlis glory. Cukvs. Ile subjuius, As of the Only-Begotten o/chrys. the Father : for many prophets, as ]\Ioses, Ehjah, and others, j o°"'^?j workcrs of miracles, had becu glorified, and Angcls also who [xi.J l appcared uuto men, shiuiug with the brightncss belougiug to thcir naturc ; Chcrubim aud Seraphim too, who wcrc seeu in glorious array by the prophets. But the Evangelist with- drawiug our minds from tlicse, and raising thcra above all uature, aud evcry pre-emiueuce of fellow-servauts, lcads us up to the summit Himself; as if lie said, Not of prophct, or

d2

36 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. I.

of any other man, or of Angel, or Archangel, or any of the higher powers, is the glory which we beheld ; but as that of the very Lord, very King, very and true Only-Begotten Son. Greg. In Scripture language as, and as it were, are some- times put not for likeness but reality ; whence the expression, As of the Only-Begotten of the Father. Chrys. As if he said : We saw His glory, such as it was becoming and proper for the Only-Begotten and true Son to have. We have a form of speech, like it, derived from our seeing kings always splendidly robed. When the dignity of a maa's carriage is beyond description, we say, In sliort, he went as a king. So too John says, We saw His glory, the glory as of the Only- Begotten of the Father. For Angels, whcn they appeared, did every thing as servants who had a Lord, but He as the Lord appearing in humble form. Yet did all creatures recognise their Lord, the star calHng the Magi, the Angels the shepherds, the child leaping in the womb acknowledgcd Him : yea the Father bore witness to Him from heaven, and the Paraclete descending upon Him : and the very universe itself shouted louder than any trumpet, that the King of heaven had come. For devils fled, diseascs were healed, the graves gave up the dead, and souls were brought out of wickedness, to the utmost height of virtue. What shall one say of the wisdom of precepts, of the virtue of heavenly

Origen. laws, of thc cxcellent institution of the angclical life ? Ori-

Hom. 2. gj,jj p^ii QJ' gyace and truth. Of this the meaning is two- fold. For it may be understood of the Humanity, and the Divinity of the Incarnate Word, so that the fulness of grace has reference to the Humanity, according to which Christ is the Head of the Church, and the first-born of every creature : for the greatest and original example of grace, by which man, with no preceding merits, is made God, is manifesteci primarily in Him. The fulness of the grace of Christ may also be understood of the Holy Spirit, whose sevenfold opera-

Is, 11,2. tion filled Christ's Humanity. The fulness of truth applies

to the Divinity But if you had rather understand

the fulness of grace and truth of the New Testament, you may with propriety pronounce the fulness of the grace of the New Testament to be given by Christ, and the truth of

VoTSc ^^^^ ^^o^^ ^IV^^ to have been fulfiUed in Him. Theophyl.

VER. 15. ST. JOHN. 37

Or, full of grace, inasmuch as His word was gracious, as saith David, FuU of yrace are Thy lips ; and truth, because Ps. 45, 3. what Moses and the Prophets spoke or did in figure, Christ did in reaUty.

15. John bare witness of Him, and cried, saying, This was He, of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.

Alcuin. He had said before that there was a man sent to bear witness; now He gives definitely the forerunner's own tcstimony, which plaiiily declarcd tlie exccUence of Ilis Iluman Nature and the Eternity of His Godhead. John bare witness of Him. Chrys. Or He introduces this, as Chrys, if to sav, Do not suppose that we bear wituess to this out .^""'' of gratitudc, because we were with Him a long time, and xiii. [xii.]

.12 3

partook of Ilis table ; for John who had never seen Ilira ' ' before, nor tarried with Him, bare witness to Him. The Evangchst repeats John's testimony many tiracs herc and there, because lie was hcld in such adrairatiou l)y thc Jcws. Other Evangehsts refer to the old prophets, and say, This was done that it ini(j}it be fulfilkd ivhich was spoken hy the prophet. But he iutroduces a loftier, and later witness, not intending to make the servant vouch for the master, but only condesccnding to thc weakness of his liearcrs. For as Christ would not have bcen so readily reccived, liad Ile not taken upon Hira tlie forra of a servant ; so if Ile had not excited the attention of servants by the voice of a fcllow- scrvaut bcforchand, tliere wouhl not have been raany Jews crabracing the word of Christ. It follows, And cried ; that is, preached with openness, with freedora, without reservation. He did not howcvcr begin with assertiiig that this one was the natural only-bcgotten Son of God, but criecl, saying, This was He of whom I spake, Ue that cometh after me is pre- ferred hefore me, for Ile tcas before me. For as birds do not teach thcir young all at once to fly, but first draw thcm outside the nest, and afterwards try them with a quicker motion ; so John did not immediately lead the Jews to high things, but began with lesscr flights, saying, that Christ was bcttcr than hc ; which in the mean time was no httlc ad-

38 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. T.*

vance. And observe how prudently he introduces his testi- raony ; he not only points to Christ when He appears, but preaches Hini beforehand ; as, This is He of whom I spake. This would prepare men's minds for Christ^s coming; so that when He did come, the humility of His garb would be no impediraent to His being received. For Christ adopted so hurable and coramon an appearance, that if men had seen Hira without first hearing John's testimony to His great- ness, none of the things spoken of Him would have had any effect. Theophyl. He saith, Who cometh after me, that is, as to the time of His birth. John was six raonths before Clirys, Christ, according to His humanity. Chrys, Or this does Hom. xiii. ^Q^ ^g^j, ^^ ^j^g birth frora ]Mary ; for Christ was born, when

|_XU.J t>.

this was said by John ; but to His coming for the work of

preaching. He then saith, is made * before me ; that is, is

raore illustrious, raore honourable ; as if he said, Do not

suppose rae greater than He, because I came first to preach.

Theopli. Theophyl. The Arians infer from this woid ^, that the

iV^-ywe»' ^o^ ^^ ^°^ ^^ "^^ bcgotten of the Fathcr, but madc like

Aug. any other creature. Aug. It does not raean — He was made

in Joan. j r -r itt- pi f^

Tr. 3, before I was macle; but iJe is preterred to rae. Chrys. ^}^^y^- ... If the words, made before me, referred to His coraing into

Hom, xni, . ,

[xii.] 3. being, it was superfluous to add, For Ile was before me. For who would be so foolish as not to know, that if He was made before him, Ile was before him. It would have been more correct to say, He was before me, because He was raade before me. The expression then, He was made before me, must be taken in the sense of honour : only that which was to take place, he speaks of as having taken place already, after the style of the old Prophets, who commonly talk of the future as the past.

16. And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

17. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Oiig, Origen. This is to be considered a continuation of the

t"vi. s"' ^^Pt^sfs testimony to Christ, a point which has escaped

' 'yi-yoviv. Vulg., factus : Eng, T., preferred.

VER. 16, 17. ST. JOHN. 39

the attention of many, who think that from this to, He v. i8. hath declared Him, St. John the Apostle is speaking. But the idea that on a sudden, and, as it would seem, unseason- ably, the discourse of the Baptist shoukl be interrupted by a speech of the disciple's, is inadmissible. And any one, able to follow the passage, will discern a very obvious con- nexion hcre. For having said, He is preferred before me,for Ile ivas before me, he proceeds, From this I know that Ile is bcfore me, bccausc I aud the Prophets wlio preceded me have received of Ilis fuluess, and grace for grace, (the second grace for the first.) For they too by the Spirit penetrated beyond the figure to the contemplation of the truth. And hence rcceiving, as we have done, of Ilis fuluess, we judgc that the law was givcn by Moses, but that grace and truth were made ^, by Jesus Christ — made, not giveu ; the Father » iyivfro: gave the law by Moses, but made grace and truth by Jesus. y^''^^ But if it is Jesus who says bclow, / am the Trutlt, how is caino. truth made by Jesus? We must understand however that °'" ' ' the vcry substautial Truth'-', from which First Truth and Its 2 „1-70- Image mauy truths are engravcn on those who trcat of tlie "^'J^**» truth, was not made through Jcsus Christ, or through any one; but only thc truth which is in individuals, such as in raul, e. g. or the other Apostlcs, was made through Jesus Christ. CiiRYS. Or thus ; John the Evangelist herc adds chrys, his tcstimony to that of John thc Baptist, sayiug, And of '" '"'■*": Ilis fidness have ive all received. Thcse arc not the words [xiii.J 1. of the forcruuncr, but of the disciplc ; as if he mcant to say, AVe also the twclvc, and thc wholc body of the faithful, both prcscnt and to come, liavc reccivcd of Ilis fulness. AuG. But what have ye rcccivcd? Grace for grace. So Aup. that wc arc to understand that we have rcceived a certain 1^"^ j"* * something from Ilis fulncss, and ovcr aud above this, grace l- 8. for grace ; that we have first rcccivcd of Ilis fulncss, first grace ; and again, we have received gracc for gracc. What grace did we first rcceive ? Faith : which is callcd grace, bccause it is givcn freely '\ This is tlie first gracc thcn which ^ gratis the sinncr rcccivcs, the rcmission of his sins. Agaiu, wc have grace for grace ; i. e. instead of that grace in which we live by faith, wc are to reccive another, viz. life etcrnal : for life etcrual is as it weru thc \va<ies of faith. Aiul thus as

40 GOSPEL ACCORDmG TO CHAP. T.

faith itself is a good grace, so life eternal is grace for grace. There was not grace in the Old Testament ; for the law threatened, but assisted not, commandedj but healed not, shewed our weakness, but reheved it not. It prepared the way however for a Physician who was about to corae, with the gifts of grace and truth : whence the sentence which follows : For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth were made by Jesus Christ. The death of thy Lord hath de- stroyed death, both temporal and eternal; that is, the grace

Chrys. which was promised, but not contained, in the law. Curys.

^""V ... -, Or we have received grace for grace ; that is, the ncw in the

xi V. 1X1111

sparsim. placc of thc old. For as there is a justice and a justice bc- sides, an adoption and another adoption, a circumcision and another circumcision ; so is there a grace and anothcr grace ; only the one being a type, the other a reality. Ile brings in the words to shew that the Jews as well as ourselves are saved by grace : it being of mercy and grace that they re- ceived the law. Next, after he has said, Grace for grace, he adds something to sheAV the magnitude of the gift ; For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth were made by Jesus Christ. John whcn comparing himself with Clirist above had said, He is preferred before me : but the Evan- gehst draws a comparison between Christ, and one much more in admiration with the Jews than John, viz, Moses. And observe his wisdom. He does not draw the comparison between the persons, but the things, contrasting gracc and truth to the law : the latter of which he says was given, a word only applying to an administrator; the former madc, as we should speak of a king, who does every thing by iiis power : though in this King it would be with grace also, be- cause that with power He remitted all sins. Now His grace is shewn in His gift of Baptism, and our adoption by the Holy Spirit, and many other things ; but to have a better insight into what the truth is, we should study the figures of the old law : for what was to be accomplished in tlie New Testament, is prefigured in the Old, Christ at His Coming filhng up the figure. Thus was the figure given by Moses, Aiipr. but the truth made by Christ, Aug, Or, we may refer grace ^^.j '^'"' to knowledge, truth to wisdom, Amongst the events of 2 1. [xix. ] time the highest grace is the uniting of man to God in One

VER. 18. ST. JOHN 41

Person ; in the eternal world the highest truth pertaias to God the AVord.

18. No man hath seen God at any time ; the only bcgotten Son, which is in thc bosom of the Father, IIc hath dcclared Him.

Origex. Heracleon asserts, that this is a declaration oforifr.

