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date Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:31:38 +0000
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1 <html>
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2 <head>
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3 </head>
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4 <body style=text-align:justify><blockquote>
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5 <CENTER><p><span style="font-size: 60pt">7</span></p>
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6 <p><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 1</span></p></CENTER>
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7 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>1 After this, Jesus walked about in Galilee, for he did not want to walk in Judea because the Jews
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8 sought to kill him. 2 Now it was close to the Jewish feast of Tabernacles. 3 So his brethren said
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9 to him: &#8220;Leave this place, and go to Judea, so that your disciples also may see your works which
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10 you perform. 4 Surely, no one works in secret if he wants to be publicly renowned. If you do
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11 these things, reveal yourself to the world.&#8221; 5 For not even his brethren believed in him. 6 Jesus
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12 therefore said to them:
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13 <DD>&#8220;My time has not yet come,
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14 <DD>but your time is always here.
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15 <DD>7 The world cannot hate you, but me, it hates,
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16 <DD>because I bear witness against it, for its works are evil.
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17 <DD>8 You yourselves go up for this feast.
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18 <DD>I, however, will not go up for this festival, because my time is not yet completed.&#8221;</p></BLOCKQUOTE>
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19 <p>1010 After our Lord considered the spiritual life and its food, he now treats of his instruction or
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20 teaching, which, as mentioned above, is necessary for those who are spiritually reborn. First, he
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21 shows the origin of his teaching; secondly, its usefulness (c 8 and onwards). As to the first, he
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22 does three things. First, he mentions the place where he revealed the origin of his teaching;
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23 secondly, the occasion for revealing this (v 11); and thirdly, his actual statement is given (v 16).
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24 Three things are done about the first. First, we see Christ invited to go to the place where he
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25 revealed the origin of his teaching; secondly, we see our Lord refuse (v 6); and thirdly, how Jesus
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26 finally did go (v 9). As to the first, he does two things. First, he gives the reasons why they
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27 encouraged Christ to go to Judea; secondly, he adds their exhortation (v 3). They were influenced
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28 by three things to encourage Christ to go to Judea: first, by his lingering on [in Galilee] ,
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29 secondly, by his intention [not to travel in Judea] and thirdly, by the appropriateness of the time.</p>
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30 <p>1011 They were influenced by Christ&#8217;s lingering on in Galilee, which showed that he wanted to
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31 stay there. Thus he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">After this, </span>after teaching in Capernatim, <span style="font-weight: bold">Jesus walked about in
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32 Galilee, </span>i.e., he set out from Capernaum, a city of Galilee, with the intention to journey
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33 throughout this region. Our Lord lingered on so often in Galilee to show us that we should pass
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34 from vices to virtues: &#8220;So you, son of man, prepare your belongings for exile, and go during the
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35 day in their sight&#8221; (Ez 12:13).</p>
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36 <p>1012 Then they were influenced by Christ&#8217;s intention, which he perhaps told them; hence he
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37 says, <span style="font-weight: bold">for he did not want to walk in Judea, </span>the reason being, <span style="font-weight: bold">because the Jews sought to kill
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38 him. </span>&#8220;The Jews tried all the harder to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath rest, but
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39 even called God his own Father, making himself equal to God&#8221; (above 5:18).</p>
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40 <p>But could not Christ still have gone among the Jews without being killed by them, as he did after
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41 (c 8)? Three answers are given to this question. The first is given by Augustine, who says that
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42 Christ did this because the time would come when some Christians would hide from those who
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43 were persecuting them. And so they would not be criticized for this, our Lord wanted to console
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44 us by setting a precedent himself in this matter. He also taught this in word, saying: &#8220;If they
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45 persecute you in one town, flee to another&#8221; (Mt 10:23). Another answer is that Christ was both
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46 God and man. By reason of his divinity, he could prevent his being injured by those persecuting
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47 him. Yet, he did not want to do this all the time, for while this would have shown his divinity,
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48 it might have cast doubt on his humanity. Therefore, he showed his humanity by sometimes
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49 fleeing, as man, those who were persecuting him, to silence all those who would say that he was
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50 not a true man. And he showed his divinity by sometimes walking among them unharmed, thus
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51 refuting all those who say he was only a man. Thus, Chrysostom has another text, which reads:
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52 &#8220;He could not, even if he wanted to, walk about Judea.&#8221; This is expressed in our human way, and
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53 is the same as saying: Due to the danger of treachery, a person cannot go anywhere he might
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54 wish. The third answer is that it was not yet the time for Christ&#8217;s passion. The time would come
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55 when Christ would suffer, at the feast of the Passover, when the lamb was sacrificed, so that
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56 victim would succeed victim: &#8220;Jesus knew that his time had come to leave this world for the
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57 Father&#8221; (below 13:1).</p>
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58 <p>1013 They were also influenced by the suitableness of the time, for it was a time for going to
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59 Jerusalem. <span style="font-weight: bold">Now it was close to the Jewish feast of Tabernacles </span>(<i>scenopegia</i>).<i> Scenopegia</i> is<i>
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60 </i>a Greek word, composed of <i>scenos, </i>which means &#8220;shade,&#8221; or &#8220;tent,&#8221; and <i>phagim, </i>which means
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61 &#8220;to eat.&#8221; As if to say: It was the time in which they used to eat in their tents. For our Lord (Lv
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62 23:41 ) had ordered the children of Israel to stay in their tents for seven days during the seventh
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63 month, as a rerninder of the forty years they had lived in tents in the desert. This was the feast
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64 the Jews were then celebrating. The Evangelist mentions this in order to show that some time had
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65 already passed since the previous teaching about spiritual food. For it was near the Passover
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66 when our Lord performed the miracle of the loaves, and this feast of Tabernacles is much later.
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67 The Evangelist does not tell us what our Lord did in the intervening five months. We can see
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68 from this that although Jesus was always performing miracles, as the last chapter says, the
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69 Evangelist was mainly concerned with recording those matters over which the Jews argued and
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70 with which they disagreed.</p>
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71 <p>1014 Then (v 3), our Lord is urged on by his brethren. First, we are given their advice; secondly,
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72 the reason for it (v 3b); and thirdly, the Evangelist mentions the cause of this reason (v 5).</p>
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73 <p>1015 As to the first, the ones who urge Christ are mentioned; hence he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">So his brethren
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74 said to him. </span>These were not brothers of the flesh or of the womb, as the blasphemous opinion
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75 of Elvidius would have it. It is, indeed, offensive to the Catholic faith that the most holy virginal
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76 womb, which bore him who was God and man, should later bear another mortal man. Thus, they
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77 were his brothers or brethren in the sense of relatives, because they were related by blood to the
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78 Blessed Virgin Mary. For it is the custom in Scripture to call relatives &#8220;brothers,&#8221; as in Genesis
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79 (13:8): &#8220;Let us not quarrel, for we are brothers,&#8221; although Lot was the nephew of Abraham. And,
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80 as Augustine says, just as in the tomb in which our Lord&#8217;s body had been placed no other body
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81 was placed either before or after, so the womb of Mary conceived no other mortal person either
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82 before or after Christ. Although some of the relatives of the Blessed Virgin were apostles, such
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83 as the sons of Zebedee, and James of Alpheus, and some others, we should not think that these
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84 were among those who were urging Christ; this was done by other relatives who did not love
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85 him.</p>
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86 <p>Secondly, we see their advice when they say: <span style="font-weight: bold">Leave this place, </span>that is, Galilee, <span style="font-weight: bold">and go to Judea,
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87 </span>where you will find Jerusalem, a sacred place, well-suited to teachers. &#8220;Seer, go, flee to the land
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88 of Ridah. There eat your bread and there prophesy&#8221; (Am 7:12).</p>
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89 <p>1016 They give their reason when they say: <span style="font-weight: bold">so that your disciples also may see your works
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90 which you perform. </span>Here they show, first, that they are hungry for an empty glory; secondly,
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91 that they are suspicious; and thirdly, do not believe [in our Lord] .</p>
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92 <p>They show that they are hungry for ail empty glory when they say, <span style="font-weight: bold">so that Your disciples also
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93 may see your works which you perform. </span>For they allowed something human to Christ and
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94 wanted to share the glory of the human honor that the people would show him. And so, they
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95 urged him to perform his works in public: for it is a characteristic of one who is seeking human
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96 glory to want publicly known whatever of his own or of his associates can bring glory. &#8220;They like
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97 to pray at street comers, so people can see them&#8221; (Mt 6:5). We read of such people: &#8220;For they
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98 loved the glory of men, more than the glory of God&#8221; (below 12:43).</p>
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99 <p>They reveal that they themselves are suspicious, and first of all remark on Christ&#8217;s fear, saying:
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100 <span style="font-weight: bold">Surely, no one works in secret. </span>As if to say: You say that you are performing miracles. But you
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101 are doing them secretly because of fear; otherwise you would go to Jerusalem and do them before
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102 the people. Nevertheless, our Lord says below: &#8220;I have said nothing secretly&#8221; (below 18:20).</p>
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103 <p>Secondly, they refer to his love of glory, saying: <span style="font-weight: bold">if he wants to be publicly renowned. </span>As if to
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104 say: You want glory because of what you are doing, yet you are hiding because you are afraid.
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105 Now this attitude is characteristic of those who are evil: to think that other people are
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106 experiencing the same emotions as they are. Notice the disrespect with which the prudence of
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107 the flesh reproached the Word made flesh. Job says against them: &#8220;You reproach him who is not
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108 like you, and say what you should not&#8221; (Jb 4:3).</p>
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109 <p>They show they do not believe when they say: <span style="font-weight: bold">If you do these things, reveal yourself to the
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110 world, </span>doubting whether he did perform miracles. &#8220;He who does not believe is unfaithful&#8221; (Is
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111 21:2).</p>
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112 <p>1017 The Evangelist tells why they said this when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">For not even his brethren believed
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113 in him. </span>For sometimes blood relatives are very hostile to one of their own, and are jealous of his
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114 spiritual goods. They may even despise him. Thus Augustine says: &#8220;They could have Christ as
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115 a relative, but in that very closeness they refused to believe in him.&#8221; &#8220;A man&#8217;s enemies are in his
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116 own house&#8221; (Mi 7:6); &#8220;He has put my brethren far from me, and my acquaintances, like strangers,
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117 have gone from me. My relatives have left me, and those who knew me have forgotten me&#8221; (Jb
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118 19:13).</p>
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119 <p>1018 Then (v 6), Christ&#8217;s answer is given. First, he mentions that the time was not appropriate
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120 for going to Jerusalem; secondly, the reason for this (v 7); and thirdly, we see Christ deciding not
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121 to go (v 8).</p>
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122 <p>1019 We should note that all of the following text is explained differently by Augustine and by
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123 Chrysostom. Augustine says that the brethren of our Lord were urging him to a human glory.
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124 Now there is a time, in the future, when the saints do acquire glory, a glory they obtain by their
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125 Sufferings and troubles. &#8220;He has tested thein like gold in a furnace, and he accepted them as the
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126 victim of a holocaust. At the time of their visitation they will shine&#8221; (Wis 3:6). And there is a
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127 time, the present, when the worldly acquire their glory. &#8220;Let not the flowers of the time pass us
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128 by; let us crown ourselves with roses before they wither&#8221; (Wis 2:7). Our Lord, therefore, wanted
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129 to show hat he was not looking for the glory of this present time, but that he wanted to attain to
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130 the height of heavenly glory through his passion and humiliation. &#8220;It was necessary for Christ to
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131 suffer, and so enter into his glory&#8221; (Lk 24:26). So Jesus says to them, i.e., his brethren: My time,
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132 i.e., the time of my glory, <span style="font-weight: bold">has not yet come, </span>because my sorrow must be turned into joy: &#8220;The
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133 sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, which will
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134 be revealed in us&#8221; (Rom 8:18); <span style="font-weight: bold">but your time, </span>i.e., the time of the glory of this world, <span style="font-weight: bold">is always
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135 here.</span></p>
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136 <p>1020 He gives the reason why these times are different when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">The world cannot hate
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137 you, but me, it hates. </span>The reason why the time for the glory of the worldly is here is that they
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138 love the same things the world loves, and they agree with the world. But the time for the glory
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139 of the saints, who are looking for a spiritual glory, is not here, because they want what is
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140 displeasing to the world, that is, poverty, afflictions, doing without food, and things like that.
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141 They even disparage what the world loves; in fact, they despise the world: &#8220;The world has been
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142 crucified to me, and I to the world&#8221; (Gal 6:14). And so he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">The world cannot hate you. </span>As
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143 if to say: Thus, the time of your glory is here, because the world does not hate you, who are in
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144 agreement with it; and every animal loves its like. <span style="font-weight: bold">But me, it hates, </span>and so my time is not always
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145 here. And the reason it hates me is <span style="font-weight: bold">because I bear witness against it, </span>that is, the world, <span style="font-weight: bold">for its
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146 works are evil; </span>that is, I do not hesitate to reprimand those who are worldly, even though I know
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147 that they will hate me for it and threaten me with death. &#8220;They,&#8221; that is, those who love evil,
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148 &#8220;hate the one who rebukes at the city gate&#8221; (Am 5:10); &#8220;Do lot rebuke one who mocks, lest he
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149 hate you&#8221; (Prv 9:8).</p>
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150 <p>1021 But cannot a person of the world be hated by the world, .e., by another person of the world?
