返回Chapter 12
Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Jn. 12:1. Six days before Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, who had died, whom He raised from the dead.
On the tenth day of the month they choose a lamb for slaughter for the feast of Passover (Exod. 12:3), and from that same time they begin to prepare everything necessary for the feast. Customarily, six days before Passover as well, that is, on the ninth day of the month, they eat more lavishly, and with this day they begin the feast. Therefore Jesus too, having come to Bethany, shares in the supper.
Jn. 12:2. There they prepared a supper for Him, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with Him.
The Evangelist, wishing to show the truth of the resurrection of Lazarus, says: "and Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with Him." For he, having appeared alive, did not immediately die, but remained on earth for a long time, eating, drinking, and performing other usual activities.
By the words "Martha served," he indicated that the feast was at her house. Note, I pray you, the faith of this woman. She did not entrust the service to maidservants, but carries it out herself in person. And Paul speaks of a widow who "washed the feet of the saints" (1 Tim. 5:10).
Jn. 12:3. Then Mary, having taken a pound of pure, costly spikenard ointment, anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.
So then, Martha herself serves everyone in general, while Mary honors Christ alone, because she attends to Him not as a man, but as God. For she poured out the myrrh and wiped it with the hairs of her head, because she had a conception of Him not such as others had, not as of a mere man, but as of the Master and Lord.
Mary can also be understood in a higher sense — as referring to the divinity of the Father and Lord of all; for Mary means "lady." Thus, the Lordship of the Father's Divinity anointed the feet of Jesus — the flesh assumed in the last times by the Lord the Word — anointed it with the myrrh of the Spirit, as David also says: "Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness" (Ps. 45:7); and the great Peter says: "Let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). For the Flesh assumed by the Word, anointed by the divine Spirit who descended upon the Virgin's womb, and having become the same as the Word, that is, God, filled the world with blessing, just as the myrrh of Mary filled the whole house with fragrance.
What then are the "hairs" by which the feet were wiped? They are, of course, the saints who adorn the head of God and His supreme authority. For they, being to the glory of God, may be called His adornment. They also became partakers of the anointing of the Lord's flesh, just as David calls them "companions" (Ps. 45:7), and the Apostle Paul says to the Corinthians: "Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God" (2 Cor. 1:21). And everywhere we learn that those who live according to Christ are called christs (anointed ones). Thus, by the hairs which wiped the feet of Jesus and which partake of the divine anointing, we may understand Christians. Hairs are something dead. And Christians are dead, for they "have crucified the flesh" (Gal. 5:24) and "put to death the members which are on the earth" (Col. 3:5), and have died to the world. Hairs adorn the head and constitute its glory. The saints also constitute the glory of God, "since their light shines before men, and the Father is glorified through them" (Matt. 5:16), and they make their eating and drinking "to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31), and in their members they glorify Him.
And you, since Jesus has raised your mind, as if it were a certain Lazarus, receive Him into the house of your soul; let the one who was raised recline with Him; anoint the feet of the Lord, six days before Pascha, before the Pascha of the age to come arrives, while you live in this world, which was created in six days. By the "feet" of Christ one may understand: the Apostle and the Gospel, and in general the commandments, for by them He walks in us. So then, to these commandments add myrrh — a disposition composed of various virtues, of which the highest is faith, fervent as spikenard. For if you do not show a fervent, zealous, and virtuous disposition toward these commandments and do not wipe them with your mortified members, as with hair, and do not receive them into yourself, you will not be able to fill your house with fragrance. By the "feet" of the Lord one may also understand the least of the brethren, in whose person Christ comes to the door of each one and asks for what is needed: anoint them with the myrrh of almsgiving. Many give alms for show, and therefore receive no benefit for themselves, for they receive their reward here (Matt. 6:1–2). But you, wipe with the hairs of your head and receive the benefit for your soul, gather the fruit of almsgiving in the ruling part. And if you have anything dead and lifeless, like hair — perfume it with this good anointing. For it is said: "Redeem your sins with almsgiving" (Dan. 4:24).
Jn. 12:4. Then one of His disciples, Judas Simon's son, Iscariot, who was about to betray Him, said:
How then does another evangelist (Matt. 26:8–9) say that all the disciples said this? To this it must be said that although all said this, the others did not say it with the same thought as Judas.
Jn. 12:5. Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?