„ , _. . , , .,• iii Joan.

the disciple, not of the Baptist : an uureasonablc supposition ; ^ ^.j ^ ^. for if the words, 0/ Jlis fulness have ive all reccivcd, are thc Baptist's, does not the connection run naturaliy, that he re- ceiving of the gracc of Christ, thc sccond iu thc placc of the first grace, and confessing that the hiw was givcu by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ; understood hcre that uo man had seen God at any time, aud that the Ouly- BcgottcUjWho was in thc bosom of thcFathcr,had committed this dcchiration of Ilimself to Johu, aud all who with him had received of liis fulness? For John was uot the first who dcchircd Ilim ; for IIc Ilimself AVho was hcforc Abra- ham, tclls us, that Abraham rcjoiced to scc Ilis glory. Chrys. Chrys. Or thus; the Evangelist after shcwing the great superiority y]„'„"^ ' of Christ's gifts, comparcd witli those dispcnscd by Moses, [*'''•] wishcs in thc uext placc to supply an adcquate reason for the diffcreucc. Tlic ouc being a servant was made a miuistcr of a lesser dispensation : but the othcr Who was Lord, and Son of the King, brouglit us far hi^hcr tliings, beiug evcr co-existcnt with tlic Fatiicr, aud /w/ioldinr/ Ilim. Tlieu fol- lows, Ko inon /laih seeii God at any time, ^-c. Auo. What is Aug;. En. that tiicu whicli Jacob said, / havc scen Godfacc to face ; aud (°;p''\','7f that which is writtcu of Moscs, he tal/<ed with God face /o [n2.J c. face; and that which thc propiict Isaiah saith of himself, Oen. 32. / saw the Lord sitting upon a t/irone? Gui:o. It is plainly \'^^^q' giveu us to uudcrstaud hcrc, that whilc we arc iu this mortal Grcg. state, we can see God only through the mediura of certam jiorai. imases, not in the reahtv of Ilis own nature. A soul in- c. s*. flucuccd by thc gracc of tlie Spirit may see God through ccr- rcc 28. tain ligurcs, but cauuot pcuetrate into His absolute esscnce. Aud heuce it is that Jacob, who testifies tliat he saw God, saw nothing but an Augel : aud that Moscs, who talkcd witli God facc to facc, says, Stiew me T/nj waij, i/iai 1 may V.xai.

43

GOSPEL ACCORDING TO

CHAP. T.

Clirys, Hom. XV. [xiv.]

Hosea 12, 10.

Au<r. Ep. to Paulina sparsim. Matt. 5, 8. 1 Jolin 3.2.

Greg. xviii. Moral.

Aug. xii. on Gen. ad litte- ram c. 27.

2 Cor, 12, 2.

Greg.

xviii.

Aloral.

c. Si. 90.

vet.

xxxviii.

Aug. to Paul. c. iv,

know Thee : meaning that he ardently desired to see in the brightness of His own infinite Nature, Hira Whom he had only as yet seen reflected in images. Chrys. If the old fathers had seen That very Nature, they would not have contemplated It so variously, for It is in Itself simple and without shape ; It sits not, It walks not ; these are the qualities of bodies. Whence He saith through the Prophet, / have multiplied visions, and used simiUtudes, by the ministry ofthe Prophets : i.e. I have condescended to thera, I appeared that which I was not. For inasmuch as the Son of God was about to manifest Himself to us in actual flesh, men were at first raised to the sight of God, in such ways as allowed of their seeing Him. Aug. Now it is said, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God ; and again, When He shall appear, we shall be like unto Him, for we shall see Him as He is. What is the meaning then of the words here : No man hath seen God at any time ? The reply is easy : those passages speak of God, as to be seen, not as already seen. They shall see God, it is said, not, they have seen Him : nor is it, we have seen Him, but, we shall see Uim as He is. For, No man hath seea God at any time, neither in this life, nor yet in the Angelic, as He is ; in thc sarae way in which sensible things are perceived by the bodily vision. Greg. If however any, while inhabiting this corruptible flesh, can advance to such an imraeasurable height of virtue, as to be able to discern by the contemplative vision, the eternal brightness of God, their case aff^ects not what we say, For whoever seeth wisdora, that is, God, is dead wholly to this life, being no longer occupied by the love of it. Aug. For unless any in sorae scnse die to this life, either by leaving the body altogether, or by being so withdrawn and alienated frora carnal perceptions, that he may well not know, as the Apostle says, whether he be in the body or out of the body, he cannot be carried away, and borne aloft to that vision, Greg. Sorae hold that in the place of bliss, God is visible in His brightness, but not in His nature. This is to indulge in over rauch subtlety. For in that siraple and unchangeable es- sence, no division can be made betvveen the nature and the brightness. Aug. If we say, that the text, No one " hath seen

" ouSeJs: Vulg,, nemo: E. T., no man.

VER. 18. ST. JOHN. 43

God at any time, applies only to meu ; so that, as the Apo- stle raore plainly interprets it, IVhom no inan hath seen nor i Tim. can see, no one is to be undcrstood here to mean, no one o/ ' ' men : the question may be solved in a way not to contradict what our Lord says, Their Angels do always behold iheface Matt. of My Father ; so that we must believe that Angels sec, what ^' ^^* no one, i.e. of men, hath ever scen. Greg. Some however Greg. there are who conceive that not even the Angels see God. w'"',

o Moral.

CiiRYs. That very existcucc which is God, ncithcr Prophets, c. 54. nor cven Angels, nor yet Archangcls, have seen. For en- xxxviul * quire of the Angels ; they say nothing concerning His Sub- t^iTys. stance; but sing, Glury to God in the hiyhesf, and Peace on (xiv.) 1, ' earth to men of good will. Nay, ask even Cherubim and Luke 2, 1. Seraphim ; thou wilt hear only in reply the mystic melody of devotion, and that hcaven and earth are full of His glory. is. 6, 3. AuG. Which indccd is true so far, that no bodily or evcn Auo:. to mental vision of man hath cver embraced the fuhicss of God ; c. 7. for it is one thing to see, another to embrace the whole of what thou secst. A thing is secn, if only the sight of it bc caught ; but we only scc a thing fully, when we havc no part of it unseen, wlicn we see round its extreme limits. Chrvs. In this completc scnsc only the Son and tlie Holy Chrys. Ghost scc thc Fathcr. For how can crcated nature sce that Hom! xV. which is uncreated ? So tlien no man knoweth the Father as t^'^-3 *• the Son knowcth Him : and licnce what follows, The Only- Begotten Son, 11' ho is in tlie bosom of the Father, Ile hath declared Ilim. That we might not be led by the identity of the namc, to confound Him with the sons made so by grace, thc articlc is anncxcd in the first placc ; and thcn, to put an cnd to all doubt, the name Only-Bcgotten is introduccd. HiLARY. Thc Truth of His Nature did not sccm sufficiently H'.'- ''« cxplaincd by thc name of Son, uulcss, in addition, its pccu- ^d. liar force as propcr to Him were cxpresscd, so signifying its distinctness frora all beside. For in that, besides Son, hc calleth Hira also the Only-Begotten, he cut off altogether all suspicion of adoption, the Nature of the Only-Begotten guarautccing the truth of the name. Curys. He adds, Chrys. (fhich is in the bosom of the Father. To dwell in thcr^jyjgr bosom is much more than simply to see. For he who sees simply, hath not thc knowlcdge thoroughly of tluit which

44 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. T.

he sees ; but he who dwells in the bosom, knoweth every thing. When you hear then that no one knoweth the Father save the Son, do not by any means suppose that He only knows the Father more than any other, and does not know Him fully. For the Evangelist sets forth His residiug in the bosora of the Father on this very account: viz. to shew us the intimate converse of the Only-Begotteu, and His Aug. in coeternity with the Father. Aug. In the bosom of tlie Father, Joan. Tr. • -^ ^j^^ sccrct Presencc ^ of the Father : for God hath not

111. c. 17.

* secreto thc fold ^ on the bosom, as we have ; nor must be imagined to sit, as we do ; nor is He bound with a girdle, so as to have a fold : but from the fact of our l)osom being placed inner- raost, the secret Presence of the Father is callcd the bosom of the Father. He then who, in the secret Presencc of the Father, knew the Father, the same hath declared what He saw.

Chrys, Chrys. But what hath He declared ? That God is one. But

rx*iv i 3^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ Prophcts and Moses proclaim : what else have we learnt from the Son Who was in the bosom of the Father? lu the.first place, that those very truths, which the others declared, were declared through the operation of the Only-Bcgottcn : in the next place, we have received a far greater doctrine frora the Only-Begottcn ; viz. that God is a Spirit, and those who worship Hira raust worship Him in spirit and in truth ; and that God is the Father of thc Only-

Bede Begottcu. Bede. Farthcr, if the word declared have reference to the past, it must be considered that He, being made man, declared the doctrine of the Trinity in unity, and how, and by what acts we should prepare ourselves for the contemplation of it. If it have reference to the future, then it means that Ile will declare Him, when He shall introduce His elect to

Aug. Tr. the vision of Ilis brightness. Aug. Yet have there been men, who, deceived by the vanity of their hearts, maintained that the Father is invisible, the Son visible. Now if they call the Son visible, with respect to His connection with the flesh, we object not ; it is the CathoHc doctrine. But it is madness in them to say He was so before His incarnation ; i.e. if it be true that Christ is the Wisdora of God, and the Power of God. The Wisdora of God cannot be seen by the eye. If the huraan word cannot be seen by the eye, how can the

" KoXnhs, sinus, bosom, mean ofteu, 'fold of the garment on the bosom.*

c. 18.

VER. 19—23. ST. JOHN. 45

Word of God? Ciirys. The text then, No man hath seen Chrys. God at any iime, appHes not to the Father only, but also to [^xv."'iV'' the Son : for Ile, as Paul saith, is the Image of the invisible God ; but He who is the Iraage of the Invisible, must Him- self also be invisible.

19. And this is the record of John, whcn the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou ?

20. And hc confessed, and denied not ; but con- fcssed, I am not the Christ.

21. And they asked him, AVhat then ? Art thou EHas ? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that pro- phet ? And he answered, No.

22. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. Wliat sayest thou of thyself ?

23. He said, I am the voice of onc crying in the wildcrness, Makc straight the way of the Lord, as said thc prophet Esaias.

Origen. This is thc sccond testimony of John the Baptist orig. to Christ, the first began with, This is Ile of whom I spake ; ;j,;J°^"* and ended with, He hafh declarcd Ilim. Tiieophvl. Or, c. 29. aftcr the introduction above of John's tcstiraony to Ciirist, is i^ loc. preferred before me, the Evangehst now adds when the above testimony was given, And this is the record of John, when the Jews scnt priests and Levites from Jerusalem. Oiugkn. Thc Orig. Jews of Jerusalem, as beiug of kin to the Baptist, who was ^" Y* of the priestly stock, scnd Pricsts and Lcvitcs to ask him who he is; that is, men considcred to hold a supcrior rank c. 6. to the rest of their ordcr, by God's election, and coming from that favoured above all cities, Jerusak-ra. Such is the rcver- ential way in which thcy interrogatc John. We read of no such procccding towards Christ : but what the Jews did to John, John iii turn does to Christ, when he asks Ilim, through his disciplcs, Art thou Ile that should come, or look Luke wefor another? Chrys. Such confidcnce liad they in John, chrvs. that thev were rcady to bchcve him ou his owu wurds :'"•'"■"'• .

^ «^ Honi. XVI.

[xv.J

46 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. I.

Aug. Tr. witness liow it is said, To ask him, Who art thou ? Aug. They

"■ * would not have sent, unless they had been impressed by his

Orig. lofty exercise of authority, in daring to baptize. Origen.

tom.°vi. John, as it appears, saw from the question, that the Prieste

^- ^- and Levites had doubts whether it might not be the Christ,

who was baptizing; which doubts however they were afraid

to profess openly, for fear of incurring the charge of credulity.

He wisely deterraines therefore first to correct their mis-

take, and then to proclaim the truth. Accordingly, he first

of all shews that he is not the Christ : And he confessed,

and denied not ; but confessed, I am not the Christ. We may

add here, that at this time the people had already begun to

be impressed with the idea that Christ's advcnt was at hand,

in consequence of the interpretations which the lawyers had

collected out of the sacred writings to that efifect. Thus

Theudas had been enabled to coUect togcther a considerable

body, on the strength of his pretending to be the Christ ;

and after him Judas, in the days of the taxation, had done

Acts 5. the same. Such being the strong expectation of Chrisfs

advent then prevalent, the Jews send to John, intending by

the question, Who art thou? to extract from him whethcr

Greg. he were the Christ. Greg. He denied directly being what

vii. iii he was not, but he did not deny what he was : thus, by his

Evang. speaking truth, becoming a true member of Him Whose

Chrys. namc he had not dishonestly usurped. Chrys. Or take this

xvl" explanation : The Jews were influenced by a kind of human

[xv.] 1, sympathy for John, whom they were reluctant to see made

subordinate to Christ, on account of the many marks of

greatness about him ; his illustrious descent in the first place,

he being the son of a chief priest; in the next, his hard

training, and his contempt of the world. Whereas in Christ

the contrary were apparent ; a humble birth, for which they

Mat. 13, reproach Him ; Is not this the carpenter's son? an ordinary

way of living; a dress such as every one else wore. As John

then was constantly sending to Christ, they send to him,

with the view of having him for their master, and thiuking

to induce hira, by blandishraents, to confess himself Christ.