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151 I answer that, in a particular case, one worldly person can hate another insofar as the latter has
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152 what the first wants, or prevents him from obtaining what relates to the glory of this world. But
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153 precisely insofar as a person is of the world, the world does not hate him. The saints, however,
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154 are universally hated by the world because they are opposed to it. And if anyone of the world
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155 does love them, it is not because he is of the world, but because of something spiritual in him.</p>
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156 <p>1022 Our Lord refuses to go when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">You yourselves go up for this feast. I, however,
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157 will not go up for this festival. </span>For just<span style="font-weight: bold"> </span>as there are two kinds of glory, so there are two different
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158 feasts. Worldly people have temporal feasts, that is, their own enjoyments and banquets and such
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159 exterior pleasures. &#8220;The Lord called for weeping and mourning ... and look at the rejoicing and
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160 gladness&#8221; (Is 22:12); &#8220;I hate your feasts&#8221; (Is 1:14). But the saints have their own spiritual feasts,
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161 which consist in the joys of the spirit: &#8220;Look upon Zion, the city of your feasts&#8221; (Is 33:20). So
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162 he says: You yourselves, who are looking for the glory of this world, <span style="font-weight: bold">go up for this feast, </span>i.e.,
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163 to the feasts of temporal pleasure; <span style="font-weight: bold">I, however, will not go up for this festival, </span>for I will go to
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164 the feast of an eternal celebration. I am not going up now <span style="font-weight: bold">because my time, </span>that is, the time of
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165 my true glory, which will be a joy that lasts forever, an eternity without fatigue, and a brightness
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166 without shadow, <span style="font-weight: bold">is not yet completed.</span></p>
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167 <p>1023 Chrysostom keeps the same division of the text, but explains it this way. He says that these
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168 brethren of our Lord joined with the Jews in plotting the death of Christ. And so they urged
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169 Christ to go to the feast, intending to betray him and hand him over to the Jews. That is why he
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170 says: <span style="font-weight: bold">My time, </span>that is, the time for my cross and death, <span style="font-weight: bold">has not yet come, </span>to go to Judea and be
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171 killed. <span style="font-weight: bold">But your time is always here, </span>because you can associate with them without danger. And
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172 this is because they cannot hate you: you who love and envy the same things they do. <span style="font-weight: bold">But me,
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173 it hates, because I bear witness against it, for its works are evil. </span>This shows that the Jews hate
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174 me, not because I broke the sabbath, but because I denounced them in public. <span style="font-weight: bold">You yourselves
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175 go up for this feast, </span>that is, for its beginning (for it lasted seven days, as was said), <span style="font-weight: bold">I, however,
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176 will not go up for this festival, </span>that is, with you,and when it first begins: <span style="font-weight: bold">because my time is
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177 not yet completed, </span>when I am to suffer, for he was to be crucified at a future Passover.
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178 Accordingly, he did not go with them then in order to remain out of sight, and so forth.</p>
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179 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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180 <p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 2</span></p>
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181 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>9 When he had said this, he remained in Galilee. 10 However, after his brethren had gone up, he
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182 himself went up for the feast, not publicly, but as it were in secret. 11 The Jews looked for him
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183 at the feast, and they asked: &#8220;Where is he?&#8221; 12 There was much whispering among the people
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184 concerning him, for some were saying that he was a good man, while others said, &#8220;On the
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185 contrary, he leads people astray.&#8221; 13 Nevertheless, no one spoke openly about him for fear of the
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186 Jews. 14 Now when the festival was half over, Jesus went into the temple, and he taught. 15 The
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187 Jews were amazed, saying, &#8220;How did this man get his learning, since he never studied?&#8221; 16 Jesus
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188 answered and said:
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189 <dd>&#8220;My doctrine is not mine, but his who sent me.
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190 <dd>17 If anyone wants to do his will, he will know
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191 <dd>whether this doctrine is from God,
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192 <dd>or whether I am speaking on my own.
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193 <dd>18 Whoever speaks on his own [authority] seeks his own glory.
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194 <dd>But the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him
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195 <dd>is truthful, and there is no injustice in him.
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196 <dd>19 Did not Moses give you the law?
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197 <dd>And yet none of you obey the law.
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198 <dd>20 Why do you want to kill me?&#8221;
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199 <BR>The crowd replied and said: &#8220;You have a demon within you! Who wants to kill you?&#8221; 21 Jesus
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200 answered and said to them:
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201 <dd>&#8220;I performed one work, and you are all amazed.
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202 <dd>22 Therefore, Moses gave you circumcision,
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203 <dd>(not that it originated with Moses, but with the patriarchs)
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204 <dd>and you circumcise on the sabbath day.
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205 <dd>23 If a man receives circumcision on the sabbath day,
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206 <dd>so that the law of Moses may not be broken,
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207 <dd>why are you indignant with me because I healed
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208 <dd>a whole man on the sabbath?
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209 <DD>24 Judge not by the appearances, but with a just judgment.&#8221;</p></BLOCKQUOTE>
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210 <p>1024 After the Evangelist mentioned how our Lord&#8217;s relatives urged him to go to Judea, and
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211 what Christ replied to them, he then tells us of his journey. First, of his delay in going into Judea;
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212 secondly, of the order of the events; and thirdly, the way Christ went up.</p>
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213 <p>1025 He mentions our Lord&#8217;s delay in going when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">When he had said this, </span>in answer
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214 to his relatives, <span style="font-weight: bold">he remained in Galilee, </span>and did not go to the feast with them. He did this to
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215 keep to his word: &#8220;I, however, will not go up for this festival.&#8221; As we read in Numbers (23:19):
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216 &#8220;God is not like man, a liar.&#8221;</p>
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217 <p>1026 He gives the order of events when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">However, after his brethren, </span>that is, his
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218 relatives, <span style="font-weight: bold">had gone up, he himself went up for the feast. </span>This seerns to conflict with what he
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219 had said before: &#8220;I will not go up&#8221;, for the Apostle says, &#8220;Jesus Christ, whom we preached among
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220 you ... was not &#8216;Yes&#8217; and &#8216;No,&#8217; but only &#8216;Yes.&#8217;&#8221; (2 Cor 1:19).</p>
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221 <p>I answer, first, that the festival of Tabernacles lasted for seven days, as was mentioned. Now our
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222 Lord first stated, &#8220;I, however, will not go up for this festival,&#8221; that is, for its beginning. When it
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223 says here that <span style="font-weight: bold">he himself went up for the feast</span>, we should understand this to refer to the middle
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224 of the feast. This is why we read a little further on: &#8220;Now, when the festival was half over&#8221; (v
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225 14). So it is clear that Christ was not breaking his word. Secondly, as Augustine says, his
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226 relatives wanted him to go to Jerusalem to try for a temporal glory. So he said to them: &#8220;I,
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227 however, will not go up for this festival,&#8221; for the purpose you want me to. But he did go to the
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228 festival to teach the people and to tell them about an eternal glory. Thirdly, as Chrysostom says,
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229 our: Lord said, &#8220;I, however, will not go up for this festival,&#8221; to suffer and die, as they wished; but
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230 he did go, not in order to suffer, but to teach others.</p>
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231 <p>1027 The way he went was not <span style="font-weight: bold">publicly, but as it were in secret.</span> There are three reasons for
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232 this. The first, given by Chrys ostom, is so that he would not call more attention to his divinity,
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233 and so perhaps make his incarnation less certain, as was said above; and so that those who are
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234 virtuous would not be ashamed to hid from those who are persecuting them when they cannot
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235 openly restrain them. Thus he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">in secret,</span> to show that this was done according to plan:
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236 &#8220;Truly, you are a hidden God&#8221; (Is 45:15). Augustine gives us another reason: to teach us that
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237 Christ was hidden in the figures of the Old Testament: &#8220;I will wait for the Lord, who has hidden
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238 his fact (i.e., clear knowledge) from the house of Jacob&#8221; (Is 8:17); so, &#8220;Even to this day ... a veil
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239 is over their hearts&#8221; (2 Cor 3:15). Thus everything that was said to this ancient people was a
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240 shadow of the good things to come, as we see from Hebrews (10:1). So our Lord went up in
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241 secret to show that even this feast was a figure. <i>Scenopegia</i>, as we saw, was the feast of
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242 Tabernacles; and the<i> </i>one who celebrates this feast is the one who understands that he is a pilgrim
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243 in this world. Another reason why our Lord went up in secret was to teach us that we should
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244 conceal the good things we do, not looking for human approval or desiring the applause of the
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245 crowd: &#8220;Take care not to perform your good actions in the sight of men, in order to be seen by
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246 them&#8221; (Mt 6:1).</p>
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247 <p>1028 Then (v 11), he mentions the opportunity Christ had to show the origin of his spiritual
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248 teaching. He mentions two such opportunities: one was due to the disagreement among the
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249 people; the other to their amazement (v 15). The people disagreed in what they thought of Christ.
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250 He does three things concerning this. First, he shows what they had in common; secondly, how
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251 they differed (v 12); and thirdly, whose opinion prevailed (v 13).</p>
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252 <p>1029 What they had in common was that they <span style="font-weight: bold">looked for him at the feast, and they asked:
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253 Where is he? </span>It is obvious that they did not even want to mention his name because of their
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254 hatred and hostility: &#8220;They hated him and could not speak civilly to him&#8221; (Gn 37:4).</p>
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255 <p>1030 They differed, however, because some looked for him because they wished to learn: &#8220;Seek
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256 him, and your soul will live&#8221; (Ps 68:33); others were looking for him in order to harm him: as
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257 in the Psalm (39:15): &#8220;They seek my soul to carry it away.&#8221; <span style="font-weight: bold">And so There was much
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258 whispering among the people concerning him, </span>because of their disagreements. And although
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259 &#8220;whispering&#8221; (<i>murmur</i>) is neuter in gender, Jerome makes it masculine (<i>murmur multus</i>) because
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260 he was following the custom of the older grammarians, or else to show that divine Scripture is
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261 not subject to the rules of Priscian.</p>
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262 <p>There was disagreement: for some of the people, that is, those who were right in heart, were
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263 saying, of Christ, <span style="font-weight: bold">that he was a good man. </span>&#8220;How good God is to Israel, to those whose heart is
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264 right&#8221; (Ps 72:1); &#8220;The Lord is good to those who hope in him, to the one who seeks him&#8221; (Lam
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265 3:25). <span style="font-weight: bold">While others, </span>that is, those who were badly disposed, said: On the contrary, i.e., he is not
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266 a good man. We can see from this that it was the people who thought that he was a good person,
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267 while he was considered evil by the chief priests; so they say, he leads people astray: &#8220;We found
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268 this man leading our people astray&#8221; (Lk 23:2); &#8220;We have remembered that that seducer said ...&#8221;
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269 (Mt 27:63).</p>
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270 <p>1031 Here we should note that to seduce is to lead away. Now a person can be led away either
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271 from what is true or from what is false. And in either way a person can be called a seducer: either
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272 because he leads one away from the truth, and in this sense it does not apply to Christ, because
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273 he is the truth (below c 8); or because he leads one away from what is false, and in this sense
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274 Clirist is called a seducer: &#8220;You seduced me, O Lord, and I was seduced. You were stronger than
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275 I, and you have won&#8221; (Jer 20:7). Would that all of us were called and were seducers in this sense,
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276 as Augustine says. But we call a person a seducer primarily because he leads others away from
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277 the truth and deceives them: because a person is said to be led away if he is drawn from the
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278 common way. But the common way is the way of truth; heresies, on the other hind, and the way
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279 of the wicked, are detours.</p>
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280 <p>1032 It was the opinion of the evil, that is, of the chief priests, that finally won out. Thus he
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281 continues, <span style="font-weight: bold">Nevertheless, no one spoke openly about him.</span> This was because the people were
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282 held back by their fear of the chief priests, for as stated below (9:22): &#8220;If any one should profess
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283 him to be the Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.&#8221; This reveals the wickedness with
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284 which the leaders plotted against Christ; and it shows that those who were subject to them, i.e.,
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285 the people, were not free to say what they thought.</p>
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286 <p>1033 Next (v 15), we see the second opportunity Christ had to present his teaching, that is, the
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287 amazement of the people. First, we see the object of their amazement; secondly, their amazement
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288 itself, and thirdly, the reason why they were amazed.</p>
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289 <p>1034 The object of their amazement is the doctrine or teaching of Christ. Both the time and the
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290 place of this teaching are given. The time is mentioned when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Now when the festival
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291 was half over, </span>that is, when as many days were left of the feast as had passed. Thus, since the
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292 feast lasted some seven days, this took place on the fourth day. As we said, when Christ hid
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293 himself, it was a sign of his humanity, and an example of virtue for us. But when he did come
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294 before them, and they could not suppress him, this showed his divinity. Further, our Lord went
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295 when the feast was half over, because at the beginning everyone would be occupied with matters
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296 relating to the feast: the good, with the worship of God, and others with trivialities and financial
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297 profit; but when it was half over, and such matters had been settled, the people would be better
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298 prepared to receive his teaching. Thus our Lord did not go to the first several days of the feast
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299 so that he would find them more attentive and better prepared for his teaching. Similarly, Christ&#8217;s
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300 going to the feast at this time paralled the arrangement of his teaching: for Christ came to teach
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301 us about the kingdom of God, not at the beginning of the world, nor at its ending, but during the
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302 intervening time. &#8220;You will make it known in the intervening years&#8221; (Hb 3:2).</p>
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303 <p>The place where our Lord taught is mentioned when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">into the temple. </span>He taught there
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304 for two reasons. First, to show that he was teaching the truth, which they could not depricate, and
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305 which was necessary for all: &#8220;I have said nothing secretly&#8221; (below 18:20). Secondly, because the
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306 temple, since it was a sacred place, was appropriate for the very holy teaching of Christ: &#8220;Come!
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307 Let us go up the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob. And he will teach
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308 us his ways, and we will walk in his steps,&#8221; as we read in Isaiah (2:3).</p>
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309 <p>The Evangelist does not mention what Christ taught, for, as was said, the Evangelists do not
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310 report everything our Lord did and said, but those which excited the people or produced some
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311 controversy. And so here he mentions the excitement his teaching produced in the people: that
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312 is, that those who had said before, &#8220;He leads people astray,&#8221; were now amazed at his teaching.</p>
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313 <p>1035 He mentions this amazement when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">The Jews were amazed. </span>And this is not
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314 surprising, for &#8220;Your testimony is wonderful&#8221; (Ps 118:129). For the words of Christ are the
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315 words of divine wisdom.</p>
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316 <p>He adds the reason why they were amazed when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">How did this man get his learning,
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317 since he never studied? </span>For they knew that Jesus was the son of a poor woman and he was
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318 considered the son of a carpenter; as such, he would be working for a living and devoting his
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319 time, not to study, but to physical work, according to &#8220;I am poor, and have labored since my
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320 youth&#8221; (Ps 87:16). And so when they hear him teach and debate, they are amazed, and say, <span style="font-weight: bold">How
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321 did this man get his learning, since he never studied? </span>Much the same is said in Matthew
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322 (13:54): &#8220;Where did he acquire this widsom, and these great works? Isn&#8217;t he the son of the
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323 carpenter?&#8221;</p>
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324 <p>1036 Having been told of the place and opportunity which Christ had to reveal the origin of his
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325 spiritual teaching, we now see the origin of this teaching. First, he shows them that God is the
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326 source of this spiritual teaching; secondly, he invites them to accept it (v 37). As to the first, he
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327 does two things. First, he shows the origin of this teaching; secondly, the origin of the one
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328 teaching it (v 25). He does two things about the first. First, he shows the origin of this teaching;
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329 secondly, he answers an objection (v 19). In regard to the first he does two things. First, he shows
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330 the origin of this teaching; secondly, he proves th t it comes from God (v 17).</p>
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331 <p>1037 He says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Jesus answered and said. </span>As if to say: You are wondering where I gained my
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332 knowledge; but <span style="font-weight: bold">I say, My doctrine is not mine. </span>If he had said: &#8220;The doctrine that I am
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333 presenting to you is not mine,&#8221; there would be no problem. But he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">My doctrine is not
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334 mine; </span>and this seems to be a contradiction. However, this can he explained, for this statement
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335 can be understood is several ways. Our Lord&#8217;s doctrine can in some sense be called his own, and
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336 in some sense not his own. First, we can understand Christ as the Son of God. Then, since the
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337 doctrine of anyone is nothing else than his word, and the Son of God is the Word of God, it
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338 follows that the doctrine of the Father is the Son himself. But this same Word belongs to himself
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339 through an identity of substance. &#8220;What does belong to you, if not you yourself?&#8221; However, he
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340 does not belong to himself through his origin. As Augustine says: &#8220;If you do not belong to
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341 yourself (because you are from another), what does?&#8221; This seems to be the meaning, expressed
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342 in summary fashion, of: <span style="font-weight: bold">My doctrine is not mine. </span>As if to say: I am not of myself&#8217;. This refutes
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343 the Sabellian heresy, which dared to say that the Son is the Father.</p>
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344 <p>Or, we could understand it as meaning that <span style="font-weight: bold">My doctrine, </span>which I proclaim with created words,
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345 <span style="font-weight: bold">is not mine, but his who sent me, </span>i.e., it is the Father&#8217;s; that is, my doctrine is not mine as from
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346 myself, but it is from the Father: because the Son has even his knowledge from the Father
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347 through an eternal generation. &#8220;All things have been given to me by my Father&#8221; (Mt 11:27).</p>
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348 <p>Secondly, we can understand Christ as the Son of Man. Then he is saying: <span style="font-weight: bold">My doctrine, </span>which
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349 I have in my created soul, and which my lips proclaim, <span style="font-weight: bold">is not mine, </span>i.e, it is not mine as from
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350 myself, but from God: because every truth, by whomever spoken, is from the Holy Spirit.</p>
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351 <p>Thus, as Augustine says in <i>The Trinity </i>(Bk 1), our Lord called this doctrine his own from one
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352 point of view, and not his own from another point of view. According to his form of God, it was
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353 his own; but according to his form of a servant, it was not his own. This is an example for us, that
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354 we should realize that all our knowledge is from God, and thank him for it: &#8220;What do you have
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355 which you have not been given? And if you have been given it, why do you glory as if you have
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356 not been given it?&#8221; (1 Cor 4:7).</p>
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357 <p>1038 Then (v 17), he proves that his doctrine is from God. And he does this in two ways: first,
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358 from the judgment of those who correctly understand such matters; and secondly, from his own
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359 intention (v 18).</p>
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360 <p>1039 With respect to the first, we should note that when there is a question whether someone is
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361 performing well in some art, this is decided by one who has experience in that art; just as the
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362 question whether someone is speaking French well should be decided by one who is well versed
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363 in the French language. With this in mind, our Lord is saying: The question whether my doctrine
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364 is from God must be decided by one who has experience in divine matters, for such a person can
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365 judge correctly about these things. &#8220;The sensual man does not perceive those things that pertain
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366 to the Spirit of God. The spiritual man judges all things&#8221; (1 Cor 2:14). Accordingly, he is saying:
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367 Because you are alienated from God, you do not know whether a doctrine is from God. If anyone
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368 wants to do his. will, that is, the will of God, he can know whether this doctrine is from God, <span style="font-weight: bold">or
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369 whether I am speaking on my own </span>(a <i>meipso). </i>Indeed, one who is speaking what is false is
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370 speaking on his own, because &#8220;When he lies, he speaks on his own,&#8221; as we read below (8:44).</p>
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371 <p>Chrysostom explains this text in another way. The will of God is our peace, our love, and our
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372 humility; thus Matthew (5:9) says: &#8220;Happy are the peacemakers, because they will be called sons
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373 of God. But the love of controversy often distorts a person&#8217;s mind to such an extent that he
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374 thinks that what is really true is false. Thus, when we abandon the spirit of controversy, we
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375 possess more surely the certitude of truth. &#8220;Answer, I entreat you, without contention, and judge,
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376 speaking what is just&#8221; (Jb 6:29). So our Lord is saying: If anyone wishes to judge my doctrine
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377 correctly, let him do the will of God, i.e., abandon the anger, the envy and the hatred which he
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378 has for me without reason. Then, nothing will prevent him from knowing <span style="font-weight: bold">whether this doctrine
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379 is from God, or whether I am speaking on my own, </span>i.e., whether I am speaking the words of
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380 God.</p>
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381 <p>Augustine explains it this way. It is the will of God that we know his works, just as it is the will
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382 of a head of a household that his servants do his works. The work of God is that we believe in
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383 him whom he has sent: &#8220;This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he sent&#8221; (above
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384 6:29). Thus he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">If anyone wants to do his will, </span>that is, God&#8217;s will, which is to believe in
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385 me, <span style="font-weight: bold">he will know whether this doctrine is from God: </span>&#8220;If you do not believe, you will not
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386 understand,&#8221; as that other version of Isaiah (7:9) says.</p>
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387 <p>1040 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Whoever speaks on his own seeks his own glory, </span>he proves the same
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388 thing from his intention. And he presents two intentions through which we can recognize the two
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389 sources of a doctrine. Some are said to speak on their own [<i>a se</i>], and others not on their own.
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390 Now whoever strives to speak the truth does not speak on his own. All our knowledge of the
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391 truth is from another: either from instruction, as from a teacher; or from revelation, as from God;
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392 or by a process of discovery, as from things themselves, for &#8220;the invisible things of God are
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393 clearly known by the things that have been made&#8221; (Rom 1:20). Consequently, in whatever way
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394 a person acquires his knowledge, he does not acquire it on his own. That person speaks on his
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395 own who takes what he says neither from things themselves, nor from any human teaching, but
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396 from his own heart: &#8220;They proclaim a vision taken out of their own hearts&#8221; (Jer 23:16); &#8220;Woe
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397 to those foolish prophets who prophesy out of their own hearts&#8221; (Ez 13:3). Accordingy, when a
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398 person devises a doctrine on his own he does it for the sake of human glory: for, as we see from<span style="font-weight: bold">
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399 </span>Chrysostom, a person who wishes to present his own private doctrine does so for no other
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400 purpose than to acquire glory. And this is what our Lord says, proving that his doctrine is from
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401 God: <span style="font-weight: bold">Whoever speaks on his own, </span>about a certain knowledge of the truth, which is really from
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402 another, <span style="font-weight: bold">seeks his own glory. </span>It is for this reason, and because of pride, that various heresies and
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403 false opinions have arisen. And this is a characteristic of the antichrist &#8220;who opposes and is
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404 exalted above all that is called God, or is worshipped&#8221; (2 Thes 2:4).</p>
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405 <p><span style="font-weight: bold">But the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him, </span>as I do&#8212;&#8220;I do not seek my own glory&#8221;
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406 (below 8:50)&#8212;<span style="font-weight: bold">is truthful, and there is no injustice in him. </span>I am truthful because my doctrine
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407 contains the truth; there is no injustice in me because I do not appropriate the glory of another.
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408 As Augustine says: &#8220;He gave us a magnificent example of humility when, in the form of a man,
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409 he sought the glory of the Father, and not his own. O man, you should do the same! When you
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410 do something good, you seek your glory; when you do something evil, you insult God.&#8221; It is
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411 obvious that he was not looking for his own glory, because if he had not been an enemy of the
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412 chief priests, he would not have been persecuted by them. So Christ, and everyone who is looking
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413 for the glory of God, has knowledge in his intellect, &#8220;Master, we know that you are truthful&#8221; (Mt
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414 22:16): thus he says, he <span style="font-weight: bold">is truthful. </span>And he has the correct intention in his will: thus he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">and
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415 there is no injustice in him. </span>For a person is unjust when he takes for himself what belongs to
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416 another; but glory is proper to God alone; therefore, he who seeks glory for himself is unjust.</p>
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417 <p>1041 Then (v 19), he answers an objection. For someone could tell Christ that his doctrine was
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418 not from God because he broke the sabbath, according to, &#8220;This man is not from God, for he does
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419 not keep the sabbath&#8221; (below 9:16). This is what he intends to answer; and he does three things.
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420 First, he clears himself, by arguing from the actions of those who are accusing him; secondly, we
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421 see their vicious reply (v 20); and thirdly, he vindicates himself with a reasonable explanation
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422 (v 21).</p>
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423 <p>1042 He says: Even granting, as you say, that my doctrine is not from God because I do not keep
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424 the law, breaking the sabbath, nevertheless, you do not have any reason to accuse me since you
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425 do the same thing. Thus he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">Did not Moses give you the law? </span>i.e., did he not give it to your
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426 people? <span style="font-weight: bold">And yet none of you obey the law. </span>&#8220;You received the law through the angels, and have
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427 not kept it&#8221; (Acts 7:53). This is why Peter says: &#8220;A yoke, which neither our fathers nor we were
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428 able to bear&#8221; (Acts 15:10). Therefore, if you do not keep the law, why do you want to kill me for
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429 not keeping it? You are not doing this because of the law, but out of hatred. If you were acting
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430 out of devotion for the law, you would keep it yourselves. &#8220;Let us lie in wait for the just man,
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431 because he is unfavorable to us, and against our works, and he reproaches us for breaking the
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432 law&#8221; (Wis 2:12); and a little further on we read: &#8220; Let us condemn him to a most shameful death&#8221;
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433 (Wis 2:20).</p>
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434 <p>Or, it could be explained this way: You do not keep the law that Moses gave you; and this is
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435 obvious from the fact that you want to kill me, which is against the law: &#8220;You shall not kill&#8221; (Ex
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436 20:13). Another explanation, following Augustine, is: You do not keep the law because I myself
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437 am included in the law: &#8220;If you believed Moses, you would perhaps believe me as well, for it was
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438 about me that he wrote&#8221; (above 5:46). But you want to kill me.</p>
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439 <p>1043 Then we see the vicious reply of the crowd, when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">The crowd replied and said:
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440 You have a demon within you! </span>As Augustine says, their reply indicates disorder and confusion,
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441 rather than any order: for they are saying that the one who casts out devils has one himself (Mt
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442 c 12).</p>
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443 <p>1044 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">I performed one work, and you are all amazed, </span>our Lord, at peace
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444 in his own truth, answers them, and justifies himself with a reasonable explanation. First, he
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445 recalls the incident that is troubling them; secondly, he shows that this should not bother them
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446 (v 22); and thirdly, he shows the way to a judgment that is just (v 24).</p>
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447 <p>1045 Jesus answered them: <span style="font-weight: bold">I performed one work, and you are all amazed. </span>He does not trade
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448 one insult for another, nor rebuff it, because &#8220;When he was derided, he did not deride in return&#8221;
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449 (1 Pt 2:23). He rather recalls for them his cure of the paralytic, which was the cause of their
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450 amazement. But their amazement was not one of devotion, as in &#8220;Your heart will be amazed and
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451 expanded&#8221; (Is 60:5), but a kind of agitation and disturbance, as in &#8220;Those who see it will be
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452 afflicted with terrible fear, and will be amazed&#8221; (Wis 5:2). So, if you are amazed over one of my
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453 works, i.e., if you are disturbed and troubled, what would you do if you saw all of my works?