They do not therefore send inferior persons to him, ministers

and Herodians, as they did to Christ, but Priests and Levites ;

and not of these an indiscrimiuate party, but those of Jeru-

65

VER. 19 — 23. ST. JOHN. 47

salem, i. e. tlie more honourablc ones ; but tlicy send tliem with this question, to ask, JVho art thou 7 not from a wish to be informed, but in order to induce him to do what I have said. John replies then to their intention, not to their inter- rogation : And he confessed, and denied not ; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And observe the wisdom of the Evangelist : he rcpeats the same thing threc timcs, to shcw John's virtue, and the malicc and madncss of the Jews. For it is thc cha- ractcr of a devotcd scrvant, not only to forbear taking to him- self his lord's glory, but even, when numbers offer it to him, to rcject it. Thc multitude indecd believcd from ignorancc that John was thc Christ, but in thcse it was raahcc; and in this spirit they put thc qucstion to hira, thinking, by their blandishments to bring him ovcr to their wishes. For unless this had bccn thcir design, when he rcphed, / am not the Christ, they would have said, We did not suspect this ; we did not corac to ask this. AVhen caught, howevcr, aud dis- covercd in thcir purpose, they proceed to anothcr qucstion ; And they asked him, What then ? Art thou Elias ? Aug. Ang. in For thcy knew that EHas was to preach Christ ; the name jy*^^"'^/' of Christ not being unknown to any among the Jcws ; but thcy did not tliiuk that Ue our Lord was the Christ : and yet did not altogcther imagine that there was no Christ about to come. In this way, whilc looking forward to thc futurc, thcy raistook at tlic prcscnt.

And he said, I am not. * Gueg. These words gave risc to Oreg. a vcry diffcrcnt qucstion. In anothcr placc, our Lord, when ^jj"™' ,^ asked by Ilis disciplcs conccrning tlie coming of EUas, re- plied, If ye will receive it, this is Elias. But John says, Matt. / am not Elias. IIow is he thcn a prcaclier of the truth, if ' he agrees not with what that very Truth dcclarcs? Outgen. Orip-. in Some one will say that John was ignorant that he was EUas ; Jpan. tom.

•^ ® . VI. c. 7.

as those say, who maintain, from this passage, thc doctrine of a second incorporation, as though the soul took up a new body, after lcaviug its old one. For thc Jcws, it is said, asking John by the Levites and Priests, whether he is Elias, suppose the doctrine of a sccond body to be alrcady ccrtain j as though it rcstcd upon traditiou, and wcrc part of thcir secret system. To which question, however, John repUcs, / am not EUas ; not being acquainted with his own prior

48 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CIIAP. I.

existence. But how is it reasouable to imagine, if John

were a prophet enlightened by the Spirit, and had revealed

so much concerning the Father, and the Only-Begotten,

that he could be so in the dark as to hiraself, as not to

Oreg. know that his own soul had once belonged to Elias ? Greg.

in°Evan". But if wc examinc the truth accurately, that which sounds

c- *• inconsistent, will be found not really so. The Angel told

Luke Zacharias concerning John, He shall go before Him in the

' ' spirit and power of Elias. As Elias then will preach the

second advent of our Lord, so John preached Ilis first ; as

the former will come as the precursor of the Judge, so the

latter was made the precursor of the Redeemer. John was

Elias in spirit, not in person : and what our Lord affirms

of the spirit, John denies of the Person : thcre being a kind

of propriety in this ; viz. that our Lord to His disciples

should speak spiritually of John, and that John, in answering

the carnal multitude, should speak of liis body, not of his

Orig. in spirit. Origen. He answers then the Levites and Priests,

yW^T, ' I am not, conjecturing what their question meant ; for the

purport of their examination was to discover, not whether

the spirit in both was the same, but whether John was that

very EHas, who was taken up, now appearing again, as the

Jews expected, without another birthJ'. But he whom we

mentioned above as holding this doctrine of a re-incorpora-

tion, will say that it is not consistent that the Priests and

Levites should be ignorant of the birth of the son of so dig-

nified a priest as Zacharias, who was born too in his father's

old age, and contrary to all human probabilities : especially

Luke when Luke declares, that fear came on all ihat dwelt round

*' ^^' about them. But perhaps, since Elias was expected to ap-

pear before the coming of Christ near the end, they may

seem to put the question figuratively, Art thou he who an-

nouncest the comiug of Christ at the end of the world ? to

which he answers, / am not. But there i» in fact nothing

strange in supposing that John's birth might not have been

known to alh For as in the case of our Saviour many knew

Him to be born of Mary, and yet some wrongly imagined

_ y Origen argues again against the re- Apol. pro Orig. c. 10, pp. 45 46 ed incorporation from tliis sanie passage, de ia Kue. rtr , • •

in Matt. 1. vii. and xiii. § \. See Pampli.

VER. 19 — 23. ST. JOHN. 49

that He was Jolm the Baptist^ or Elias, or one of the Pro- hhets ; so in the case of John, sorae were not unacquainted with the fact of his being son of Zacharias, and yet some may have been in doubt whether he were not the Elias who was expected. Again, inasmuch as raany prophets had arisen in Israel, but one was especially looked forward to, of whom Moses had prophesied, The Lord thy God will raise up Deut nnto tliee a Prophet froin the midst of thee, of thy bretliren, lile ' "^" unio me ; unto Ilim shall ye hearken : they ask him in tlie tliird place, not simply whethcr he is a prophet, but with tlie article prcfixed, Art thou that Prophit ? For every one of the projihets in succession had signified to the pcople of Isracl that he was not the one whom Moses had prophesicd of; who, like Moses, was to stand in the midst betweeu God and man, and dcliver a testament, sent from God to Ilis disciples. Tlicy did not however apply this name to Clirist, but thought tliat Ile was to be a diflFereut person ; wliercas Jolin knew that Christ was that Prophet, and there- fore to this questiou, he ansicered, No. Aug. Or because Ang-. in John was more than a prophet : for that the prophets f^'!- iv.^c.s/' nounccd Ilim afar off, but John pointcd Ilim out actually prescnt.

Tlien said they nnto Jnm, JJlio art thon 7 that loe may yive an anstver to them that sent us. What saycst thou of thyself? CiiiiYS. You scc thcra here pressing hira still more ciirys. strongly with their qucstions, Mhile he on the other haud rxTi 2^^'* quietly puts down tlicir suspicions, where they are untrue, and establishes the truth in their pLice : saying, / am the voice of one crying in the wihlerness. Aug. So spoke Esaias : Aug. Tr. tlie prophecy was fulfillcd in John thc Baptist. Greg. Ye '^*^^^' know that the only-bcgottcn Son is callcd the AVord of the Hom. vii. Father. Now we know, in the case of our own uttcrancc, ^' ' the voice first sounds, and then the word is hcard. Thus John declares himself to bc the voicc, i.c. bccause he prc- cedes the AYord, and, through his ministry, the Word of the Father is heard by man. Origen. Ileracleon, in his dis- Orig. in cussion on John and the Prophcts, infers that because the^j°^"'i2. Saviour was the "SYord, and John the voice, thercfore the whole of the prophetic ordcr was only sound. To which we reply, that, if the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who

VOL. IV. E

39,

50 GOSPEL ACCORDIKG TO CTIAr. T.

sliall prepare hiraself for the battle? If tlie voice of pro-

pliecy is notliing but sound, why does the Saviour seiid us

John 5, to it, saying, Search the Scriptures ? But John calls himself

the voice, not that crieth, but of one that crieth in the wilder-

Jnhn 7, ness : viz. of Him Who stood and cried, If any mayi thirst,

let hini come unto Me and drink. He cries, in order that

those at a distance may hear him, and understand from the

loudness of the sound, the vastness of the thing spoken of.

in loc. Theophyl. Or because he declared the truth phiinly, while

Greg. all who were under the law spoke obscurely. Greg. John

inTv.^"' crieth in the wilderness, because it is to forsaken and desti-

^' 2- tute Judsea that he bears the consolatory tidings of a Re-

o ig. deemer. Origen. There is nced of the voice crying in the

!°ToYi. wildei-ness, that the soul, forsaken l)y God, raay be recalled

to making straight the way of the Lord, following no more

the crooked paths of the serpent. This has reference both

to the coiitemplative hfe, as enlightened by truth, without

mixture of falsehood, and to the practical, as following up

tlie correct perception by the suitable action. Wherefore he

adds, Make straiyht tJie ivay of the Lord, as saith the pro-

^"^^S- phei Esaias. Gpeg. The way of the Lord is made straight Hom. ^ .

vp. in to the heart, when the word of truth is heard with humi- kwing, j^-|.y . ^i^g ^^^^y ^^ ^ijg Lord is made straight to the heart, when the life is formed upon the precept.

24. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.

25. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet ?

26. John answcred them, saying, I baptize with water : but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not ;

27. He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

28. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Orig. in

VI. 0. 13. ' Origen. The questions of the priests and Levites being

VER. 2i— 28. ST. JOHN. 51

auswered, another mission comes from the Pliarisees : And tJiey that were sent were of the Pharisees. So far as it is allowable to form a conjecture from the discourse itself here, I should say that it was the third occasion of John's giviug liis witness. Observe the raildness of the former question, so bcfitting the priestly and levitical character, Who art thou ? There is nothing arrogant or disrespectful, but ouly what becomes true miuisters of God. The Pharisees however, being a sectarian body, as their name implies, addresses the Baptist in an importunate and contumelious way. And they said, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, neither Elias, neither that Prophet? not caring about in- formation, but only wishiug to prevent liim baptizing. Yet the very next thing they did, was to corae to John's baptism. The solution of this is, that they came not in faith, but hypo- critically, because they feared the pcople. Chkys. Or, those Clirys. very samc pricsts and Levites were of the Pharisees, and, ^""xvY^l bccause they could not undermine him by blandishments, began accusiug, after they had compelled him to say what he was not. And they asked him, sayiug, irhy baptizest thou then, if thou art not the Christ, neither Elias, neither ihat Prophet? As if it were aa act of audacity iu him to baptize, when he was neither the Clirist, nor His precursor, nor Ilis proclaimer, i. e. that Prophet. Greg. A saint, even Greg. when pcrvcrsely qucstioncd, is never diverted from the pur- vi[""n suit of gooclness. Thus Johu to thc words of envy opposes Evang. the words of life : Jolin answered theni, saying, I indeed baptize ivith iraier. Ouigex. For how would the questiou, Oiig. JVh?/ then bapiizest thou, be rcpHcd to in any other way, thau to,„.°vi." by setting forth the carnal nature of his own baptisni? c. 15. Greg. John baptizeth not with the Spirit, but with water; Greg. not being able to rerait sins, he washcs the bodies of the ^- j^ baptizcd with water, but not their souls with pardon. Why Evang. then doth he baptize, when he doth not remit sins by baptism? To maintain his character of forerunner. As his birth preceded our Lord's, so doth his baptism precede our Lord's baptism. And he who was the forerunner of Christ iu Ilis preaching, is forerunuer also in Ilis baptism, which was the imitation of that Saciaraent. Aud withal he au- nounces the mystery of our rcdemption, saying that He, the

e2

in Joan toin. vi

52 GOSPEL ACCORDTNG TO CIIAP. T.

Hedeemer, is standing in the midst of men, and tlicy kuow it not : There standeth one among you, ivhom ye know not ; for our Lord, wlien He appeared in the flesh, was visible in body, Chrys. but in majesty invisible. Chrys. One among you. It was ^^'' ^' fitting that Christ should mix with the people, and be one of the many, shewing every where His huraility. Whom ye know not; i. e. not, in the most absolute and certain sense; An<r. Tr. not, who Hc is, and whence He is. Aug. Tn His low estate iv. c. 9. j.jg ^^g ^q|. ggg^.j . g^^(j therefore the candle was lighted. in loc. TiiEOPHYL. Or it was, that our Lord was in the midst of the Pharisees; and they not knowing Him. For they thought that they knew the Scriptures, and therefore, inasrauch as our Lord was pointed out there, He was in the midst of them, i, e. in their hearts. But they knew Him not, inasrauch as they understood not the Scriptures. Or take another inter- pretation. He was in the midst of them, as mediator be- tween God and maii, wishing to bring them, the Pharisees, Orig. to God. But they knew Hira not. Ortgex. Or thus; Having said, / indeed bnptize ivith ivater, in answer to the 15. question, IJliy baptizest thou then .?— to the ncxt, Jf thou be not Christ? he replics by decharing thc pre-existent sub- stance of Christ; thatit was of such virtue, that though His Godhead was invisible, He was present to evcry one, and per- vaded the wholc workl ; as is conveyed in the words, There standeth one among you. For He it is, Who hath diffused Himself throngh the whole system of nature, insorauch that every thing which is created, is created by Hira ; all things were made by Ilim. 'Whence it is evident that even those who enquired of John, Vlnj baptizest thou then ? had Him among them. Or, the words, There standeth one among you, are to be understood of mankind generally. Por, from our character as rational beings, it follows that the word ^ cxists in the centre of us, because the heart, which is the spriug of motion within us, is situated iu the centre of the body. Those then who carry the word within them, but are igno- rant of its nature, and the source and beginning and the way in which it resides in them ; these, hearing the word within them, know it not. But John recognised Hira, and re-

* i. e. the ^.0705 eV afdpdoirois, reason j tlie word which is the image of the Word.