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454 For, as Augustine says, his works were those which they saw in the world: even all the sick are
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455 healed by him. &#8220;He sent his word, and healed them&#8221; (Ps 106:20); &#8220;It was neither a herb nor a
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456 poultice that healed them, but your word, O Lord, which heals all&#8221; (Wis 16:12). Thus, the reason
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457 why you are disturbed is that you have seen only one of my works, and not all of them.</p>
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458 <p>1046 Then (v 22), he shows that there is no reason why they should be disturbed. First, he recalls
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459 the command given to them by Moses; secondly, he states their customary behavior; and thirdly,
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460 he presents an argument based on the first two.</p>
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461 <p>1047 The command of Moses was about circumcision; so he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">Therefore, </span>i.e., to signify my
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462 works, <span style="font-weight: bold">Moses gave you circumcision. </span>For circumcision was given as a sign, as we read, &#8220;it will
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463 be a sign of the covenant between me and you&#8221; (Gn 17:11). For it signified Christ. This is the
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464 reason why it was always done on the genital organ, because Christ was to descend, in his human
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465 nature, from Abraham; and Christ is the one who spiritually circumcises us, i.e., both in mind and
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466 body. Or, it was done to the genital organ because it was given in opposition to original sin.</p>
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467 <p>We do not find it explicitly stated that Moses gave circumcision, unless in Exodus (12:44):
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468 &#8220;Every slave who is bought shall be circumcised.&#8221; And although Moses did tell them to
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469 circumcise, he was not the one who established this practice, because he was not the first one to
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470 receive the command to circumcise; this was Abraham, as we see from Genesis ( 17:10).</p>
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471 <p>1048 Now it was the custom among the Jews to circumcise on the sabbath. And this is what he
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472 says: <span style="font-weight: bold">you circumcise on the sabbath day. </span>They did this because Abraham was told that a boy
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473 should be circumcised on the eighth day: &#8220;He circumcised him on the eighth day, as God had
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474 commanded him&#8221; (Gn 2 1:4). On the other hand, they were told by Moses not to do any work on
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475 the sabbath. But it sometimes happened that the eighth day was a sabbath. And so, in
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476 circumcising a boy on that day, they were breaking a command of Moses for a command of the
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477 patriarchs.</p>
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478 <p>1049 Our Lord is arguing from those facts when he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">If a man receives circumcision on the
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479 sabbath day, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you indignant with me
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480 because I healed a whole man on the sabbath?</span></p>
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481 <p>We should note here that three things make this argument effective: two of these are explicit, and
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482 the other implied. First, although the command given to Abraham [about circumcision] was the
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483 first to be given, it was not canceled by the command given to Moses concerning observing the
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484 sabbath. &#8220;I say that the covenant, confirmed by God, is not canceled by the law, which came four
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485 hundred and thirty years later&#8221; (Gal 3:17). And so Christ is arguing from this: Although when
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486 dealing with human laws, the later ones cancel the earlier laws, in the case of divine laws, the
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487 earlier ones have greater authority. And so the command given to Moses about observing the
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488 sabbath does not cancel the command which was given to Abraham concerning circumcision.
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489 Therefore, much less does it interfere with me, who am only doing what was decided by God
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490 before the creation of the world, for the salvation of mankind; and this salvation was symbolized
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491 by the sabbath.</p>
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492 <p>Another point is that the Jews were commanded not to work on the sabbath; yet they did do
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493 things that were related to the salvation of the individual. So Christ is saying: If you people, who
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494 were commanded not to work on the sabbath, circumcise on that day (and this concerns the
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495 salvation of the individual, and thus it was done to an individual organ) and you do this <span style="font-weight: bold">so that
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496 the law of Moses may not be broken</span> (from which it is clear that those things that pertain to
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497 salvation should not be omitted on the sabbath), it follows with greater reason that a man should
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498 do on that day those things that pertain to the salvation of everyone. Therefore, you should not
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499 be indignant with me <span style="font-weight: bold">because I healed a whole man on the sabbath.</span></p>
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500 <p>The third point is that each command was a symbol: for &#8220;all these things happened to them in
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501 symbol&#8221; (1 Cor 10:11). Thus, if one symbol, i.e., the command to observe the sabbath, does not
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502 cancel the other symbol, i.e., the command to circumcise, much less does it cancel the truth. For
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503 circumcision sybolized our Lord, as Augustine says.</p>
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504 <p>Finally, he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">a whole man, </span>because, since God&#8217;s works are perfect, the man was cured so as
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505 to be healthy in body, and he believed so as to be healthy in soul.</p>
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506 <p>1050 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Judge not by the appearances, but with a just judgment, </span>he guides
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507 them to a fair consideration of himself&#8217;, so that they do not judge him according to appearances,
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508 but give a judgment which is just. There are two ways in which one is said to judge according
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509 to appearances. First, a judge may reach his decision relying on the allegations: &#8220;Men see the
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510 things that are evident&#8221; (1 Kgs 15:7). But this way can lead to error; thus he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Judge not by
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511 the appearances, </span>i.e., by what is immediately evident, but examine the matter diligently: &#8220;I
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512 diligently investigated the stranger&#8217;s cause&#8221; (Jb 29:16); &#8220;He will not judge by appearances&#8221; (Is
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513 1 1:3). In the second way, <span style="font-weight: bold">Judge not by the appearances, </span>i.e., do not show partiality or
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514 favoritism in your judgment: for all judges are forbidden to do this. &#8220;You will not show
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515 favoritism when judging a person who is poor&#8221; (Ex 23:6); &#8220;You have shown partiality in your
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516 judgment&#8221; (Mal 2:9). To show partiality in a judgment is not to give a judgment that is just
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517 because of love, or deference, or fear, or the status of a person, which things have nothing to do
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518 with the case. So he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">Judge not by the appearances, but with a just judgment, </span>as if to
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519 say: Just because Moses is more honored among you than I am, you should not base your
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520 decision on our reputations, but on the nature of the facts: because the things I am doing are
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521 greater than what Moses did.</p>
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522 <p>But it should be noted, according to Augustine, that one who loves all equally does not judge
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523 with partiality. For when we honor men differently according to their rank, we must beware of
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524 showing partiality.</p>
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525 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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526 <p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 3</span></p>
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527 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>25 Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem then said: &#8220;Is he not the man they want to kill? 26 Look,
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528 he is speaking publicly, and they say nothing to him! Could it be that the rulers feally know that
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529 he is the Christ? 27 We know where this man comes from; but when the Christ comes, no one
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530 will know where he comes from.&#8221; 28 So as Jesus was teaching in the temple, he cried out and
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531 said:
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532 <dd>&#8220;You do indeed know me,
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533 <dd>and you know where I come from.
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534 <dd>And I have not come of my own accord.
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535 <dd>But the one who sent me is truthful,
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536 <dd>whom you do not know.
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537 <dd>29 I know him.
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538 <dd>And if I were to say that I do not know him,
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539 <dd>I would be like you, a liar.
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540 <dd>But I do know him, because I am from him,
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541 <dd>and he sent me.&#8221;
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542 <br>30 They therefore wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not
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543 yet come. 31 Many of the people, however, believed in him, and they said: &#8220;When the Christ
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544 comes, will he work more wonders than this man has done?&#8221; 32 The Pharisees heard the people
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545 saying these things about him, so the rulers and Pharisees sent officers to apprehend Jesus.</p></BLOCKQUOTE>
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546 <p>1051 Having considered the origin of his doctrine, he now tells us about the origin of its teacher.
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547 First, Christ shows his source, from which he comes secondly, he shows his end, to which he
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548 goes (v 33). He does three things concerning the first. First, we see the doubt of the people about
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549 his origin; secondly, we have Christ&#8217;s teaching concerning his origin (v 28); and thirdly, we see
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550 the effect this teaching had (v 30). He does two things about the first. First, we see the
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551 amazement of the people; secondly, their conjecture (v 26). The people were amazed over two
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552 things: at the unjust statements of their leaders, and at the public teaching of Christ (v 25).</p>
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553 <p>1052 As we said before, Christ went up to this feast in secret to show the weakness of his human
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554 nature; but he publicly taught in the temple, with his enemies being unable to restrain him, to
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555 show his divinity. And so, as Augustine remarks, what was thought to be a lack of courage turned
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556 out to be strength. Accordingly, <span style="font-weight: bold">Some of the inhabitants of Jersusalem then said, </span>in
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557 amazement, for they knew how fiercely their leaders were looking for him, as they lived with
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558 them in Jerusalem. Thus Chrysostom says: &#8220;The most pitiable of all were they who saw a very
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559 clear sign of his divinity and, leaving everything to the judgment of their corrupt leaders, failed
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560 to show Christ reverence.&#8221; &#8220;As the ruler of a city is, so are its inhabitants&#8221; (Sir 10:2). Yet they
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561 were amazed at the power he had which kept him from being apprehended. So they said: <span style="font-weight: bold">Is he
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562 not the man they, </span>i.e., their leaders, want. This agrees with what was said before: &#8220;For reasons
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563 like this the Jews began to persecute Jesus, because he performed such works on the sabbath&#8221;
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564 (above 5:16); &#8220;Evil has come out of the elders of the people, who ruled them&#8221; (Dn 13:5). This
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565 also shows that Christ spoke the truth, while what their leaders said was false. For above, when
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566 our Lord asked them: &#8220;Why do you want to kill me?&#8221; they denied it and said: &#8220;You have a demon
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567 within you! Who wants to kill you?&#8221; But here, what their leaders had denied, these others admit
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568 when they say, <span style="font-weight: bold">Is he not the man they want to kill? </span>Accordingly, they are amazed, considering
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569 the evil intentions of their leaders.</p>
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570 <p>1053 Again, they were amazed that Christ was openly teaching; so they said: <span style="font-weight: bold">Look, he is
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571 speaking publicly, </span>i.e., Christ was teaching, an indication of the secure possession of the truth,
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572 &#8220;I have spoken publicly&#8221; (below 18:20), <span style="font-weight: bold">and they say nothing to him, </span>held back by divine
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573 power. For it is a characteristic of God&#8217;s power that he prevents the hearts of evil men from
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574 carrying out their evil plans. &#8220;When 1he Lord is pleased with the way a man is living he will
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575 make his vneinies be at peace with him&#8221; (Ps 16:7); and again, &#8220;The heart of the king is in the
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576 hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he wills&#8221; (Prv 21:1).</p>
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577 <p>1054 We see their conjecture when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">Could it be that the rulers really know that he is
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578 the Christ? </span>As if to say: Before, they sought to kill him; but now that they have found him, they
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579 do not say anything to him. Still, the leaders had not changed their opinion about Christ: &#8220;If they
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580 had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory&#8221; (1 Cor 2:8), but were restrained
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581 by divine power.</p>
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582 <p>1055 Their objection to this conjecture is then added: We <span style="font-weight: bold">know where this man comes from.