VER. 24 28. ST. JOHN. 53

proaclied the Pharisees, saying, WTiom ye know not. For,

though expecting Christ's coming, the Pharisees had formed

no lofty conception of Him, but supposed that IJe would

only be a holy man : wherefore he briefly refutes their igno-

rance, and the fal>e idcas tliat they had of Ilis excellence.

He saith, standeth ; for as the Father standeth, i. e. exists

without variation or change, so staudeth the Word ever ia

the work of salvation, though It assume flesh, though It be

iu the midst of men, though It staud invisible. Lest any

one however slioukl think that the iuvisible One Who cometh

to all men, and to the uuiversal world, is diifeieut froiu

Ilim Wlio was made man, and appearcd on the carth, he

adds, Ile tJiat cometh after me, i. e. Who will appear after

me. The after howevcr here has not the same meaning that

it has, whcn Christ calls us after Ilim ; for thcre we are told

to follow after Him, that by treadiug iu His steps, we may

attain to tlie Fathcr; but hcre the word is used to intimate

what shoukl foUow upou Johu's teachiug; for he came that

all may bekcve, having by his ministry beeu fittcd gradually

by lcsser thiugs, for the receptiou of thc pcrfcct Word.

Therefore he saith, Ile it is IFho cometh aftcr me. Chrys. chrys.

As if he said, Do not tliink that cverv thiuj' is coutaiucd in J^!'"^- ^/'/

my baptism ; for if my baptism wcrc perfcct, auothcr would

not comc aftcr mc with auother baptism. This baptism of

minc is but an iutioductiuu to tiie other, aud will soou

pass away, Hlce a slu\do\v, or an image. Thcrc is one coming

after me to cstablish the truth : aud therefore this is not

a perfcct baptisiu ; for, if it were, tiiere would be no room

for a secoud : and thcreforc he adds, Who is made before

mc : i. e. is more honourable, more lofty. Gkeg. Made be- Gre^j.

fore me, i. e. preferrcd bcfore mc. Ile comes after me, that .^'°'V' ^"*

. . / in Lv.

is, Ile is born aftcr mc ; He is madc before me, that is, He c 3. is prcfcrred to rae. Chkys. But lest thou shouklest thiuk chrys. this to bc tlie result of comparison, hc immediately shews ,^,"'"" V^' it to be a superiority beyond all comparison ; Whose shoe's latchet I am not ivorthy to unloose : as if hc said, He is so much bcfore me, that I am unworthy to be numbcrcd among thc lowest of Ilis attendauts : the unloosiug of the sandal being the very lowest kiud of scrvice. Auo. To have ^ug. prouounced himself worthy cvcu of uuloosing His shoe's '^^' '^*

54 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. I.

latchet, he would have been thinking too much of hiraself.

Greg. Or thus : It was a law of the old dispensation, that,

if a man refused to take the woman, who of right came to

him, to wife, he who by right of relationship came next to

be the husband, should unloose his shoe. Now in what cha-

racter did Christ appear in the world, but as Spouse of the

John 3, Holy Church ? John then very properly pronounced him-

self unworthy to unloose this shoe's latchet : as if he said,

I cannot uncover the feet of the Redeemer, for I claira not

the title of spouse, which I have no right to. Or the passage

may be explained in another way. We know that shoes are

made out of dead animals. Our Lord then, when Ile came

in the flesh, put on, as it were, shoes ; because in His Divinity

He took the flesh of our corruption, whercin we had of our-

selves perished. And the latchet of the shoe, is the seal

upon the mystery. John is not able to unloose the shoe's

latchet; i. e. even he cannot penetrate into the mystery of

the Incarnation. So he seems to say : What wonder that

He is prcferred before me, Whom, being born after me, I

contemplate, yet the mystery of Whose birth I comprehend

Orig. not. Orig. The place has becn understood not amiss thns

inJoan. ^J ^ certaiu person^; I am not of such importance, as thnt

' Hera- for my sake He should descend from this high abode, and

Chrys. ^^^^® ^esh upon Him, as it were a shoe. Chrys. Jolin hav-

Hom. ing preached the thing concerning Christ publicly and with

xvi.')i'.' becoming hberty, the Evangelist mentions the place of Ilis

in Joan. preaching : T/iese things were done in Bethany heijond Jordan,

where John was baptiziug. For it was in no housc or corner

that John preached Christ, but beyond Jordan, in the raidst

of a multitude, and in the presence of all whom he had

baptized. Some copies read more correctly Bethabara : for

Bethany was not beyond Joidan, or in the desert, but near

Jerusalera. Gloss. Or we raust suppose two Bethanies;

one over Jordan, the other on this side, not far frora Jeru-

salera, the Bethany where Lazarus was raised frora the dead.

Ciirys. Chrys. Hc racutions this too for another reason. viz. that Honj. xvii. i , .. ,.,,,, , ■,

as tie was relating events which had only recently happened,

he raight, by a reference to the place, appeal to the testi-

mony of those who were present and saw thera. Alcuin.

The meaning of Bethany is, house of obedience; by which

VER. 29—31. ST. JOHN. 55

it is intimated to us, that all must approach to baptism, through the obedience of faith. Orig. Bethabara means On>. house of preparation ; which agreeth with the baptism of J,"'^^'''" Him, who was making ready a people prepared for the Lord. Jordan, again, means, " their descent." Now what is this c. 25. river but our Saviour, through Whom coming into this earth ^ ^*^^" all must be cleansed, in that He came down not for His own sake, but for theirs. This river it is which separateth the lots givcn by Moses, from those given by Jesus ; its streams makc glad the city of God. As the serpent lies hid in thc c 29. Egyptian river, so doth God in thisj for the Father is in the Son. Whcrefore whosoever go thither to wash them- selves, lay aside the rcproach of Egypt, are made meet to .josima receive the iuheritance, are cleansed from leprosy, are made "^' " capable of a doublc portion of grace, and ready to receive 2 Kings the lioly Spirit; nor doth the spiritual dove light upon any ^^K^ngs other river. John again baptizes beijond Jordan, as the 2, 9. prccursor of Hira Who came not to call the rightcous, but siuners to repcntance.

29. The next day John seeth Jcsus coming to hiin, and saith, Bchold thc Lanib of God, which takcth avvay the sin of the world.

30. This is he of whom I said, After me comcth a man which is preferred before me : for He was be- fore rae.

3L And I knew Llim not : biit that He should be made manifcst to Isracl, thcrcfore am I come bap- tizing with water.

Origen. After this testimouy, Jesus is seen coming to Orig.

111.

30

John, not only persevering in his confession, but also advanced °'"' ^'" in goodness : as is intimated by the second day. Wherefore it is said, Tlie next da\j John seeth Jesus coming to hhn. Long before this, the Mothcr of Jesus, as soon as she had con- ceived Him, went to see the niother of John then pregnant ; and as soon as the sound of ]\Iary's salutation reachcd the ears of Ehsabeth, John leaped in the womb : but now the Baptist himself after his testimony seeth Jesus comiug. Men

56 GOSPEL ACCOR-DING TO CHAP. T.

are first prepared by hearing from others, and then see with their own eyes. The example of Mary going to see EUsabeth her inferior, and the Son of God going to see the Baptist, should teach us modesty and fervent charity to our inferiors. What place the Saviour came frora when Ile carae to tlie Baptist we are not told here ; but we find it in INIatthew, Matt. 3, Then cometh Jesus from GaVilee to Jordan unto John to (fiir s ^^ haptized of him. Chrys. Or; Matthew rclates directly Hom. xvii. Christ's coming to Ilis baptism, John Ilis coraing a second time subsequent to His baptism, as appears frora what fol- lows: I saiv the Spirit descending, ^c. The Evangclists have divided the periods of the history between thera ; Matthew passing over the part before John's iraprisonment, and has- tening to that event; John chiefly dwelHng on what took place before the imprisonraent. Thus he says, TJie next daij John seeth Jesus coming to him. But why did Ile comc to him the next day after His baptism? Having been baptized with tlie multitude, IIc wished to prevcnt any from thinking that He came to John for the same rcason that others did, viz. to confess His sins, and be washcd in tlic river unto rc- pentance. He cumes thcrefore to give Jolin an opportunity of correcting this mistake; which John accordingly did correct ; viz. by those words, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of ihe world. For He Who was so pure, as to be able to absolve other raen's sins, evidently could not have corae thither for the sake of confessing His own; but only to give John an opportunity of speaking of Hira. He came too the next day, that those who liad heard the former testimonics of John, miglit hear them again more plainly ; and other besides. Eor he saith, Behold the Lamb of God, signifyiug that He was the one of old sought after, and re- minding thera of the prophecy of Isaiah, and of the shadows of the Mosaic law, in order that through the figure he might Aiig. Tr. the easier lead them to the substance. Auo. If the Lamb

iv. c. 10. c rt ri • •

01 uod is innocent, and John is the lamb, must he not be innocent ? But all men come of that stock of which David Ps. 51, 5. sings sorrowing, Behold, L ivas conceived in wickedness. He then alone -was the Lamb, who was not thus conceived ;, for He was not conceived in wickedness, nor in sin did His mother bear Ilira in her womb, Whom a virgin conceived,

VER. 29 — 3]. ST. JOTIX. 57

a virgin brought forth, because that in faith she conceived, and in faith received. Origen. Biit whcreas five kinds Orig'. of auimals are offered in the teraple, threo beasts of the ^."'s.,^'* fiehl, a calf, a sliecp, and a goat ; and two fovrls of the air, et seq. a turtle dove aud a pigeou; and of the sheep kiud three are introduced, the ram, the ewe, the larab ; of these three he mentions only the larab ; the laml), as we know, being offered in the daily sacrifice, one in the morning, and one in the evening. But what other daily offering can there be, that can be meant to be offered by a reasonable nature, except the perfect Word, typically called the Larab ? This sacrifice, wliich is offered up as soon as the soul begins to be enlight- encd, shall be accouuted as a morning sacrifice, rcferring to the frequent exercisc of the mind iu divine thiugs; for thc soul cannot continually apply to tlie higlicst objccts bccausc of its union with an earthly and gross body. By tliis Word too, Wliich is Christ the Larab, we shall be able to reason on many things, and shall in a manncr attain to Ilim in thc cvening, while cngagcd with things of the body *. But He Who offered the lamb for a sacrifice, was God hid in liuman form, the grcat Priest, He who saitli bclow, Ko man tahtth \t Jolm lo, {}hj lift) from Me, but I luy it down of Mi/self: whcnce this ^^' name, the Lamb of God: for ITe carrying our sorrows, and isaiah taking away the sins of the whole world, hath uudcrgone ^^[yl[ 9 death, as it were baptism. ¥or God sufVcis no fault to pass 2+. uncorrcctcd; but punishcs it by the sharpest disciplinc. 50 ^ ' THEoriivL. Ile is called the Lamb of God, because God the in loc. Fathcr accepted ITis dcatli for our salvation, or, in othcr words, bccause IIc dclivcrcd Ilim up to dcath for our sakes. For just as wc say, Tiiis is the offcring of such a man, mcau- iug the offcring raade by hiai ; in the sarae scnse Clirist is

' Christ the AVord is our real da'Iy up spiritual thoughts, and this is still

sacrifice. Hecarries oii wiihin us what continued in ihe Clirislian, even al-

is outwardly typificd hy tlie Mosaic though by reason of tlie infirmity of the

rituah As in the Jewish temple the flesli, iie cainiot always ahicie in inedi-

day bep:an with the one conlinual sacri- tation on the Divinest things, yet is,

fice wliicli was carried oii by othcrs in in Clirist, eiigaged on niany uscfi:!

thciriii'"'! flirougli thc day, (vid. Orig. tliings; and so also when Ile conies

vi. c. 34,) tiil at last the evening sacri- even to the tliings of tiic body, in them-

fice put a close to all sacred services : selves a sort of evening and niglit to

so in our minds a sacrifice is ofTered up the soul, still doing them also in Christ,

to God wiien tlic Word (from Wlioin lie closes all in Clirist. otir word, i. e. reason, is derived) liglits

Moral. viii. c.