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583 </span>As if to argue: The Christ should have a hidden origin; but the origin of this man is known;
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584 therefore, he is not the Christ. This shows their folly, for granted that some of their leaders
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585 believed Christ, they did not follow their opinion, but offered another, which was false. &#8220;This is
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586 Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations&#8221; (Ez 5:5). For they knew that Christ took his
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587 origin from Mary, but they did not know the way this came about: &#8220;Isn&#8217;t Joseph his father, and
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588 Mary his mother&#8217;?&#8221; as we read in Matthew ( 13:55).</p>
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589 <p>1056 Why did they say, when the Christ comes, <span style="font-weight: bold">no one will know where he comes from, </span>since
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590 it says in Micah (5:2): &#8220;Out of you [Bethlehem-Ephrathah] will come a leader, who will rule my
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591 people Israel.&#8221;? I answer that they took this opinion from Isaiah, who said: &#8220;Who will make
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592 known his origin?&#8221; (53:8). Thus, they knew from the prophets where he was from, according to
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593 his human origin; and they also knew from them that they did not know it, according to his divine
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594 origin.</p>
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595 <p>1057 Then (v 28), he shows his origin. First, he shows in what sense his origin is known, and in
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596 what sense it is not know; in the second place, he shows how we can acquire a knowledge of his
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597 origin (v 29). He does two things about the first. First, he shows what they knew about his origin;
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598 secondly, what they did not know about it (v 28b).</p>
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599 <p>1058 They did know the origin of Jesus; and so he says of Jesus that <span style="font-weight: bold">he cried out</span>. Now a cry
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600 comes from some great emotion. Sometimes it indicates the upheaval of a soul in interior
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601 distress; and in this sense it does not apply to Christ: &#8220;He will not cry out&#8221; (Is 42:2); &#8220;The words
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602 of the wise are heard in silence&#8221; (Ecc 9:17). Sometimes it implies great devotion, as in, &#8220;In my
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603 trouble I cried to the Lord&#8221; (Ps 119:1). And sometimes, along with this, it signifies that what is
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604 to be said is important, as in, &#8220;The Seraphim cried to each other and said: &#8216;Holy, holy, holy, is
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605 the Lord God of hosts&#8217; &#8220; (Is 6:3); and in, &#8220;Does not wisdom cry out?&#8221; (Prv 8:1). This is the way
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606 preachers are encouraged to cry out: &#8220;Cry out, do not stop!. Raise you voice like a trumpet&#8221; (Is
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607 58:1). This is the way Christ cried out here, teaching in the temple.</p>
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608 <p>And he said: <span style="font-weight: bold">You do indeed know me, </span>according to appearances, <span style="font-weight: bold">and you know where I come
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609 from, </span>that is, as to my bodily existence: &#8220;After this he was seen on earth&#8221; (Bar 3:38). For they
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610 knew that he was born from Mary in Bethlehem, and brought up in Nazareth; but they did not
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611 know about the virgin birth, and that he had been conceived through the Holy Spirit, as
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612 Augustine says. With the exception of the virgin birth, they knew everything about Jesus that
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613 pertained to his humanity.</p>
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614 <p>1059 They did not know his hidden origin; and so he says: And I have not come of my own
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615 accord. First, he gives his origin; and secondly, he shows that it is hidden from them.</p>
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616 <p>His origin is from the Father, from eternity. And so he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">I have not come of my own accord,
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617 </span>as if to say: Before I came into the world through my humanity, I existed according to my
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618 divinity: &#8220;Before Abraham came to be, I am&#8221; (below 8:58). For he could not have come unless
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619 he already was. And although I have come, <span style="font-weight: bold">I have not come of my own accord </span>[<i>a me ipso</i>],
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620 because the Son is not of himself [<i>a se</i>], but from the Father. &#8220;I came from the Father and have
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621 come into the world&#8221; (below 16:28). Indeed, his origin was foretold by the Father, who promised
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622 to send him: &#8220;I beg you, O Lord, send him whom you are going to send&#8221; (Ex 4:13); &#8220;I will send
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623 them a Savior and a defender, to free them&#8221; (Is 19:20). And so he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">the one who sent me is
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624 truthful, </span>as if to say: I have not come from another but from him who promised and kept his
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625 promise, as he is truthful: &#8220;God is truthful&#8221; (Rom 3:4). Consequently, he teaches me to speak the
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626 truth, because I have been sent by one who is truthful. But they do not know this, because they
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627 do not know him who sent me; and so he says: whom you do not know.</p>
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628 <p>1060 But since every man, although born in a bodily condition, is from God, it seems that Christ
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629 could say that he is from God; and consequently, that they do know where he comes from. I
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630 answer, according to Hilary, that the Son is a (from) God in a different way than others: for he
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631 is from God in such a way that he is also God; and so God is his consubstantial principle. But
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632 others are <i>a</i> (from) God, but in such a way that they are not <i>ex </i>(from) him. Thus, it is not known
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633 where the Son is from because the nature <i>ex </i>(from) which he is, is not known. But where men
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634 are from is not unknown: for if something exists <i>ex </i>(from) nothing, where it is from cannot be
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635 unknown.</p>
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636 <p>1061 Then when he says, I know him, he teaches us how to know him from whom he is. For if
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637 a thing is to be learned, it must be learned from one who knows it. But only the Son knows the
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638 Father. And so he says: If you wish to know him who sent me, you must acquire this knowledge
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639 from me, because <span style="font-weight: bold">I</span> alone <span style="font-weight: bold">know him. </span>First, he shows that he knows him; secondly, he shows the
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640 perfection of his knowledge; and thirdly, the nature of his knowledge.</p>
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641 <p>1062 He shows that he knows him when he says, I know him. Now it is true that &#8220;All men see
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642 him&#8221; Qb 36:25), but they do not we him in the same way, for in this life we see him through the
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643 intermediary of creatures: &#8220;The invisible things of God are clearly known through the things that
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644 have been made&#8221; (Rom 1:20). Thus we read: &#8220;Now we see in a mirror, in an obscure manner&#8221;
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645 (1 Cor 13:12). But the angels and the blessed in heaven see him through his essence:&#8212;&#8220;Their
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646 angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven&#8221; (Mt 18:10): &#8220;We shall see
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647 him as he is&#8221; (1 Jn 3:2). The Son of God, on the other hand, sees him in a more excellent way
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648 than all, that is, with a comprehensive or all-inclusive vision: &#8220;No one has ever seen God,&#8221; i.e.,
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649 in a comprehensive way; &#8220;it is the Only Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, who
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650 has made him known&#8221; (above 1:18); &#8220;No one knows the Father but the Son&#8221; (Mt 11:27). It is of
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651 this vision that he is speaking of here, when he says: I know him, with a comprehensive
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652 knowledge.</p>
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653 <p>1063 He shows the perfection of his knowledge when he says: And if I were to say that I do not
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654 know <span style="font-weight: bold">him, I would be like you, a liar. </span>This is mentioned for two reasons. Intellectual creatures
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655 do know God, though from a distance and imperfectly, for &#8220;All men see him, from a distance&#8221;
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656 (Jb 36:25). For divine truth transcends all our knowledge: &#8220;God is greater than our hearts&#8221; (1 Jn
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657 3:20). Therefore, whoever knows God can say without lying: &#8220;I do not know him,&#8221; because he
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658 does not know him to the full extent that he is knowable. But the Son knows God the Father most
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659 perfectly, just as he knows himself most perfectly. Thus he cannot say: I do not know him.</p>
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660 <p>Again, because our knowledge of God, especially that which comes through grace, can be
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661 lost&#8212;&#8220;They forgot God, who saved them&#8221; (Ps 105:21)&#8212;men can say, I do not know him, as long
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662 as they are in this present life: because no one knows whether he deserves love or hatred. The
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663 Son, on the other hand, has a knowledge of the Father that cannot be lost; so he cannot say: I do
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664 not know him.</p>
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665 <p>We should understand, I would be like you, as a reverse likeness. For they would not be lying if
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666 they said they did not know God; but they would be if they said that they did know him, since
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667 they did not know him. But if Christ said that he did not know him, he would be lying, since he
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668 did know him. So the meaning of this statement is this: If I were to say that I do not know him,
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669 then since I really do know him, I would be like you, a liar, who say that you know him, although
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670 you do not.</p>
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671 <p>1064 Could not Christ have said: I do not know him? It seems he could, since he could have
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672 moved his lips and said the words. And so he could have lied. I reply that Christ did say this and
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673 still was not lying. We should explain it this way: If he were to say, <span style="font-weight: bold">I do not know him,
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674 </span>declaratively, meaning, &#8220;I believe in my heart what I profess by my lips,&#8221; [then he would have
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675 been a liar]. Now to say as the truth what is false comes from two defects: from a defect of
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676 knowledge in the intellect; and Christ could not have this since he is the wisdom of God (1 Cor
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677 1:30); or it could come from a defect of right will in the affections; and this could not be in Christ
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678 either since he is the power of God, according to the same text. Thus he could not say the words
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679 <span style="font-weight: bold">I do not know him</span>, declaratively. Yet this entire conditional statement is not false, although both
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680 its parts are impossible.</p>
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681 <p>1065 The reason for this singular and perfect knowledge of Christ is given when he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">I do
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682 know him, because I am from him, and he sent </span>me. Now all knowledge comes about through
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683 some likeness, since nothing is known except insofar as there is a likeness of the known in the
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684 knower. But whatever proceeds from something has a likeness to that from which it proceeds;
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685 and so, all who truly know have a varied knowledge of God according to the different degrees
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686 of their procession from him. The rational soul has a knowledge of God insofar as it participates
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687 in a likeness to him in a more imperfect way than other intellectual creatures. An angel, because
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688 it has a more explicit likeness to God, being a stamp of resemblance, knows God more clearly.
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689 But the Son has the most perfect likeness to the Father, since he has the same essence and power
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690 as he does; and so he knows him most perfectly, as was said. And so he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">But I do know
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691 him, </span>that is, to the extent that he is knowable. And the reason for this is because I am from him,
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692 having the same essence with him through consubstantiality. Thus, just as he knows himself
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693 perfectly through his essence, so I do know him perfectly through the same essence. And so that
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694 we do not understand these words as referring to his being sent into this world, he at once adds,
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695 and he sent me. Consequently, the statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">I am from him, </span>refers to his eternal generation,
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696 through which he is consubstantial with the Father. But then when he says, and he sent me, he
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697 is saying that the Father is the author of the incarnation: &#8220;God sent his Son, made from a woman,
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698 made under the law&#8221; (Gal 4:4). Now just as the Son has a perfect knowledge of the Father
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699 because he is from the Father, so because the soul of Christ is united to the Word in a unique
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700 way, it has a unique and more excellent knowledge of God than other creatures, although it does
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701 not comprehend him. And so Christ can say, according to his human nature: I know him in a
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702 more excellent way than other creatures do, but without comprehending him.</p>
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703 <p>1066 Then (v 30), he considers the effect of his teaching. First (in the people; then on the
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704 Pharisees (v 32). He does two things with the first. First, he shows the effect of this teaching on
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705 those of the people who were ill-willed; secondly, on those who were favorable (v 31). He does
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706 three things concerning the first. First, he mentions the evil intention of the people; secondly, that
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707 they were hindered in carrying out their plan; and thirdly, he mentions the reason why they were
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708 hindered.</p>
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709 <p>1007 he presents their evil intention when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">They therefore wanted to seize him.
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710 </span>Because our Lord said to them, &#8220;whom you do not know,&#8221; they became angry, feigning that they
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711 did know him. And so they formed the evil plan of seizing him, so that they could crucify and
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712 kill him: &#8220;Go after him, and seize him&#8221; (Ps 70:11). Yet there are some who have Christ within
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713 themselves, and still seek to seize him in a reverent manner: &#8220;I will go up into the palm tree and
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714 seize its fruit&#8221; (Sg 7:8). And so the Apostle says: &#8220;I will go after it to seize it&#8221; (Phil 3:12).</p>
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715 <p>1068 He mentions that they were hindered in their plans when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">but no one laid a hand
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716 on him: </span>for their rage was invisibly checked and restrained. This shows that a person has the will
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717 to inflict injury from himself, while the power to inflict injury is from God. This is clear from the
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718 first chapters of Job, where Satan was unable to torment Job except to the extent that he was
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719 permitted to do so by God.</p>
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720 <p>1069 The reason they were hindered was <span style="font-weight: bold">because his hour had not yet come. </span>Here we should
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721 note that &#8220;There is a time and fitness for everything&#8221; (Ecc 8:6). However, the time for anything
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722 is determined by its cause. Therefore, because the heavenly bodies are the cause of physical
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723 effects, the time for those things that act in a physical way is determined by the heavenly bodies.
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724 The soul, on the other hand, since it is not subject to any heavenly body in its intellect and reason
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725 (for in this respect it transcends temporal causes) does not have times determined by the heavenly
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726 bodies; rather, its times are determined by its cause, that is, God, who decrees what is to be done
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727 and at what time: &#8220;Why is one day better than another? ... They are differentiated by the
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728 knowledge of the Lord&#8221; (Si,33:7). Much less, therefore, is Christ&#8217;s time determined by these
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729 bodies. Accordingly, his hour must be regarded as fixed not by fatal necessity, but by the entire
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730 Trinity. For as Augustine says: &#8220;You should not believe this about yourself; and how much less
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731 should you believe it about he who made you? If your hour is his will, that is, God&#8217;s, what is his
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732 hour but his own will? Therefore, he was not speaking here of the hour in which he would be
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733 forced to die, but rather of the hour in which he thought it fitting to be killed.&#8221; &#8220;My time has not
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734 yet come,&#8221; as he said before (above 2:4); &#8220;Jesus knew that his time had come to leave this world
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735 for the Father&#8221; (below 13:1).</p>
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736 <p>1070 Then he mentions the effect his teaching had on those who were favorable. First, he shows
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737 their faith: <span style="font-weight: bold">Many of the people, however, believed in him. </span>He does not say, &#8220;of the leaders,&#8221;
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738 because the higher their rank, the further away they were from hirn. So there was no room in
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739 them for wisdom: &#8220;Where there is humility, there is wisdom&#8221; (Prv 11:2).But the people, because
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740 they were quick to see their own sickness, immediately recognized our Lord&#8217;s medicine: &#8220;You
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741 have hidden these things from the wise and the prudent, and have revealed them to little ones&#8221;
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742 (Mt 11:2 5). This is why in the beginning, it was the poor and the humble who were converted
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743 to Christ: &#8220;God chose what is lowly and despised in the world, and things that are not, to destroy
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744 those things that are&#8221; (1 Cor 1:28).</p>
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745 <p>Secondly, he gives the motive for their faith when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">When the Christ comes, will he
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746 work more wonders than this man has done?</span> For it had been prophesied that when the Christ
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747 came, he would work many miracles: &#8220;God himself will come, and save us. Then the eyes of the
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748 blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will hear&#8221; (Is 35:4). And so when they saw the
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749 miracles Christ was accomplishing, they were led to believe. Yet their faith was weak, because
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750 they were led to believe him not by his teaching, but by his miracles; whereas, since they were
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751 already believers, and instructed by the law, they should have been influenced more by his
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752 teaching: &#8220;Signs were given to unbelievers; while prophecies were given to believers, not to
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753 unbelievers&#8221; (1 Cor 14:22).</p>
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754 <p>Secondly, their faith was weak because they seemed to be expecting another Christ; thus they
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755 say: <span style="font-weight: bold">When the Christ comes, will he work more wonders than this man has done? </span>From this
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756 it is obvious that they did not believe in Christ as in God, but as in some just man or prophet. Or,
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757 according to Augustine, they were reasoning this way: <span style="font-weight: bold">When the Christ comes, will he work
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758 more wonders than this man has done? </span>As if to say: We were promised that the Christ would
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759 come. But he will not work more signs than this man is doing. Therefore, either he is the Christ,
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760 or there will be several Christs.</p>
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761 <p>1071 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">The Pharisees heard the people saying these things about him, </span>we
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762 see the effect this had on the Pharisees. And as Chrysostom says, Christ said many things, and
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763 yet the Pharisees were not aroused against him. But when they saw that the people were
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764 accepting him, they were immediately fired up against him; and in their madness they wanted to
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765 kill him. This shows that the real reason why they hated him was not that he broke the sabbath;
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766 what provoked them the most was the fact that the people were honoring Christ. And this is clear
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767 below: &#8220;Do you not see that we can do nothing? Look, the entire world has gone after him!&#8221;
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768 (12:19). Because they were afraid of the danger they did not dare to seize Christ themselves, but
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769 they sent their officers, who were used to such things.</p>
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770 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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771 <p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 4</span></p>
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772 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>33 Jesus then said to them:
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773 <dd>&#8220;For still a short time I am with you;
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774 <dd>then I am going to him who sent me.
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775 <dd>34 You will look for me,
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776 <dd>and you will not find me;
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777 <dd>and where I am, you will not be able to come.&#8221;
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778 <BR>35 The Jews therefore said to one another: &#8220;Where is he going that we cannot find him? Is he
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779 going to those dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles? 36 What does he mean by
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780 saying, &#8216;You will look for me, and you will not find me&#8217;; and &#8216;where I am, you will not be able
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781 to come&#8217;?&#8221;</p></BLOCKQUOTE>
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782 <p>1072 After our Lord told the principle of his origin, he then mentions his end, i.e., where he
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783 would go by dying. First, the end of Christ&#8217;s life is given; secondly, we see that the people are
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784 puzzled by what he says (v 35). As to the first he does three things. First, the end of his life is
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785 mentioned; secondly, he predicts what they will desire in the future (v 34); and thirdly, he
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786 mentions one of their deficiencies (v 34b). He does two things about the first. First, he predicts
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787 the delay of his death until later; and secondly, he states where he will go by dying (v 33b). And
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788 so, in the first, he shows his power; and in the second, his will to suffer.</p>
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789 <p>1073 Our Lord shows his power by the delaying of his death until later; because, although the
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790 Jews wanted to seize him, they could not do this until Christ willed. &#8220;No one takes it from me,
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791 but I lay it down of myself&#8221; (below 10:18). And so Jesus said: <span style="font-weight: bold">For still a short time I am with
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792 you. </span>As if to say: You want to kill me; but this does not depend on your will, but on my will. And
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793 I have decided that <span style="font-weight: bold">For still a short time I am with you; </span>so wait a while. You will do what you
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794 want to do. These words of our Lord first of all satisfied those people who honored him, and
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795 made them more eager to listen to him because there was only a short time left to receive his
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796 teaching, as Chrysostom says. &#8220;While you have the light, believe in the light&#8221; (below 12:36).
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797 Secondly, he satisfied those who were persecuting him. As if to say: Your desire for my death
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798 will not be delayed long; so be patient, because it is <span style="font-weight: bold">a short time. </span>For I must accomplish my
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799 mission: to preach, to perform miracles, and then to come to my passion. &#8220;Go and tell that fox
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800 that I will work today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will finish my course&#8221; (Lk 13:32).</p>
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801 <p>1074 There are three reasons why Christ wished to preach for only a short time. First, to show
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802 his power, by transforming the entire world in such a brief time: &#8220;One day in your courts is better
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803 than a thousand elsewhere&#8221; (Ps 83:11). Secondly, to arouse the desire of his disciples, i.e., to
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804 desire him more (him whose physical presence they would have for only a short time): &#8220;The days
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805 will come when you will desire to see one day of the Son of Man&#8221; (Lk 17:22). Thirdly, to
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806 accelerate the spiritual progress of his disciples. For since the humanity of Christ is our way to
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807 God, as it says below, &#8220;I am the way, and the truth, and the life&#8221; (14:6), we should not rest in it
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808 as a goal, but through it tend to God. And so that the hearts of his disciples, which were moved
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809 by the physical presence of Christ, would not rest in him as man, he quickly took his physical
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810 presence from them; thus he said: &#8220;It is advantageous for you that I go&#8221; (below 16:7); &#8220;If we
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811 knew Christ according to the flesh (i.e., when he was physically present to us) now we no longer
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812 know him in this way&#8221; (2 Cor 5:16).</p>
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813 <p>1075 He shows his desire for his passion when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">I am going to him who sent me, </span>that
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814 is, willingly, by my passion: &#8220;He was offered because it was his own will&#8221; (Is 53:7); &#8220;He gave
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815 himself for us, an offering to God&#8221; (Eph 5:2). 1 am going, I say, to the Father, to him who sent
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816 me. And this is appropriate, for everything naturally returns to its principle: &#8220;Rivers return to the
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817 place from which they come&#8221; (Ecc 1:7); &#8220;Jesus ... knowing that he came from God, and was
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818 going to God&#8221; (below 13:3). And again: &#8220;I am going to him who sent me&#8221; (below 16:5).</p>
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819 <p>1076 When he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">You will look for me, and you will not find me, </span>he is predicting what the
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820 Jews will desire in the times to Come. As if to say: You can enjoy my teaching for a short time;
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821 but this brief time, which you are now rejecting, you will look for later, and you will not find it:
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822 &#8220;Search for the Lord while he can be found&#8221; (Is 55:6); and &#8220;Seek the Lord (at the present time),
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823 and your soul will live&#8221; (Ps 68:33).</p>
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824 <p>1077 This statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">You will look for me, and you will not find me, </span>can be understood either
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825 as a physical search for Christ or as a spiritual search. If we understand it as a physical search,
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826 dien, according to Chrysostom, this is the way he was sought by the daughters of Jerusalem, i.e.,
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827 the women who cried for him, as Luke (23:27) mentions; and no doubt many others were affected
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828 at the same time. It is not unreasonable to think that when trouble was near, especially when their
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829 city was being captured, the Jews remembered Christ and his miracles and wished that he were
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830 there to free them. And in this way, <span style="font-weight: bold">You will look for me, </span>i.e., for me to be physically present,
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831 <span style="font-weight: bold">and you will not find me.</span></p>
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832 <p>If we understand this as a spiritual search for Christ, then we should say, as Augustine does, that
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833 although they refused to recognize Christ while he was among them, they later looked for him,
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834 after they had seen the people believe and had themselves been stung by the crime of his death;
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835 and they said to Peter: &#8220;Brothers, what shall we do?&#8221; (Acts 2:37). In this way, they were looking
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836 for Christ (whom they saw die as a result of their crime) when they believed in him who forgave
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837 them.</p>
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838 <p>1078 Then when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">and where I am, you will not be able to come, </span>he points out one of
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839 their deficiencies. He does not say, &#8220;and where I am going,&#8221; which would be more in keeping
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840 with the earlier thought, &#8220;I am going,&#8221; to the Father, &#8220;to him who sent me.&#8221; He says rather, where
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841 I am, to show that he is both God and man. He is man insofar as he is going: &#8220;I am going to him
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842 who sent me&#8221; (below 16:5). But insofar as Christ had always been where he was about to return,
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843 he shows that he is God: &#8220;No one has gone up to heaven except the One who came down from
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844 heaven&#8221; (above 3:13). And so, as Augustine says, just as Christ returned in such a way as not to
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845 leave us, so he came down to us, when he assumed visible flesh, but in such a way as still to be
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846 in heaven according to his invisible greatness.</p>
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847 <p>He does not say, &#8220;You will not find,&#8221; because some were about to go; but he does say, you will
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848 not be able to come, i.e., as long as you keep your present attitude; for no one can obtain the
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849 eternal inheritance. unless he is God&#8217;s heir. And one becomes an heir of God by faith in Christ:
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850 &#8220;he gave them power to become the sons of God, to all who believe in his name&#8221; (above 1:12).
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851 But the Jews did not yet believe in him; and so he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">you will not be able to come. </span>In the
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852 Psalm it is asked: &#8220;Who will ascend the mountain of the Lord?&#8221; And the answer given is: &#8220;Those
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853 whose hands are innocent and whose hearts are clean&#8221; (Ps 23:3). But the hearts of the Jews were
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854 not clean, nor were their hands innocent, because they wanted to kill Christ. And so he says: you
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855 are not able to ascend the mountain of the Lord.</p>
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856 <p>1079 Then (v 35), we see that this was bewildering to the Jews, who, although they thought of
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857 Christ in a worldly way, still did believe to a certain extent. And three things happen here. First,
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858 they are bewildered; secondly, they form an opinion, and thirdly, they argue against their own
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859 opinion.</p>
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860 <p>1080 They are perplexed when they say to each other: <span style="font-weight: bold">Where is he going that we cannot find
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861 him? </span>For, as was said, they understood this in a physical way: &#8220;The sensual man does not
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862 perceive those things that pertain to the Spirit of God&#8221; (1 Cor 2:14).</p>
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863 <p>1081 And so they came to the opinion that Christ was going to go in a physical way, not by
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864 dying, to some place where they would not be permitted to go. Thus they say: <span style="font-weight: bold">Is he going to
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865 those dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles? </span>For the Gentiles were separated
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866 from the way of life of the Jews: &#8220;separated from Israel&#8217;s way of life, strangers to the covenants,
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867 without hope in the promise, and without God in this world&#8221; (Eph 2:12). And so they said, in a
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868 way reproaching him, to those dispersed among the Gentiles, who had settled in many different
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869 places: &#8220;These are the families of Noe ... and they settled among the nations on the earth after the
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870 flood&#8221; (Gn 10:32). But the Jewish people were united by place, by their worship of the one God,
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871 and by the observance of the law: &#8220;The Lord builds up Jerusalem, and he will gather the
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872 dispersed of Israel&#8221; (Ps 146:2).</p>
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873 <p>They did not say that he would go to the Gentiles to become a Gentile himself, but to bring them
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874 back; and so they said, and teach the Gentiles. They probably took this from Isaiah (49:6): &#8220;I have
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875 given you to be a light to the Gentiles, to be my salvation to the ends of the earth.&#8221; However,
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876 even though they did not understand what they were saying (just as Caiphas did not understand
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877 his own words: &#8220;It is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the entire nation
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878 does not perish&#8221;), what they said was true, and they were predicting the salvation of the Gentiles,
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879 as Augustine says, for Christ would go to the Gentiles, not in his own body, but by his feet, i.e.,
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880 his apostles. For he sent his own members to us to niake us his members. &#8220;And I have other
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881 sheep that are not of this fold, and I must bring them also ... and there will be one fold and one<span style="font-weight: bold">
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882 </span>Shepherd&#8221; (below 10:16). And so Isaiah says, speaking for the Gentiles: &#8220;He will teach us his
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883 ways&#8221; (Is 2:3).</p>
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884 <p>1082 Finally, they saw an objection to their own opinion when they said: <span style="font-weight: bold">What does he mean
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885 by saying</span> ... ? As if to say: If he had said only, <span style="font-weight: bold">You will look for me, and you will not find me</span>,
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886 we could think that he was going to the Gentiles. But he seems to exclude this when he adds,
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887 <span style="font-weight: bold">where I am, you will not be able to come</span>, for we can go to the Gentiles.</p>
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888 <p style="margin-bottom: 0.125in; margin-bottom: 0.125in">&#160;</p>
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889 <p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-weight: bold">LECTURE 5</span></p>
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890 <BLOCKQUOTE><p>37 On the last and greatest day of the festival Jesus stood up and cried out, saying:
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891 <dd>&#8220;If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
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892 <dd>38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scriptures say,
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893 <dd>out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.&#8221;
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894 <br>39 (He said this concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed in him would receive; for as
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895 yet the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.) 40 From that moment
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896 some of the people, hearing these words of his, said: &#8220;Truly, this is the Prophet.&#8221; 41 Others said:
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897 &#8220;This is the Christ.&#8221; But others said: &#8220;Would the Christ come from Galilee? 42 Does not
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898 Scripture say that the Christ will come from the seed of David, and from David&#8217;s town of
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899 Bethlehem?&#8221; 43 And so there was dissension among the people because of him. 44 Although
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900 some of them wanted to apprehend him, no one laid a hand on him. 45 So the officers returned
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901 to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them: &#8220;Why have you not brought him?&#8221; 46 The
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902 officers replied: &#8220;Never has any man spoken like this man.&#8221; 47 The Pharisees then retorted:
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903 &#8220;Have you too been seduced? him, or any of the Pharisees? 48 Has any one of the rulers believed
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904 in 49 But these people, who do not know the law, they are accursed.&#8221; 50 Nicodemus (the same
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905 one who came to him at night, and was one of them) said: 51 &#8220;Does our law judge a man without
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906 first hearing from him and knowing what he has done?&#8221; 52 They answered and said to him: &#8220;Are
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907 you too a Galilean? Look at the Scriptures and see that the Prophet will not come from Galilee.&#8221;
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908 53 Then every man returned to his own house.</p></BLOCKQUOTE>
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909 <p>1083 After our Lord told them about the origin of his doctrine and of the teacher, as well as his
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910 end, he now invites them to accept his teaching itself. First, we see Christ&#8217;s invitation; secondly,
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911 the dissension among the people (v 40). He does three things about the first. First, he tells us the
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912 manner of this invitation; secondly, we see the invitation itself (v 37); and thirdly, he explains
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913 what it means (v 39). The manner of the invitation is described in three ways: by its time; by the
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914 posture of the one inviting; and by his efforts.</p>
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915 <p>1084 As to the time, we see that it was <span style="font-weight: bold">the last and greatest day of the festival. </span>For as we saw
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916 before, this feast was celebrated for seven days, and the first and the last day were the more
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917 solemn; just as with us, the first day of a feast and its octave are the more solemn. Therefore,
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918 what our Lord did here he did not do on the first day, as he had not yet gone to Jerusalem, nor
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919 in the intervening days, but on the last day. And he acted then because there are few who
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920 celebrate feasts in a spiritual way. Consequently, he did not invite them to his teaching at the
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921 beginning of the festival so that the trifles of the following days would not drive it from their
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922 hearts; for we read that the word of the Lord is choked by thorns (Lk 8:7). But he did invite them
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923 on the last day so that his teaching would be more deeply impressed on their hearts.</p>
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924 <p>1085 As to his posture, <span style="font-weight: bold">Jesus stood up. </span>Here we should note that Christ taught both while sitting
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925 and standing. He taught his disciples while sitting (Mt 5:1); while he stood when he taught the
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926 people, as he is doing here. It is from this that we get the custom in the Church of standing when
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927 preaching to the people, but sitting while preaching to religious and clerics. The reason for this
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928 is that since the aim in preaching to the people is to convert them, it takes the form of an
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929 exhortation; but when preaching is directed to clergy, already living in the house of God, it takes
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930 the form of a reminder.</p>
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931 <p>1086 As to his effort we read that he <span style="font-weight: bold">cried out, </span>in order to show his own assurance: &#8220;Raise up
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932 your voice with strength ... raise it up, and do not be afraid&#8221; (Is 40:9); and so that all would be
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933 able to hear him: &#8220;Cry out, and do not stop; raise your voice like a trumpet&#8221; (Is 58:1); and to
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934 stress the importance of what he was about to say: &#8220;Listen to me, for I will tell you about great
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935 things&#8221; (Prv 8:6).</p>
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936 <p>1087 Next (v 37b), we see Christ&#8217;s invitation: first, those who are invited; secondly, the fruit of
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937 this invitation.</p>
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938 <p>1088 It is the thirsty who are invited. Thus he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and
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939 drink; </span>&#8220;Come to the waters, all you who thirst&#8221; (Is 55:1). He calls the thirsty because such
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940 people want to serve God. For God does not accept a forced service: &#8220;God loves a cheerful giver&#8221;
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941 (2 Cor 9:7). So we read: &#8220;I will sacrifice freely&#8221; (Is 53:8). And such people are described in
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942 Matthew this way: &#8220;Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for what is right&#8221; (Mt 5:6). Now our
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943 Lord calls all of these people, not just some; and so he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">It anyone thirsts, </span>as if to say:
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944 whoever it is. &#8220;Come to me, all you who desire me, and be filled with my fruits&#8221; (Sir 24:26); &#8220;He
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945 desires the salvation of all&#8221; (1 Tim 2:4).</p>
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946 <p>Jesus invites them to drink; and so he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">and drink. </span>For this drink is spiritual refreshment in
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947 the knowledge of divine wisdom and truth, and in the realization of their desires: &#8220;My servants
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948 will drink, and you will be thirsty&#8221; (Is 65:13), &#8220;Come and eat my bread, and drink the wine I have
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949 mixed for you&#8221; (Prv 9:5), &#8220;She [wisdom] will give him the water of saving wisdom to drink&#8221; (Sir
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950 15:3).</p>
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951 <p>1089 The fruit of this invitation is that good things overflow upon others; thus he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">Whoever
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952 believes in me, as the Scriptures say, out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.