58 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. I.

called the Lamb of God Who gave His Son to die for our salvation, And whereas that typical lamb did not take away any man's sin, this one hath taken away the sin of the whole world, rescuing it from the danger it vvas in from the wratli

' Vuig. of God, Behold Him ^ H^ho taketh aivay the sin ofthe ivorld :

^ atecl^' he saith not, who will take, but, Who taketh away tlie sin of the world; as if He were always doing this. For He did not then only take it away when He suffered, but from that time to the present, He taketh it away; not by being always cru- cified, for He made one sacrifice for sins, but by ever wasli-

Greg, ing it by means of that sacrifice, Greg, But then only will 32 sin be entirely taken away from the liumau race, when our corruption has been turned to a glorious incorruptiou. We cannot be frec from sin, so long as we are hcld iu the death

Theoph, of tlic body. Theophyl. "Why does he say the sin of the world, not sins? Because he wished to express sin uni- versally : just as we say comraonly, that raan was cast out of paradise; raeaning the whole huraan race. Gloss, Or by the sin of the workl is raeant original sin, which is common to the whole workl : which original sin, as well as the sins of

Aug, Tr. every one individually, Christ by His grace remits, Aug.

l{' ' For He Who took not sin from our nature, Ile it is Wlio taketh away our sin, Some say, We takc away the sins of men, because wc are holy ; for if he, who baptizes, is not holy, how can he take away the other's sin, seeing he him- self is fuU of sin ? Against these reasoners let us point to the text ; Behold Nim Who taketh away the sin of the ivorld ; in order to do away with such presuraption in raan towards

Orig, man. Origen. As there was a conuection between the

c. 36. other sacrifices of the law, and the daily sacrifice of the lamb, in the sarae way the sacrifice of this Larab has its reflexion in the pouring out of the blood of the Martyrs, by whose patience, confession, and zeal for goodness, the

Theoph. machinations of the ungodly are frustrated. Theophyl. John having said above to those who carae frora the Pha- risees, that there stood one araong them whora they knew not, he here poiuts Hira out to the persons thus ignorant : This is He of wliom I said, After me cometh a man which is . preferred before me. Our Lord is called a man, in reference to His mature age, being thirty years old when He was bap-

VER. 29 31. ST. JOHN. 59

tized : or in a spiritual sense, as tlie Spousc of the Church ;

in which scnse St. Paul speaks, / have espoused yon to onc 2 Cor.

husbancl, that I may jjresent you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

AuG. He cometh after me, because He was born after rae : He Aug.

is made before me, because He is preferred to rae. Greg. Hc q^'

explains tlie reason of this superiority, in what follows : For Hom- vii.

He was before me ; as if his meaning was; And this is thc; ^. 3. '

rcason of His being superior to me, though born after me,

viz. that He is not circumscribed by the tirae of His nativity.

Hc Who was born of His mother in time, was bcgotten of

His Father out of time. TnEOPUYL. Attcnd, O Arius. Hc Theoph.

saith not, He was creatcd bcfore rac, but Ile was before mc.

Let the false scct of Paul of Saraosata attend. Thcy will

see that He did not derive His original existence frora ^lary ;

for if Hc derivcd thc bcgiuning of His being frora the Yirgin,

how could He have been bcfore His precursor? it bcing

cvident that the precursor preceded Christ by six raonths,

according to the huraan birth. CniiYs. That he might not Chrys.

seera howcvcr to give his testiraony irora any motive 01 (al. xvi.) 2.

friendship or kindred, in consequencc of his beiug related to

our Lord according to thc flcsh, lic says, I hnew Ilim not.

John could not of coursc know Him, having lived in tlie

dcsert. And the miraonlous cvcnts of Christ's childhood,

the journcy of thc ^lagi, and such likc, wcrc now a long tinic

past ; John liaving bcen qnite an infait, whcn thcy liap-

pcned. And throughout tlie whole of the intcrval, He had

bccn absolutcly unknown : insomuch that John procceds,

But that Ile should be made manifest to Isracl, thei^efore am

I «ome baptizing with ivater. (And hencc it is clcar that the

miracles said to havc been performed by Christ in His child-

hood, arc false and fictitious. For if Jesus had performed

miracles at tliis early age, hc woukl not havc bccn unknown

to Jolin, nor would thc multitudc have wantcd a tcachcr to

point Him out.) Christ Hiraself thcn did uot Mant bap-

tism ; nor was tliat washing for any othcr reason, than to

give a sign bcforchand of faith in Christ. For John saith

not, in ordcr to change raen, and deliver from sin, but, that

Ile should be made manifed in Israel, havc I come baptizing.

But woukl it not have been lawful for him to preach, and

bring crowds together, without baptizing? Yes: but this

60 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. I.

was the easier way, for he would not have colleeted such num-

Aug. Tr. bers, had he preached without baptizing. Aug. Now whcu

13 '^' ^^' our Lord became known, it was unnecessary to prepare a way

for Him; for to those who knew Him, He became His own

way. And therefore John^s baptism did not last loiig, but

Tr. V. c. 5. only so long as to shew our Lord's humihty. Our Lord

received baptism from a servant, in order to give us such

a lesson of humihty as might prepare us for receiving tlic

grace of baptism. And that the servanfs baptism miglit

not be set before the Lord's, others were baptized with it ;

who after receiving it, liad to rcccive our Lord's baptisni :

whereas those who first rcccived our Lord's baptism, diJ

not receive the servant's after.

32. And John bare rccord, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from hcaven like a dove, and it abodc upon Him.

33. And I knew Him not : but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see tbe Spirit descending, and re- maining on Him, the same is He which baptizetli with the Holy Ghost.

34. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

Chrys. Chrys. John having made a declaration, so astonishing

(aUxVn^'. ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ hearers, viz. that He, whom he poiuted out, did of

Himself take away the sins of the world, confirms it by

a reference to tlie Father and the Holy Spirit. For John

might be asked, How did you knovv Him ? Wherefore hc

rephes beforehand, By the descent of the Holy Spirit : And

John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from

Aug. de heaven like a dove, and it abode upon Him. Aug. This was

c. 46. (g!) ^^^ however the first occasion of Christ's receiving the

unction of the Holy Spirit : viz. Its descent upom Him at

His baptism ; wherein He condescended to prefigure His

body, the Church, wherein those who are baptized receive

pre-eminently the Holy Spirit. For it would be absurd to

suppose that at thirty years old, (which was His age, when

VER. 32 — 34. ST. JOHN. 61

Ile was baptized by John,) He received for the first tirae the Iloly Spirit : and that, when Ile came to that baptism, as He was without sin, so was He without the Holy Spirit. For if even of His servant and forerunner John it is written, He shall be filled loith the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's XDomh ; if he, though sprung from his father's seed, yet reccived the Holy Ghost, when as yet he was only formed in the womb ; what ought we to think and believe of Clirist, whose very flcsh had not a cariial but spiritual conception ? AuG. We do not attribute to Christ only the possession of Aug. d» a real body, and say that the Iloly Spirit assumed a false rf""' appearance to men's eyes : for the Holy Spirit could no tiano, c. more, in consistency with Ilis nature, deceive men, than coukl the Son of God. The Almighty God, Who made every creature out of nothing, could as easily form a real body of a dovc, without tlie instrumcntality of othcr doves, as Ile made a rcal body in the womb of the Virgin, without tlie seed of tlic male. Aug. The Iloly Ghost was made to ap- Ano:. pear visibly in two ways : as a dove, upon our Lord at Ilis j^" yj*"' baptism ; and as a flanic upon His disciples, when they were sparsim. met togethcr : the former shape denoting simplicity, the latter fervcncy. The dove intimates tliat souls sanctificd by the Spirit should have no guile ; the fire, that in that simplicity thcre should not be coldness. Nor let it disturb tlice, that the tongues are clovcn ; fear no division ; unity is assurcd to us in thc dove. It was meet thcn that thc Iloly Spirit should be thus manifcsted descending upon our Lord ; iu order that cvcry one who had thc Spiiit raight know, that hc ought to bc simple as a dove, and be in sinceic pcace with the brethren. Tlie kisscs of dovcs rcpresent this peace. llavens kiss, but they tear also; but thc nature of tiie dove is most alicn to tearing. Ravens feed on thc dcad, but the dove eats nothing but the fruits of the earth. If doves moan iu their love, marvcl not that IIc Wlio appcared in the likcness of a dove, thc Iloly Spirit, mnheth intercession for Rom. 8, us ivith groanings that cannot be uttered. The Holy Spirit '^^' however groaneth not in Ilirasclf, but in us : Ile maketh us to groan. And he who groancth, as knowing that, so long as he is undcr thc burdcu of this mortality, he is abseut from thc Lord, groaueth wcll : it is the Spirit tliat hath taught him

C2 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CIIAP. I.

to groan. But many groan because of eavthly calamities;

because of losses which disquiet them, or bodily sicknesses

which weigh heavily on them : they groan not, as doth the

dove. What then could more fitly represent the Holy

Spirit, the Spirit of unity, than the dove ? as He saith

Cant. 6, 9. Himself to His reconciled Church, My dove is one. What

could better express humility, than the simplicity and

moaning of a dove? Wherefore on this occasion it was

that there appeared the very most Holy Trinity, the Father

in the voice which said, Thou art My heloved Son; the

Matt. 28, Holy Spirit in the likeness of the dove. In that Trinity the

^■'' Apostles were sent to baptize, i.e. in the name of the Father,

Greg. and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Greg. He saith,

lil^Tgb) ^^ode vpon Him : for the Holy Spirit visits all the faithful. ;

but on the Mediator alone does He abide for ever in a pe-

culiar manner; never leaving the Son's Humanity, even as

He proceeds Himsclf from the Son's Divinity. But when

John 14, the disciples are told of the same Spirit, He shall dwcll with

^^* you, how is thc abiding of the Spirit a peculiar sign of

Christ? This will appcar if we distinguish between tlie

different gifts of the Spirit. As regards those gifts which

are necessary for attaining to life, the Holy Spirit ever abides

in all the elect ; such are gentlcness, humility, faith, hope,

charity : but with respect to those, which have for thcir

object, not our own salvation, but that of others, He does not

always abide, but sometimes withdraws, and ceases to exhibit

thera ; that men may be more humble in the possession of

His gifts. But Christ had all the gifts of the Spirit, un-

Clirys. interruptedly always. Chrys. Should any however think that

(!i xvn^' Christ really wanted the Holy Spirit, in the way that we do,

ii) Joan. he corrects this notion also, by iuforming us that the descent

of the Holy Ghost took place only for the purpose of mani-

festing Christ : And I knevj Him not : but He that sent me to

baptise with water, the same said ujito me, Upon whom Ihou

shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, the

Aiig. Tr. same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. Aug,

V. c. 1. j^^^^ ^^I^Q ggj^^ John? K we say the Father, we say true; if

we say the Son, we say true. But it would be truer to say,

the Father and the Son. How then knew he not Him, by

Whom he M^as scnt ? For if he knew not Him, by Whom he

v!:r. 3.2—34. ST. john. 63

wished to be baptizcd, it 'vvas rash in hitn to say, I have need to be baptized bij Tliee. So then he knew Ilim ; aud why saith he, I knew Rim not? Chrys. Whea he saith, I knew chrys. Him not, he is speakinor of time past, not of the time of his f^o""-x^'i'-

' ^ ° . (al.xvi.)c.

baptism, when he forbad nim, saying, / have need to be bap- 3. in Joan. tized ofThee, Aug. Let us turn to the other Evangehsts, who Aug. Tr. relate the raatter more clearly, and we shall find most satis- ^^-^ '^_ fiictorily, that thc dove descended when our Lord ascended sim. from the water. If then the dove descended after baptism, but John said before the baptisra, / have need to be baptized of Thee, he knew Ilim before Ilis baptism also, How then said he, / knew Ilim not, but He ivhich sent me to baptize ? "Was this the first revelation made to John of Chrisfs per- son, or was it not rathcr a fullcr disclosiire of what had bcen ah'eady revealcd ? Jolm knew the Lord to be the Son of God, knew that He would baptize with the Iloly Ghost : for before Clirist came to the rivcr, many having comc to;^etlier to hear John, he said uuto tliem, He that cometh Matt. 3. after me is migJitier than I: He shaJl baptize you with the Iloly Ghost and with fire. Wliat then ? He did not know that our Lord (lest Paul or Peter might say, my baptism, as wc fiud Paul did say, my Go.spel,) woukl have and rctain to Ilimself the power of baptism, the ministering of it however passiug to good and bad indiscrimiuately ^Yhat hindraucc is the badncss of the ministcr, wheu the Lord is good? So tlicn wc baptize again after John's baptism ; after a homicide's wc baplize not : because Johu gave his owu baptism, the liomicide gives Christ's ; wliich is so holy a sacramcut, that not even a horaicide's ministration can polhitc it. Our Lord could, had Ile so willcd, have givcu povvcr to auy servant of llis to give baptisra as it wcre in His own stead; aud to the baptisra, thus transferred to the servant, have imparted the same power, that it would have had, when given by Hiraself. J)Ut this Hc did uot choose to do ; that thc hope of thc bap- tized raight be directed to Him, Who had baptized them ; Ile wished not the servant to place hope in the servant. And aprain, had He given this power to servauts, tliere woukl have beeu as mauy baptisms as servauts ; as there liad bccn tlie baptism of John, so should we have had the baptism of Paul and of Pcter. It is by this power then, which Christ re-

64 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. T.

tains in His own possession exclusively, tliat tlie unity of tlie Cant. 6, 9. Church is established ; of which it is said, My dove is one. A man may have a baptisra besides the dove ; but that any Chrys. besides the dove should profit, is impossible. Chrys. The ur' '^3 ^^^^^^^ having sent forth a voice proclairaing the Son, the Holy Spirit came besides, bringing the voice upon the head of Christ, in order that uo one present might think that what was said of Christ, was said of John. But it will be asked : How was it that the Jews beheved not, if they saw the Spirit ? Such sights however require the mental vision, rather than the bodily. If those who saw Christ working miracles were so drunken wdth malice, tliat thcy dcnied what their own eyes had seen, how could the appearanco of the Holy Spirit in the forra of a dove overcome tiieir incre- duhty? Some say however that the sight was not visible to all, but only to John, and the more devotional part. But even if the descent of the Spirit, as a dove, was visible to the outward eye, it does not foUow that bccause all saw it, all understood it. Zacharias himself, Daniel, Ezechiel, and Moses saw many things, appearing to their senses, which no one else saw : and therefore John adds, And I saw and bare record that this is the Son of God. He had called Him the Lamb before, and said that He would baptize with the Spirit ; but Au^. Tr. 1^6 had nowhere called Him the Son before. Aug. It was necessary that the Ouly Son of God should baptize, not an adopted son. Adopted sons are ministers of the Only Son : but thougli they have the ministration, the Only oue alone has the power.

35. Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples ;

36. And looking upon Jesus as He walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God !

(.,,^yg_ CuRYS. Many not having attended to John's words at

lioin. first, he rouses them a second time : Again the next day xvii.)i. " o/^^^ John stood, and two of his disciples. Bede. John Eede. stood, bccause he had ascended that citadel of all excel- Vi^crii. s. ^snces, from which no temptations could cast him down : his A.ud. disciples stood with him, as stout-hearted followers of tlicir

vii. in Joan.

V£R 35, oG. ST. JOHN. 65

master. Curys. But wherefore went lie not all about, Chrys. preaching in every place of JudBea; instead of standiug near xviii. (ai. the river, waiting for His coming, that he might poiut Ilim ^^'''•) '^- ^- out ? Because he wished this to be done by the works of Christ Ilimsclf. And observe how much greater an effort M'as produced ; he struck a small spark, and suddeuly it rose into a flarae. Again, if John liad gone about and preached, it would have seemed hke human paitiahty, and great suspicion would have been excited. Xow the Pro- phets and Apostles all preached Christ absent ; the former before Ilis appearance in the flesh, the latter after His as- sumption. But He was to be pointcd out by the eye, not by the voice only ; and therefore it follows : And looking upon Jesus as He walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God ! Theophyl. Looking he saith, as if signifyiug by his looks his love aud admiration for Christ. Aug. John was tlie Ang. friend of the Bridegroom; he sought not his own glory, but J^'^^^' bare witucss to tlic truth. And therefore he wished uot his disciples to remain with him, to the hiudrance of their duty to follow tlie Lord ; but rather shewed tliem whom they should follow, sayiug, Behold Ihe Lamb of God. Chkys. Chrj's. He makes not a long discourse, having only one object be- ^^ylJ"']. fore him, to bring them and join them to Christ; knowing in Joan. that they would not any further need his witness. Johu c. 2. does not howevcr speak to his disciplcs alone, but publicly in thc prcscnce of aU. And so, undertaking to follow Christ, through this instruction common to all, thcy remaiucd thenccforth firm, foUowing Christ for tlicir own advuntagc, not as an act of favour to their master ^. John docs not exhort : he simply gazes in admiration on Christ, pointing out the gift >■ Ile came to bestow, the cleansing from sin : and the mode in which this would be accomplishcd : both of which the word Lanib testifies to. Lamb has the article afiixed to it, as a sign of pre-eminence. Auo. Tor He aloue Aug. Tr. and singly is the Lamb without spot, without sin ; uot be- cause His spots are wiped off, but because He never had

* rhv SiS&(TKa\oi/, i. e. Jolin. In the rhv rpSwov rov Kadapfj.ov. The Cat. has

Cat. is substituted "propter gratiam " pr.Tparationem propter quam venit

Christi." et mocium preparaiionis." Perhaps it

'' t))v Scupeav i(p' %v avveytvtTo Ka\ should be "purgationis."

VOL. IV. F

66 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. I.

a spot. He alone is the Lamb of God, for by His blood

c. 6. alone can men be redeemed. This is the Lamb whom the

wolves fear; even the slain Lamb, by whom the lion was

Bede. slain. Bede. The Lamb therefore he calls Him ; for that

He was about to give us freely His fieece, that we might

make of it a wedding garment ; i. e. would leave us an

example of Hfe, by which we should be warmed into love.

Alcuin. John stands in a mystical sense, the Law having

ceased, and Jesus comes, bringiug the grace of the Gospel,

to which that same Law bears testimony. Jesus ivalks, to

Bede. collect disciples. Bede. The walking of Jesus has a refer-

ywA ^" ^'^'^® ^*^ ^^^® economy of the Incarnation, by means of which

s.And. He has condescended to come to us, aud give us a pat-

tern of life.

37. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

38. Tlien Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto thcm, What seek ye ? They said unto Him, Rabbi, (which is to say, bcing interpreted, Master,) where dwellest Thou ?

39. He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where He dwelt, and abode with Him that day : for it was about the tenth hour.

40. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

Alcuin. John having borne witness that Jesus was the

Lamb of God, the disciples who had been hitherto with him,

in obedience to his command, followed Jesus : And the two

Chrys. disciples heard him speak, and they follovjed Jesus. Chrys.

^^°I"* Observe ; when he said, He that cometh qfter me is made

1 et sq. bejore me, and, Whose shoe's latcliet I am not worthy to un-

loose, he gaiued over noae ; but when he made mention of

the economy, and gave liis discourse a humbler turn, saymg,

Behold the Lamb of God, then his disciples followed Christ.

For many persous are less influenced by the thoughts of,

God's greatness and majesty, than when they hear of His

being man's Helper aud Friend ; or anything pertaining to

YER. 37 — 40. ST. JOHN. 67

the salvation of men. Observe too, when Johu says, Behold the Lamb of God, Clirist says nothing. The Bridegroom stands by in silence; others introduce Him, and deliver the Bride iuto llis hands ; Ile receives her, and so treats her that she no longer remerabers those who gave her in mar- riage. Thus Christ came to unite to Ilimself the Church ; Ile said nothing Himself; but John, the friend of the Bride- groom, came forth, and put the Bride's right liand in His; i.e. by his preaching delivered into His hands raen's souls, whom receiving He so disposed of, that tliey returued no more to John. And observe farther ; As at a marriage the maiden goes not to meet the bridcgroom, (eveu though it be a king's son who weds a humble handmaid,) but he hasteus to her; so is it here. For human nature ascended not iuto heaven, but the Son of God came down to huuiau natme, and took her to Ilis Father's house. Agaiu ; there wei*e disciplcs of John who not ouly did not follow Clirist, but were even enviously disposed toward Iliin ; i)ut the better part hcard, and followed; not from coutcnipt of their for- mcr master, but hj his persuasion ; bccause he proniiscd them that Christ would baptize with the Holy Ghost. Aud see with what modesty their zeal was accompauied. They did not straightway go aud interrogate Jesus ou great and neccssary doctrines, nor in public, but sought private converse with Ilim ; for we are told that Jesus tunied, and saiv them followinff, and saith unto them, What seek ye? Heuce we lcarn, that whcn wc once bcgin to forra good resolutions, God gives us opportunities enough of improve- ment. Clirist asks the questiou, not because Ile nceded to be told, but in order to encouragc familiarity aud confidcuce, and shew that He thought them worthy of Ilis iustructious. Theophyl. Observe thcn, tliat it was upon thosc who fol- '" 1°*^ lowcd Ilim, that our Lord turned Ilis face and looked upon them. Unless thou by thy good works follow Him, thou shalt never be permittcd to see Ilis face, or entcr iuto Ilis dwelling. Alcuin. The disciples follovved behind Ilis back, in order to see Him, aud did not see His face. So Ile turus rouud, and, as it were, lowers His majcsty, that they might be enabled to behold Ilis face. Origen. Pcrhaps it is not ^"S- 1°'"-

• 1 1 /» • • • T 1 u. c. 29.

without a reason, that after six testimomes Johu ceases to

f2

C8

GOSPEL ACCORDING TO

CHAP. 1.

Chrys. Hom. xviii. iri Joan. sparsim.

Orig. tom. ii. c. 29. Clirys. Hom. xviii. (al. xvii.) 3.

Matt. 8, 20.

vii.

Tr. .9.

bear witness, and Jesus asks seventhly, What seek ye ? Chrys. And besides following Hira, their qnestions shewed their love for Christ ; They said unto Him, Rabbi, {which is, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest Thou ? They call Hira, Master, before they have learnt anything from Hira ; thus encouraging themselves in their resolution to become disciples, and to shew the reason why they followed. Ori- GEN. An avowal, befitting persons who came from hearing John's testimony. They put themselves under Chrisfs teaching, and express their desire to see the dwelling of the Son of God. Alcuix. They do not wish to be uiider His teaching for a time only, but enquire where He abides; wishing an immediate initiation iu the secrets of His word, and afterwards meaning often to visit Hira, and obtain fuller instruction. And, in a raystical sense too, they wish to lcnow in whom Christ dwells, that profiting by their ex- araple they may theraselves becorae fit to be His dweUing. Or, their seeing Jesus walking, and straightway enquiring where He resides, is an intimatiou to us, that we should, remembering His Incarnation, earnestly entreat Hira to shew us our eternal habitation. The request being so good a one, Christ promises a free and fuU disclosure. Ue saith unto them, Come and see : that is to say, My dwelling is not to be uuderstood by words, but by works; come, therefore, by beUeving and working, and then see by understauding. Origen. Or perhaps come, is an iuvitation to action ; see, to contemplation. Chrys. Christ does uot describe His house and situation, but briugs them after Hira, shewing that He liad ab-eady accepted them as His own. He says not, It is not the time now, to-morrow ye shall hear if ye wish to learn ; but addresses them familiarly, as Mends who had hved with Hira a long time. But how is it that He saith in another place, The Son o/ Man hath not where to lay His head ? when liere He says, Come and see where I live ? His not having where to lay His head, could only have meant that He had no dwelHng of His own, not that He did not live in a house at all : for the next words are, They came and saiv where He dwelt, and abode with Him that day. Why they stayed the EvangeUst does not say : it being ob- viously for the sake of His teachiug. Aug. What a blessed

VER. 41, 42. ST, JOHN. 69

day and night was tliat ! Let us too build up in our hearts within, and make Him an house, whither He may come and teach us. Theophyl. A7id it ivas about the tenth hour. The Evangelist mentions the time of day purposely, as a hint both to teachers and learners, not to let tirae inter- fere with their work. Chrys. It shewed a strong desire to chrvs. hear Him, since even at sunset they did not turn from Him. ""!!'• To sensual persons the time after meals is unsuitable for aiiy grave employment, their bodies being overloaded with food. But John, whuse disciples these were, was not such an oue. His evening was a more abstemious one than our mornings. AuG. The number liere signifies the law, wliicli was com- Auct. Tr. posed of ten commandments. The tinie liad come wlien the ^'"- '^- ^^- law was to be fulfilled by love, the Jews, who acted from fear, having been unable to fulfil it, and therefore was it at the tenth liour that our Lord heard Himself called, Rabbi ; none but the giver of the law is the teacher ^ of the law. i magis- Chrys. One of tlie two which heard John speak and foUowed t^"' Uim was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. Why is the other Hom!* name left out ? Some say, because this Evangelist himself ^viii. 3. was that other. Others, tliat it was a disciple of no cmi- nence, and that therc was no use in telling his narae any more than tliose of thc sevcnty-two, wliich are omittccl. Alcuin. Or it wouhl sccm that the two disciples who fol- lowed Jcsus wcre Andrew and Philip.