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953 </span>According to Chrysostom, we should read this as follows: <span style="font-weight: bold">Whoever believes in me, as the
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954 Scriptures say. </span>And then a new sentence begins: <span style="font-weight: bold">Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living
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955 water. </span>For if we say: <span style="font-weight: bold">Whoever believes in me, </span>and follow this with, <span style="font-weight: bold">as the Scriptures say, out
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956 of his heart shall flow rivers of living water, </span>it does not seem to be correct, for the statement,
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957 <span style="font-weight: bold">out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water, </span>is not found in any book of the Old
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958 Testament. So we should say: <span style="font-weight: bold">Whoever believes in me, as the Scriptures say; </span>that is, according
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959 to the teaching of the Scriptures. &#8220;Search the Scriptures ... they too bear witness to me&#8221; (above
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960 5:39). And then there follows: <span style="font-weight: bold">Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water. </span>He says here,
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961 <span style="font-weight: bold">Whoever believes in me, </span>while before he said, &#8220;He who comes to me,&#8221; because to believe and
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962 to come are the same thing: &#8220;Come to him and be enlightened,&#8221; as we read in the Psalm (33:6).</p>
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963 <p>But Jerome punctuates this in a different way. He says that after <span style="font-weight: bold">Whoever believes in me, </span>there
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964 follows, <span style="font-weight: bold">as the Scriptures say, out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water. </span>And he says
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965 that this phrase was taken from Proverbs (5:15): &#8220;Drink the water from your own cistern, and
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966 from the streams of you own well. Let your fountains flow far and wide.&#8221;</p>
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967 <p>1090 We should note, with Augustine, that rivers come from fountains as their source. Now one
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968 who drinks natural water does not have either a fountain or a river within himself, because he
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969 takes only a small portion of water. But one who drinks by believing in Christ draws in a fountain
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970 of water; and when he draws it in, his conscience, which is the heart of the inner man, begins to
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971 live and it itself becomes a fountain. So we read above: &#8220;The water that I give will become a
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972 fountain within him&#8221; (4:14). This fountain which is taken in is the Holy Spirit, of whom we read:
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973 &#8220;With you is the fountain of life&#8221; (Ps 35:10). Therefore, whoever drinks the the gifts of the
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974 graces, which are signified by the rivers, in such a way that he alone benefits, will not have living
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975 water flowing from his heart. But whoever acts quickly to help others, and to share with them the
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976 various gifts of grace he has received from God, will have living water flowing from his heart.
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977 This is why Peter says: &#8220;According to the grace each has received, let them use it to benefit one
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978 another&#8221; (1 Pet 4:10).</p>
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979 <p>He says, <span style="font-weight: bold">rivers, </span>to indicate the abundance of the spiritual gifts which were promised to those who
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980 believe: &#8220;The river of God is full of water&#8221; (Ps 64:10) ; and also their force or onrush: &#8220;When
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981 they rush to Jacob, Israel will blossom and bud, and they will fill the surface of the earth with
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982 fruit&#8221; (Is 27:6); and again, &#8220;The rush of the rivers gives joy to the city of God&#8221; (Ps 45:5). Thus,
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983 because the Apostle was governed by the impulsive force and fervor of the Holy Spirit, he said:
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984 &#8220;The love of Christ spurs us on&#8221; (2 Cor 5:14); and &#8220;Those who are led by the Spirit of God are
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985 the sons of God&#8221; (Rom 8:14). The separate distribution of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is also
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986 indicated, for we read, &#8220;to one the gift of healing ... to another the gift of tongues&#8221; (1 Cor 12:10).
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987 These gifts are &#8220;rivers of living water&#8221; because they flow directly from their source, which is the
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988 indwelling Holy Spirit.</p>
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989 <p>1091 Then (v 39), he explains what he said. First we see the explanation; secondly, the reason
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990 behind this explanation (v 39b).</p>
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991 <p>1092 Christ had said: &#8220;out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.&#8221; The Evangelist tells us
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992 that we should understand this <span style="font-weight: bold">concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed in him would
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993 receive, </span>because the Spirit is the fountain and river of life. He is the fountain of which we read:
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994 &#8220;With you is the fountain of life; and in your light we will see light&#8221; (Ps 35:10). And the Spirit
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995 is a river because he proceeds from the Father and the Son: &#8220;The angel then showed me the river
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996 of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb&#8221; (Rv 22:1).
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997 &#8220;He gave the Spirit,&#8221; that is, to those who obey him (Is 42:1).</p>
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998 <p>1093 He gives the reason behind this explanation, saying, <span style="font-weight: bold">for as yet the Spirit had not been
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999 given. </span>And he says two things. <span style="font-weight: bold">as yet the Spirit had not been given, </span>and that <span style="font-weight: bold">Jesus had not yet
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1000 been glorifled.</span></p>
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1001 <p>There are two opinions about the first of these. For Chrysostom says that before the resurrection
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1002 of Christ the Holy Spirit was not given to the apostles with respect to the gifts of prophecy and
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1003 miracles. And so this grace, which was given to the prophets, was not to he found on earth until
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1004 Christ came, and after that it was not given to anyone until the above mentioned time. And if
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1005 anyone objects that the apostles cast out devils before the resurrection, it should be understood
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1006 that they were cast out by that power which was from Christ, not by the Spirit; for when he sent
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1007 them out, we do not read that he gave them the Holy Spirit, but rather that &#8220;he gave them power
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1008 over unclean spirits&#8221; (Mt 10:1).</p>
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1009 <p>However, this seems to conflict with what our Lord says in the Gospel of&#8217; Luke: &#8220;If I cast out
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1010 devils by Beelzebub, by whom do your children cast them out&#8217;?&#8221; (Lk 11:19). But it is certain that
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1011 our Lord cast out devils by the Holy Spirit, as the children did also, that is, the apostles,
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1012 Therefore, it is clear that they had received the Holy Spirit. And so we must say, with Augustine,
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1013 that the apostles had the Holy Spirit before the resurrection, even with respect to the gifts of
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1014 prophecy and miracles. And when we read here that <span style="font-weight: bold">as yet the Spirit had not been given, </span>we
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1015 should understand this to refer to a more abundant giving, and one with visible signs, as the Spirit
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1016 was given to them in tongues of fire after the resurrection and ascension.</p>
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1017 <p>1094 But since the Holy Spirit sanctifies the Church and is even now received by those who
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1018 believe, why does no one speak in the languages of all nations as then? My answer is that it is
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1019 not necessary, as Augustine says. For now the universal Church speaks the languages of all the
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1020 nations, because the love of charity is given by the Holy Spirit: &#8220;The love of God is poured out
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1021 into our hearts by the Holy Spirit&#8221; (Rom 5:5); and this love, making all things common, makes
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1022 everyone speak to everyone else. As Augustine says: &#8220;If you love unity, then you have everything
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1023 that anyone else has in it (i.e., in the Church). Give up your envy, and what I have is also yours;
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1024 ill-will divides, the love of charity unites. If you have this love, you will have everything.&#8221; But
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1025 at the beginning, before the Church was spread throughout the world, because it had few
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1026 members, they had to speak the languages of all so that they could establish the Church among
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1027 all.</p>
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1028 <p>1095 With regard to the second point, we should note that Augustine thinks the statement, <span style="font-weight: bold">Jesus
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1029 had not yet been glorified, </span>should be understood as the glory of the resurrection. As if to say:
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1030 Jesus had not yet risen from the dead or ascended into heaven. We read about this below:
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1031 &#8220;Father, glorify me&#8221; (17:5). And the reason why Christ willed to be glorified before he gave the
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1032 Holy Spirit is that the Holy Spirit is given to us so that we might raise our hearts from the love
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1033 of this world in a spiritual resurrection, and turn completely to God. To those who are afire with
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1034 the love of the Holy Spirit, Christ promised eternal life, where we will not die, and where we will
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1035 have no fear. And for this reason he did not wish to give the Holy Spirit until he was glorified,
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1036 so that he might show in his body the life for which we hope in the resurrection.</p>
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1037 <p>1096 For Chrysostom, however, this statement does not refer to the glory of the resurrection, but
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1038 to the glorification of the passion. When his passion was near, our Lord said: &#8220;Now the Son of
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1039 Man is glorified&#8221; (below 13:3 1). So, according to this view, the Holy Spirit was first given after
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1040 the passion, when our Lord said to his apostles: &#8220;Receive the Holy Spirit&#8221; (below 20:22). The
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1041 Holy Spirit was not given before the passion because, since it is a gift, it should not be given to
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1042 enemies, but to friends. But We were enemies. Thus it was necessary that first the victim be
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1043 offered on the altar of the cross, and enmity be destroyed in his flesh, so that by this we might
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1044 be reconciled to God by the death of his Son; and then, having been made friends, we could
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1045 receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.</p>
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1046 <p>1097 The Evangelist, having shown us Christ&#8217;s invitation to a spiritual drink, now presents the
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1047 disagreement of the people. First, the disagreement among the people themselves; secondly, that
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1048 of their leaders (v 45). He does two things about the first. First, he states what those who
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1049 disagreed said; secondly, he states the fact that there was a disagreement (v 43).</p>
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1050 <p>What the people said varied according to their different opinions about Christ. And he gives three
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1051 of their opinions: two of these were the opinions of those who were coming for spiritual drink;
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1052 and the third was held by those who shrank from it.</p>
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1053 <p>1098 The first opinion was that Christ was the Prophet. So he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">From that moment, </span>i.e.,
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1054 from the time Christ had spoken on the great day of the feast, <span style="font-weight: bold">hearing these words of his, some
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1055 of the people said, </span>i.e., those who had now begun to drink that water spiritually, <span style="font-weight: bold">Truly, this is
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1056 the Prophet. </span>They did not just call him a prophet, but <span style="font-weight: bold">the Prophet, </span>thinking that he was the one
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1057 about whom Moses foretold: &#8220;The Lord your God will raise up a prophet for you from your
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1058 brothers ... you will listen to him&#8221; (Dt 18:15).</p>
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1059 <p>1099 Another opinion was of those who said, <span style="font-weight: bold">This is the Christ. </span>These people had drawn closer
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1060 to that [spiritual] drink, and had slaked the thirst of unbelief to a greater extent. This is what Peter
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1061 himself professed: &#8220;You are the Christ, the Son of the living God&#8221; (Mt 16:16).</p>
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1062 <p>1100 The third opinion conflicts with the other two. First, those who hold this disagree with
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1063 those who say that Jesus is the Christ; secondly, they support their opinion with an authority. So
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1064 he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">But others said, </span>those remaining in the dryness of unbelief, <span style="font-weight: bold">Would the Christ come
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1065 from Galilee? </span>For they knew that it was not predicted by the prophets that the Christ would
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1066 come from Galilee. And they said what they did because they thought that Jesus had been born
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1067 in Nazareth, not knowing that it was really in Bethlehem: for it was well known that he had been
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1068 brought up in Nazareth, but only a few knew where he was born. Nevertheless, although the
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1069 Scripture does not say that the Christ would be born in Galilee, it did foretell that he would first
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1070 start out from there: &#8220;The people who walked in darkness saw a great light, and on those who
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1071 lived in the region of the shadow of death, a light has risen&#8221; (Is 9:1). It even foretold that the
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1072 Christ would come from Nazareth: &#8220;A flower will rise up from his roots&#8221; (Is 11:1 ), where the
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1073 Hebrew version reads: &#8220;A Nazarene will rise up from his roots.&#8221;</p>
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1074 <p>1101 They support their objection by the authority of Scripture when they say, <span style="font-weight: bold">Does not
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1075 Scripture say that the Christ will come from the seed of David, and from David&#8217;s town of
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1076 Bethlehem? </span>We read in Jeremiah (23:5) that Jesus would come from the seed of David: &#8220;I will
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1077 raise up a just branch for David.&#8221; And we see that David was &#8220;the anointed of God&#8221; (2 Sm 23:1).