41. Ile first tindcth his own brother Simon, and saith unto bim, We havc found the Messias, which is, being interprctcd, the Christ.

42. And he brouc:ht bim to Jesus. And when Jesus behcld him, lle said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona : thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

Chrys. Andrew kept not our Lord's words to liimsclf; chrys.

but ran in haste to his brother, to report the good tidings : '!""'•

Jle Jirst jindeth his oivn brother Simon, and saith unto him,

We have found the Messias, ivhich is, being interpreted, the

Christ. Bede. This is truly to find the Lord; viz. to have Bede.

fervent love for Him, togethcr with a care for our brothcr's |;J°'"- '" ' ° Vig. s.

Andr.

70 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. I.

Chrys. salvation. Chrys. The Evangelist does not mention what

^xTal Christ said to those who foUowed Tlim ; but we raay infer it

xviii.) 1*. frotn what follovvs. Andrew declares in few words what he

had learnt, discloses the power of that Master Who had

persuaded them, and his own previous longings after Hira.

For this exclamation, JFe havefound, expresses a longing for

His coming, turned to exultation, now that He was really

Aug. Tr. come. AuG. Messias in Hehrew, Christus in Greek, TJnctus

vii. c. 13. -j^ Latin. Chrism is unction, and He had a special unction,

which from Him extended to all Christians, as appears in

Ps. 44 the Psalm, God, even Thy God, hath anointcd Thee with the

'^Vrtici- °^^ ^/ g^f^dness above Thy feliows ^ All holy persons are

pibus partakers with Him ; but He is specially the Holy of Hohes,

Chrys. specially anointed. Chrys. And therefore he said not Mes-

Ho^m. XIX. ^-^g^ 1^^^ ^^g Messias. ^lark the obedience of Peter from

the very first ; he went iraraediately without delay, as ap-

pears from the next words : And he brought him to Jesus.

Nor let us blame him as too yielding, becausc he did not

ask many questions, before he received the word. It is

reasonable to suppose that his brother had told him all, and

sufficiently fully ; but the Evangelists oftcn raake oraissions

for the sake of brevity. But, bcsides this, it is not absolutely

said that he did beheve, but only, He took him to Jesus ;

i.e. to learn frora the mouth of Jesus Ilimself, what Andrew

had reported. Our Lord begins now Ilimself to reveal the

things of His Divinity, and to exhibit them gradually by

prophecy. For prophecies are no less pcrsuasive than mi-

racles ; inasrauch as they are pre-eminently God^s work, and

are beyond the power of devils to imitate, while miracles

may be phantasy or appearance : the foretelling future events

with certainty is an attribute of the incorruptible nature

alone : And ivhen Jesus beheld him, He said, Thou art

Simon the son of Jonas ; thou shalt be called Cephas, which

Bede. ^^ ^y interpretation, A stone. Bede. He beheld him not

Hom. i. vvith His natural eye onlv, but by the insight of His God-

Hier. in head discerned from eternity the simpUcity and greatness of

his soul, for which he was to be elevated above the whole

Church. In the word Peter, we must not look for any-

additional meaning, as though it were of Hebrew or Syriac

derivation; for the Greek and Latin word Peter, has the

Vig. s Andr.

VER. 41, 42. ST. JOHX. 71

same nneaning as Cephfis ; being in both languages derived froni petra. He is called Peter on account of the firmness of his faithj in cleaving to that Rock, of which the Apostle speaks, And that Rock ivas Christ ; which secures those who l Cor. trust in it from the snares of the enemy, and dispenses ' streams of spiritual gifts. Aug. There was nothing very Aug. Tr. great in our Lord saying whose son he was, for our Lord ^"' ^' ' knew the names of all Ilis saints, having predestinated them before the foundation of the world. But it was a great thing for our Lord to change his name from Simon to Peter. Pcter is from petra, rock, which rock is the Church : so that the name of Peter represents the Church. And who is safc, unless he build upon a rock ? Our Lord here rouses our attention : for had he bcen callcd Peter bcfore, we should not have seen the mystery of the Rock, and should havc thought that he was called so by chancc, and not pro- videntially. God tlicrefore made him to be called by another name before, that the change of that name might give vivid- ness to the mystery. Ciirys. Ile clianged thc name too to Chr^-s. sliew that He was the same wlio had done so before in the yr^^^i^\ Old Testament; who had called Abram Abraham, Sarai xviii. 2.) Sarah, Jacob Israel. Many He had named from their birth, as Isaac and Samson ; others again after bcing namcd by their parents, as were Peter, aud the sons of Zebcdee. Those whose virtue was to be emincnt from the first, have names given them from the first ; those who were to be ex- jiltcd aftcrwards, are named aftcrwards. AiG. The account Aug. here of the two disciples on tlie Jordan, who follow Christ Evang. c. (l)cfore he had gone into Galilcc) in obcdience to Jolm's 1- i'- testimony ; viz. of Andrew bringing his brother Simon to Jesus, who gave him, on this occasion, the name of Peter ; di>>agrccs considerably with tlie accouut of the other Evan- gehsts, viz. that our Lord found these two, Simon and Andrew, fishing in Galilee, and then bid them follow Him : unless wx understand that they did not regularly join our Lord when they saw Him on the Jordan ; but only dis- covercd who Ile was, and fuU of wonder, then returned to their occupations. Nor must we think that Peter first rc- ceived his namc on the occasion mentioncd in Matthew, when our Lord says, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock uitl Matt.

16, 18.

73 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. I.

/ build My Church ; but rather when our Lord says, Thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone. Alcuin. Or perhaps He does not actually give him the name now, but only fixes beforehand what He afterwards gave him when He said, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build My Church. And while about to change his name, Christ wishes to shew that even that which his parents had given him, was not without a meaning. For Simon signifies obedience, Joanna grace, Jona a dove : as if the meauing was ; Thou art an obedient son of grace, or of the dove, i.e. the Holy Spirit ; for thou hast received of the Holy Spirit the humihty, to desire, at Andrew's call, to see Me. The elder disdained not to foUow the younger ; for where there is meritorious faith, there is uo order of seniority.

43. The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow Mc.

44. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

45. Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did writc, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

46. And Nathanacl said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth ? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.

Chrys. Chrys. After gaining these disciples, Christ proceeded to

Hom. xix. convert others, viz. Phihp and Nathanael : The day folloiv- ing, Jesus would go forth into Galilee. Alcuin. Leaving, that is, Judsea, where John vvas baptizing, out of respect to the Baptist, and not to appear to lower his office, as long as it continued. He was going to call a disciple, and wished to go forth into Galilee, i. e. to a place of " transition" or " revelation,^^ that is to say, that as He Himself increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man, aud as He suffered aud rose again, and eutered iuto His glory : so

viiR. 43— 4G. ST. JOHN. 73

Ile would teach His followers to go fortJt, and increase in virtue, and pass tlirough suffering to joy. Uefindeth Philip, and saith unto Jdm, Follow Me. Evcry one follows Jesus who imitatcs Ilis humihty and suffcring, in order to be partaker of Ilis resurrection aud ascension. Chrys. Ob- Chrys. serve, He did not call them, beforc sorae bad of their own xx. i! accord joined Ilim: for had Ile invited thcm, bcfore any had joined Ilim, perhaps they woukl have started back : but now having determined to follow of their own free choicCj tliey reraain firm ever after. Ile calls Philip, however, be- cause he would be known to Him, from hving in GaHlee. But what made rhibp fullow Christ ? Andrew heard froia John the Baptist, and Petcr from Andrew ; he had heard from no one ; and yct on Christ saying, Follow Me, was persuaded instantly. It is not improbabie that Phihp may have hcard Juhn : and yet it may iiave been tlie mere voice of Christ which produced this cffect. Tiidophyl. For the voicc of Christ sounded not like a coiiiraou vuice to some, that is, the faithful, but kiudled in thcir iuraost soul the love of Hira. PhiHp having bccn continually racditating on Christ, and rcading the books of Moses, so confidentiy ex- pectcd Him, that the instant he saw, he beheved. Pcrhaps too he had hcard of Him from Andrew and Peter, coraing from tlic sarac district ; an cxphiiiation wiiich the Evangelist sccms to liint at, wlicu hc adds, Now Philip was of BetJisaida, tJie citij of Andreio und Peter. Cuuys. The powcr of Christ Ciirys. appcars by Ilis gatlicring fruit out of a barren country. ^^""j" Fur frum tliat Galilcc, out of wliich thcre arisetli no pro- plict, Ile tidvcs Ilis most distinguislied disciples. Alcuix. Bethsaida means house of liuntcrs. The Evangclist intro- duces tlie name of tliis placc by way of allusion to the cha- racters of Pliilip, Peter, and Andrew, and their future office, i. e. catching and saving souis. Chrys. Pliihp is not only ciirys. persuadcd hirasclf, but begins preaching to others : PJillip ^^^'"j] findeth NatJianael, and saith unto Jiini, JFe havc found Him of ivJioni Jloses in tJie Laiv, and the PropJiets, did writc, Jesus of Nazureth, iJie Son of Joseph. See how zcalous lie is, and liow constantly he is meditating on the books of ]Moscs, aiid lool<ing for Cluist's coraing. That Christ was coraing he had knowu bcfore ; but he did not know that this was the

74 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. T.

Christ, of whom Moses and tlie Pi'ophets dkl write : lie saj^s tliis to give credibility to his preaching, and to shew his zeal for the Lavv aud the Prophets, and how that he had ex- amined them attentively. Be not disturbed at his calling our Lord the Son of Joseph ; this was what He was sup- Aug. Tr. posed to be. Aug. The person to whom our Lord's mother had been betrotlied. The Christians know from the Gospel, that He was conceived and born of an undefiled mother. He adds the place too, of Nazareth. Theophyl. He was bred up there : the place of His birth could not have been known generally, but all knew that He was bred up in Nazareth. And Nathanael said unto Him, Can there any good thing Aug. Tr. come out of Nazareth. Aug. However you may understand 16 17. ' these words, Philip's answer will suit. You may read it either as affirmatory, Something good can come out of Naz- areth ; to wliich the other says, Come and see : or you may read it as a question, implying doul)t on Nathanael's part, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth ? Come and see. Since either way of reading agrees equally with what follows, we must enquire the meaning of the passage. Nathanael was well read in the Law, and therefore the word Nazareth (Philip having said that he had found Jesus of Nazareth) immediately raises his hopes, and he exclaims, Soniething good can come out of Nazareth. He had searched the Scrip- tures, and knew, wliat the Scribes and Pharisees could not, that the Saviour was to be expected thence. Alcuin. He Who alone is absolutely holy, harmless, undefiled ; of Whom Tsniah the Prophet saith, There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch {Nazarceus) shall grow out of his roots. Or the words may be taken as expressing doubt, Chrys. and asking the question. Chrys. Nathanael knew from the ] 2. ' ^' Scriptures, that Christ was to come from Bethlehem, accord- Micahs 2. iug to the prophccy of Micah, And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, — out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule My people Israel. On hearing of Nazareth, then, he doubted, and was not able to reconcile Philip's ddings with prophecy. For the Prophets call Him a Nazarene, only in reference to His education and mode of life. Observe, how- ever, the discretion and gentleness with which he commu- nicates his doubts. He does not say, Thou deceivest me.

VER. 47 — 51. ST. JOHN. 75

Philip ; biit simply asks the question, Can any good thiny come out of Nazureth ? Pliilip too in turn is equally discrete. Ile is not confounded by the question, but dwells upon it, and Hngers in the hope of bringing hiin to Christ : Philip saith unto him, Come and see. He takes him to Christ, know- ing that when he had once tasted of Ilis words and doctrine, he will make no murc resistance.

47. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Ilim, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indecd, in whom is no guile !

48. Nathanael saith unto Him, Whence knowest Thou me ? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

49. Nathanael answered and saith unto Him, Babbi, Thou artthe Son of God ; Thou art the King of Israel.

50. Jcsus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thce, I saw thec undcr the fig trcc, believest thou ? thou shalt see grcatcr thinLi;s than thcse.

51. And he saith unto him, Vcrily, verily, I say unto you, Ilercafter ye shall sce heaven open, and the angcls of God asccnding and descending upon the Son of man.

Chrys. Nathanacl, in difRculty as to Christ coming out o^ .g of Nazareth, shcwcd thc care with which he had read the Hon;. xix. Scriptures : his not rejecting the tidiugs when brought him, shewed his strong desire for Christ's coming. Ile thought that Philip might be mistakcn as to the place. It follows, Jesus saio Nathanael cominy to Him, and saith of him, Bchold an Israelite indeed, in ivhom is no guile ! There was no fault to be found with him, though he had spoken like one who did not bclieve, because he was more dceply read in the Prophets tban PhiHp. He calls him guileless, because he had said nothing to gain favour, or gratify malice. Aug. ^ rp^ What mcancth tliis, /« whoin is no guile? Had he no sin ? vii. c. 19. Was no physician necessary for him ? Far from it. No oue

76 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. I.

was ever born, of a temper not to need the Physician. It

is guile, when we say one thing, and think another. How

then was there no guile in him? Because, if he was a sinner,

he confessed his sin ; whereas if a man, being a sinner,

pretends to be righteous, there is guile in his mouth. Our

Lord then commended the confession of sin in Nathanael;

He did not pronounce him not a sinner. Theophyl. Na-

thanael however, notwithstanding this praise, does not ac-

quiesce immediately, but waits for further evidence, and asks,

Chrys. Whence knoicest Thou me ? Chrys. He asks as man, Jesus

om. XX jj,-,g^Ygj,g jjg Qq(J . jgsiis answered and said unto him, Before

that Philip called thee, when thou toast under the fig tree,

I saw thee : not having beheld him as man, but as God

discerning him from above. 7 saw thee, He says, tliat is,

the character of thy life, when thou wast under the fig tree :

where the two, Philip and Nathanael, had been talking to-

gether alone, nobody seeing them ; and on this account it

is said, that on sceing him a long way off, He said, Behold

an Israelite indeed ; whence it appears that this speech was

before Philip came near, so that no suspicion could attach

to Christ's testimony. Christ would not say, I am not of

Nazareth, as Philip told you, but of Bethleliem ; in order to

dfx<pia$r]- avoid an argument : and because it would not have beea

Tiiai^ov sufficient proof, had He mentioned it, of His being the Christ.

He preferred rather proving this by His having been present

Aug. Tr. at their conversation. Aug. Has this fig tree any meaning?

vn. c. . -yyg j.g^j Qf Q^Q ^g ^pgg which was cursed, because it had

only leaves, and no fruit. Again, at the creation, Adam

and Eve, after sinning, made themselves aprons of fig leaves.

Fig leaves then signify sins ; and Nathanael, when he was

under the fig tree, was under the shadow of death : so that

our Lord seemeth to say, 0 Israel, whoever of you is without

guile, O people of the Jewish faith, before that I called thee

by My Apostles, when thou wert as yet under the shadow

Greg. of death, and sawest Me not, I saw thee. Greg. When

c. xxxviii.^^^o^ wast under the fig tree, I saw thee ; i.e. wheu thou

(''>9-) wast yet under the shade of tlie law, I chose thee. Aug.

Senn. 40. Nathanael remembered that he had been under the fig tree,

(i22.) where Christ was not present corporeally, but only by His

spiritual knowledge. Hence, knowiug that he had been

VER. 47 51. ST. JOH.V. 77

dlone, he recognisecl our Lord's Divinity. Chrys. That our Chrys. Lord then had this knowhnlge, had penetrated into his mmd, ^°'"" ^^' liad not blamed but praised his hesitation, proved to Na- thanael that He was the true Christ : Nathanael answered and saith unto Him, Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God, Thou urt the King of Israel : as if he said, Thou art He \\\\o was expected, Thou art He who was sought for. Sure proof being obtained, he proceeds to raake confession ; herein shevving liis devotion, as his former hesitation had shewn liis diligence. Ii). !Many when they read this passage, are Hom. xxi. perplexed at finding that, whereas Peter was pronounced ^ ^^'^ ^* blessed for having, after our Lord's miracles and teaching, confessed Him to be the Son of God, Xathanael, who makes the same confession before, has no such benediction. The reason is this. Peter and Nathanael both used the same words, but not in the same meaning. Peter confessed our Lord to be the Son of God, in the sense of very God ; tlie hitter in the sense of mere man ; for after saying, Thou art the Son of God, he adds, Thou art the King of Israel; where- as the Son of God vvas not the King of Israel only, but of the vvliole vvorld. This is manifest from what follows. For iu the case of Petcr Christ addcd nothing, but, as if his faith were pcrfect, said, that He vvould buihl thc Church upou his confession ; whereas Nathanacl, as if his coufession vvere very dcficient, is led up to higher things : Jesus answered and said unto hini, Bccause I said unto tliee, I saw thee under thefig tree, believest thou? Thou shalt ste yreater thinrjs than these. As if Ile said, What I have just said has appearcd a great matter to thee, and thou hast confessed ]\Ie to be King of Israel ; what wilt thou say when thou seest greater things than these ? AVhat that greater thing is Ile proceeds to shew : And Ile saith unto him, Verily, verity, I say unto you, Ilereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descendlng upon the Son of Man. See how He viiises him from carth for a vvhile, and forces him to think tliat Christ is not a mere man : for hovv could Ile be a merc uian, whom angels ministered to ? It vvas, as it were, saying, tliat He vvas Lord of the Angels ; for Ile must be the King's own Son, on vvhom tlie servants of the Kiug descendcd and asceuded; descended at His crucifixion, ascendcd at

78 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN. CHAP. I.

His resurrection and ascension. Angels too before this came and ministered unto Flim, and angels brougbt the glad tidings of His birth. Oar Lord made the present a proof of the future. After the powers He had already shewn, Na- thanael would readily beheve that rauch more would foUow. Aiia. AuG. Let us recollect the Old Testament account. Jacob

in Verb. ^^^ ^^ ^ dream a ladder reaching from earth to heaven ; the

Doni. °

Lord resting upon it, and the angels asceuding and descend- Gen. 28, iug upou it. Lastlv, Jacob himself understanding what the vision meant, set up a stone, and poured oil upon it. When he anointed the stone, did he make an idol? No : he only set up a symbol, not an object of worship. Thou seest here the anointing; see the Anointed also. He is the stone which the builders refused. If Jacob, who was naracd Israel, saw the ladder, and Nathanael was an Israelite indeed, there was a fitness in our Lord telhng him Jacob's dreara ; as if he said, Whose narae thou art called by, his dreara hath appeared unto thee : for thou shalt see the heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. If they descend upon Hira, and ascend to Him, then He is both up abcve and here below at the sarae tirae; above Aug, ii Himself, below in His raerabers. Aug. Good preachers, Tr VII. however, who preach Christ, are as angels of God ; i.e. they

in Joan. ' r ' o ) j

23. ascend and descend upon the Son of raan ; as Paul, who ascended to thc third heaven, and descended so far even as

1 Cor. to give railk to babes. He saith, We shall see greater things

' ' than these : because it is a greater thing that our Lord has

justified us, whom He hath called, than that He saw us lying

under the shadow of death. For had we reraained where

c. 17. He saw us, what profit would it have been? It is asked why Nathanael, to whora our Lord bears such testimony, is uot found among the twelve Apostles. We may believe, how- ever, that it was because he was so learned, and versed ia the law, that our Lord had not put hira among the disciples. He chose the foolish, to confound the world. Intending to break the neck of the proud, He sought not to gain the fish- erraan through the orator, but by the fisherman the emperor. The great Cypriau was an orator; but Peter was a fisher- man before him ; and through him uot only the orator, but the emperor, believed.

2 Cor 12, 2.

CHAP. II.

1. And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee ; and the mother of Jesus was there :

2. And both Jesus was called, and His disciples, to the marria^e.

3. And wdien they wanted wine, tlie mother of Jesus saith unto Him, They have no w'ine.

4. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee ? Mine hour is not yet come.

Chrys. Our Lord bcing kno^rn in Gahlee, tliey invite chrvs. Ilim to a marriaje : And the third day there ivas a marriage ^°'"- '''''• in Cana of Galilee. Alcuin. Gahlee is a province ; Cana a village in it. Chrys. Thcy invite our Lord to the mar- chrys. riage, not as a grcat lierson, but merely as one they knew, Hom.

xxi. !• one of the many ; for Avhicli rcason the Evanirchst says,

And the mothcr of Jcsus ivas ihere. As they invitcd thc

mother, so they invited the Son : and tlicrcforc, Jesus ivas

called, and IIis disciplcs to the marria(/e : and Ile came, as

caring more for our good, than Ilis own dignity. Ile who

disdained not to take upon Ilira the form of a servant, dis-

dained not to come to the marriage of servants. Aug. Let au?.

the proud man blush to see tbe bumihty of God. Lo, Jj^ ^^*^^*

among otlicr things, the Son of the Virgin comes to a mar- Serm.

riage; Ile Who, when He was with the Fathcr, institutcd ^ *'

marriage. Bede. Ilis condescension in coming to the mar- Bede.

riagc, aud the miraclc Ile wrouirlit therc, are, even considcr- ]^"'!1* , ° , '^ ' ' , , 2d. Sund.

ing thera in tbc lcttcr only, a strong confirmation of the faitb. afier Tberein too are condenincd tbe crrors of Tatian, jMarcion, '^'^ ' and otbers wbo dctract from tbe bonour of marriage. For if the undefiled bed, and tbe marriage celebrated witb due chastity, partook at all of sin, our Lord would never bave

viii. c. 4.

Bede, in loc

80 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. II.

come to one. Whereas now, conjugal chastity being good, the continence of widovvs better, the perfection of the virgin state best, to sanction all these degrees, but distinguish the raerit of each, He deigued to be born of the pure womb of the Virgin ; was blessed after birth by the prophetic voice of the widow Anna; and now invited in manhood to attend the celebration of a marriage, honours that also by the presence of

Aug. Tr. Ilis goodness. Aug. What marvel, if Ile went to that house to a marriage, Who came into tliis world to a marriage. For here He has His spouse whom He redeemed with His own blood, to whora He gave the pledge of the Spirit, and whom He united to Himself in the worab of the Virgin. For the Word is the Bridegroom, and human flesh the bride, and both together are one Son of God and Son of man. That womb of the Virgin Mary is Ilis chamber, from which He

Ps. 19, 5. went forth as a bridegroom. Bede. Nor is it without some raysterious allusion, that the raarriage is related as taking place on the third day, The first age of the world, before the giving of the Law, was enlightened by the exaraple of the Patriarchs; the second, under the Law, by the writings of the Prophets ; the third, under grace, by the preaching of the Evangelists, as if by the Hght of the third day ; for our Lord had now appeared in the flesh. The name of the place too where the marriage was held, Cana of GaUlee, which raeans, desire of migrating, has a typical signification, viz. that those are most worthy of Christ, who buru with devo- tional desires, and have know-n the passage from vice to virtue, from earthly to eternal things. The wine was raade to fail, to give our Lord the opportunity of raaking better ;