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1078 In Micah (5:2) we read that Jesus would come from Bethlehem: &#8220;And you, Bethlehem, land of
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1079 Judah: from you there will come forth, for me, a ruler of Israel.&#8221;</p>
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1080 <p>1102 Then (v 43), the disagreement among the people is mentioned; secondly, the attempt of
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1081 some of them to seize Christ; and thirdly, the failure of their attempt.</p>
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1082 <p>1103 <span style="font-weight: bold">And so there was dissension among the people because of him, </span>that is, Christ. For it
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1083 often happens that when the truth is made known, it causes dissensions and uneasiness in the
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1084 hearts of the wicked. So Jeremiah says, representing Christ: &#8220;Woe is me, my mother! Why did
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1085 you give birth to me as a man of strife and dissension for all the earth&#8221; (Jer 15:10). And our Lord
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1086 said: &#8220;I have not come to send peace, but the sword&#8221; (Mt 10:34).</p>
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1087 <p>1104 Some of them attempted to seize Christ; so he says, some of them, that is, those who had
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1088 said, &#8220;Would the Christ come from Galilee?&#8221; <span style="font-weight: bold">wanted to apprehend him, </span>to kill him out of
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1089 hatred: &#8220;Pursue and seize him&#8221; (Ps 70:11); &#8220;The enemy said: &#8216;I will pursue and seize&#8217; &#8220; (Ex
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1090 15:9). On the other hand, those who are good and those who believe want to seize Christ to enjoy
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1091 him: &#8220;I will go up into the palm tree and seize its fruit&#8221; (Sg 7:8).</p>
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1092 <p>1105 But they were frustrated by the power of Christ. So he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">no one laid a hand on him,
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1093 </span>that is, because Jesus was not willing that they do so, for this depended on his power: &#8220;No one
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1094 takes my soul from me, but I lay it down of myself&#8221; (below 10. 18). Accordingly, when Christ
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1095 did will to suffer, he did not wait for them, but he offered himself to them: &#8220;Jesus stepped
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1096 forward and said to them: &#8216;Whom are you looking for?&#8221; (below 18:4).</p>
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1097 <p>1106 Then (v 45), we see the dissension of the leaders of the people: first, their disagreement
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1098 with their officers; and secondly, the disagreement among themselves (v 50). He does three
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1099 things about the first: first, he shows the leaders rebuking their officers; secondly, the testimony
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1100 the officers gave about Christ; and thirdly, we see the leaders reprimanding their own officers.</p>
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1101 <p>1107 As to the first, let us note the evil of the leaders, that is, the chief priests and Pharisees,
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1102 when they say to their officers. <span style="font-weight: bold">Why have you not brought him? </span>For their evil was so great that
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1103 their own officers could not please them unless they injured Christ: &#8220;They cannot sleep unless
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1104 they have done something evil&#8221; (Prv 4:16).</p>
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1105 <p>There is a problem here about the literal meaning of the text. For since it was said before that the
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1106 officers were sent to apprehend Jesus when the festival was half over (v 32), that is, on the fourth
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1107 day, and here we read that they returned on the seventh day, &#8220;On the last and greatest day of the
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1108 festival&#8221; (v 37), it seems that the Evangelist overlooked the days inbetween. There are two
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1109 answers to this: either the Evangelist anticipated the disagreement among the people, or the
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1110 officers had returned before, but it is just mentioned now to show the reason why there was
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1111 dissension among the leaders.</p>
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1112 <p>1108 As to the second point, let us realize how good these officers were in giving this
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1113 praiseworthy testimony about Christ, saying: <span style="font-weight: bold">Never has any man spoken like this man. </span>They
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1114 deserve our praise for three reasons. First, because of their admiration: for they admired Christ
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1115 because of his teachings, not his miracles. And this brought them nearer to the truth, and further
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1116 from the custom of the Jews, who looked for signs, as is said in 1 Corinthians (1:22). Secondly,
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1117 we should praise them because of the ease with which they were won over: because with just a
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1118 few words, Christ had captivated them and had drawn their love. Thirdly, because of their
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1119 confidence: because it was to the Pharisees, who were the enemies of Christ, that they said:
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1120 <span style="font-weight: bold">Never has any man spoken like this man. </span>And these things are to be expected, for Jesus was
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1121 not just a man, but the Word of God; and so his words had power to affect people. &#8220;Are not my
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1122 words like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer breaking a rock?&#8221; (Jer 23:29). And so Matthew
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1123 says: &#8220;He was teaching them as one who had authority&#8221; (Mt 7:29). And his words were sweet to
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1124 contemplate: &#8220;Let your voice sound in my ears, for your voice is sweet&#8221; (Sg 2:14); &#8220;How sweet
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1125 are your words to my tongue! &#8220; (Ps 118:103). And his words were useful to keep in mind,
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1126 because they promised eternal life: &#8220;Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal
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1127 life&#8221; (above 6:69); &#8220;I am the Lord, who teaches you things that are useful&#8221; (Is 48:17).</p>
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1128 <p>1109 As to the third point, see the treachery of the Jews in living to alienate the officers from
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1129 Christ; <span style="font-weight: bold">The Pharisees then reforted, to the </span>officers, <span style="font-weight: bold">Have you too been seduced? </span>Here they
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1130 do three things. First, they attack what they consider a mistake of their officers; secondly, they
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1131 hold up their leaders as an example; and in from him and the third place, they reject the example
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1132 of the people.</p>
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1133 <p>1110 They attack the officers when they say, <span style="font-weight: bold">Have you too been seduced? </span>As if to say: We see
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1134 that what he said was pleasing to you. As a matter of fact, they had been seduced, but in an
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1135 admirable way, because the left the evil of unbelief and were brought to the truth of the faith. We
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1136 read about this: &#8220;You seduced me, O Lord, and I was seduced&#8221; (Jer 20:7).</p>
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1137 <p>1111 Then they appeal to their rulers as an example, to turn the officers further from Christ,
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1138 saying: <span style="font-weight: bold">Has any one of the rulers believed in him, or any of the Pharisees? </span>There are two
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1139 reasons why a person should be believed: either because of some authority or because of a
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1140 religious disposition. And they say that none of these are found with Christ. As if to say: If Christ
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1141 were worthy to be received, then our rulers, who have authority, would have accepted him; and
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1142 so would the Pharisees, who have a religious disposition. But none of these believe in him; and
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1143 so neither should you believe in him. This fulfills the saying: &#8220;The stone that the builders (that
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1144 is, the rulers and the Pharisees) rejected has become the cornerstone (that is, in the hearts of the
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1145 people). The Lord has done this,&#8221; because his goodness is greater than man&#8217;s evil (Ps 117:22).</p>
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1146 <p>1112 They reject the statements of the people because they are a rebuke to their own evil. So they
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1147 say: <span style="font-weight: bold">But these people, who do not know the law, they are accursed; </span>therefore, you should not
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1148 agree with them. This thought was found in Deuteronomy: &#8220;Accursed are they who do not live
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1149 within the law and do not act according to it&#8221; (Dt 27:26). But they did not understand this
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1150 correctly, because even those who do not have a knowledge of the law but act in harmony with
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1151 it, live more within the law than those who do have a knowledge of the law yot do not keep it.
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1152 It is said about such people: &#8220;This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from
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1153 me&#8221; (Mt 15:8); and in James (1:22): &#8220;Be a doer of the word, and not just a hearer.&#8221;</p>
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1154 <p>1113 Next, we see the dissension among the rulers. First, the advice of Nicodemus is given;
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1155 secondly, the opposition of the rulers; and thirdly, the outcome of the whole affair. The
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1156 Evangelist does two things about the first: first, he tells us something about Nicodemus;
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1157 secondly, he gives his advice.</p>
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1158 <p>1114 He tells us three things about Nicodemus: the first two show us the attitude of Nicodemus
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1159 himself; and the second reveals the malice of the rulers. The first concerns the faith of
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1160 Nicodemus, and he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">Nicodemus, who came to him, </span>i.e., who believed, for to come to Christ
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1161 is the same as to believe in him. The second shows the imperfection of his faith, because he came
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1162 <span style="font-weight: bold">at night. </span>For if he had believed perfectly, he would not have been fearful, for as we read below
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1163 ( 12:42): &#8220;Many of the rulers believed in him, but they did not admit it because of the Pharisees,
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1164 so that they would not be expelled from the synagogue.&#8221; And one of these was Nicodemus.</p>
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1165 <p>The third thing the Evangelist tells us shows us that the rulers did not speak the truth: for they
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1166 said that none of the rulers, or of the Pharisees, believed in Christ. And so the Evangelist says
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1167 about Nicodemus that he was one of them: as if to say: If Nicomedus, who was one of the rulers,
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1168 believed in Christ, then the rulers and Pharisees are speaking falsely when they say that none of
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1169 the rulers believed in him. &#8220;Truly, a lie was spoken&#8221; (Jer 16:19).</p>
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1170 <p>1115 The advice of Nicodemus is given when he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">Does our law judge a man without first
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1171 hearing from him and knowing what he has done? </span>For according to the civil laws, a judgment
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1172 was only to be given after a complete investigation. This is why we read: &#8220;It is not the custom
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1173 of the Romans to condemn any man before he has his accusers face him, and can defend himself
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1174 from the charges&#8221; (Acts 25:16). &#8220;I diligently investigated the stranger&#8217;s cause&#8221; (Jb 29:16). And
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1175 so the law of Moses says: &#8220;Do not condemn one who is innocent and just, because I hate the
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1176 wicked&#8221; (Ex 23:7).</p>
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1177 <p>Nicodemus said what he did because he believed in Christ and wanted to convert them to Christ;
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1178 yet because he was afraid, he did not act very candidly. He thought that if they would only listen
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1179 to Christ, the words of Christ would be so effective that perhaps they would be changed like
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1180 those whom they sent to Jesus, and who, when they heard Christ, were turned aside from the very
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1181 act for which they had been sent.</p>
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1182 <p>1116 We see the opposition of the rulers to Nicodemus when he says, <span style="font-weight: bold">They answered and said
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1183 to him. </span>First, they think that he has been seduced; and secondly, that he does not know the law.</p>
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1184 <p>As to the first, they say: <span style="font-weight: bold">Are you too a Galilean? </span>that is, one who has been seduced by this
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1185 Galilean. For they considered Christ a Galilean because he lived in Galilee. And so anyone who
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1186 followed Christ they derisively called a Galilean. &#8220;The girl servant said to Peter: &#8216;You are a
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1187 Galilean, are you not&#8221; (Mt 26:69), &#8220;Do you also want to become his disciples?&#8221; (below 9:27).</p>
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1188 <p>About his ignorance of the law, they say: <span style="font-weight: bold">Look at the Scriptures and see that the Prophet will
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1189 not come from Galilee. </span>But since Nicodemus was a teacher of the law, he did not have to look
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1190 again. It is as if they were saying: Although you are a teacher, you do not know this. Something
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1191 like this was said before: &#8220;You are a teacher in Israel and you do not know these things?&#8221; (above
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1192 3:10). Now even though the Old Testament does not explicitly say that a prophet will come<span style="font-weight: bold"> </span>from
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1193 Galilee, it does say that the Lord of the prophets would come from there, according to: &#8220;A flower
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1194 (i.e., a Nazarene) will arise from his root ... and the Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him,&#8221; as we
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1195 read in Isaiah (11:1).</p>
25a799388159 originals from http://www.josephkenny.joyeurs.com/CDtexts/SSJohn.htm
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1196 <p>1117 The outcome of this dissension is seen to be useless. So he says: <span style="font-weight: bold">Then every man
25a799388159 originals from http://www.josephkenny.joyeurs.com/CDtexts/SSJohn.htm
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1197 returned, </span>leaving the matter unfinished, to his own house, i.e., to what belonged to him, empty
25a799388159 originals from http://www.josephkenny.joyeurs.com/CDtexts/SSJohn.htm
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1198 of faith and frustrated in his evil desires. &#8220;He frustrates the plans of the wicked&#8221; (Jb 5:13); &#8220;God
25a799388159 originals from http://www.josephkenny.joyeurs.com/CDtexts/SSJohn.htm
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1199 destroys the plans of rulers, and frustrates the schemes of the people&#8221; (Ps 3 2:10).</p>
25a799388159 originals from http://www.josephkenny.joyeurs.com/CDtexts/SSJohn.htm
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1200 <p>Or, each returned <span style="font-weight: bold">to his own house, </span>i.e., to the evil of his unbelief and irreverence. &#8220;I know
25a799388159 originals from http://www.josephkenny.joyeurs.com/CDtexts/SSJohn.htm
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1201 where you live: where the throne of Satan is. You hold to my name, and you have not denied my
25a799388159 originals from http://www.josephkenny.joyeurs.com/CDtexts/SSJohn.htm
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1202 faith&#8221; (Rv 2:13).</p>
25a799388159 originals from http://www.josephkenny.joyeurs.com/CDtexts/SSJohn.htm
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1203 </body>
25a799388159 originals from http://www.josephkenny.joyeurs.com/CDtexts/SSJohn.htm
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1204
25a799388159 originals from http://www.josephkenny.joyeurs.com/CDtexts/SSJohn.htm
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1205 </html>