Judas, being covetous, did not approve of such a manner of care. "Why," he says as it were, "did you bring not money, from which I could steal, but myrrh?"
Jn. 12:6. He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. He had the money box with him and carried what was put into it.
If Judas was covetous and a thief, then why did the Lord entrust him with the management of the money? For that very reason — because he was a thief — so as to take away from him every excuse. For he could not say that he betrayed Him (Jesus) out of love of money. The money box consoled him, but even while carrying the box, he was not faithful. For he carried away, that is, stole what was put into it, and was a sacrileger, appropriating for himself the offerings intended for a holy purpose.
Let the sacrilegious hear what their lot is. The height of evil is that Judas afterwards betrayed Jesus and the Lord. Do you see where covetousness leads? To betrayal. Therefore, the Apostle Paul fittingly called "the love of money the root of all evils" (1 Tim. 6:10), because it betrayed the Lord and always does so. Some say that Judas was entrusted with the keeping of the money as one lesser than the rest. For serving around money is a lesser task than teaching, just as in Acts (Acts 6:2) the apostles say: "It is not right for us to leave the word of God and serve tables."
Jn. 12:7. Then Jesus said: Leave her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.
Jn. 12:8. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have Me.
The Lord does not rebuke Judas, although He knows that he said this with the intention of a thief. For He did not wish to put him to shame, teaching us also to bear with such people for a long time. Nevertheless, the Lord covertly reproaches Judas for the betrayal and for the fact that he would betray Him to death out of covetousness.
Therefore He mentions the burial as well, striking at his senseless heart so that he might be corrected, and the addition has this meaning: "You always have the poor with you," He says, "but you do not always have Me; yet a little while, and I will depart, since you have prepared death for Me. Therefore, if I am disagreeable to you and the honor done to Me is burdensome to you, endure a little longer, and you will be rid of Me; and then it will be revealed whether it is for the sake of the poor that you are concerned about the sale of the myrrh."
Jn. 12:9. Many of the Jews learned that He was there, and came not only for Jesus' sake, but also to see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.
Those who came to the Lord were better-intentioned than the rest, who were senseless and frenzied; for they came not only for the sake of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus. Since a truly great miracle had been performed, many wished to be spectators of the risen man, perhaps in the hope of learning from Lazarus something about those in Hades.
Jn. 12:10. But the chief priests resolved to kill Lazarus also,
Jn. 12:11. Because on account of him many of the Jews were coming and believing in Jesus.
The Pharisees, however, are so inhuman that they want to kill not only Jesus but also Lazarus, because he served as an occasion of salvation for many through the miracle performed upon him, leading simple people to faith. Thus even the beneficence of Jesus became a crime in their eyes. They were especially vexed by the fact that, with the approach of the feast, everyone was going to Bethany, learning of the miracle, and seeing the risen man with their own eyes.
Jn. 12:12. On the next day, a great multitude that had come to the feast, having heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
The Lord, having withdrawn into the wilderness for a short time in order to calm the fury of the bloodthirsty, again openly enters Judea and shows Himself before all. The time to suffer had finally come, and He ought not to hide, but to give Himself up for the salvation of the world.
See then what the sequence of the Passion was. The Lord raised Lazarus, having reserved this miracle, the most important of all the rest, for the end; as a result of this, many flocked to Him and believed. Because many believed, the envy of His enemies increased. After this followed the plots against Him and the Cross.
Jn. 12:13. Palm branches were taken,
The palms perhaps signified that He, having raised Lazarus, became the conqueror of death, for the palm was given to victors in combat. Perhaps they also expressed that the One being glorified is a heavenly Being who came from above. For the palm alone among other trees reaches, so to speak, heaven itself, puts forth leaves at its height, has white kernels in its leaves, yet in its trunk and middle, up to the top, is rough and difficult to climb, since it has thorns on its branches. So too, whoever strives toward the knowledge of the Son and Word of God will find it not easy but difficult, ascending through the labors of virtue; but upon reaching the height of knowledge, he will be illumined by the bright light of the knowledge of God and the revelation of ineffable mysteries, as if by the whitest kernels of the palm.
Jn. 12:13. went out to meet Him and cried out: Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord,
The people, having heard that Jesus was coming, met Him with glory, undoubtedly on account of the miracle over Lazarus, rendering Him honor greater than what would befit a mere man. For they no longer received Him as a prophet, because to which of the prophets had their fathers rendered such honor?
Therefore they also exclaimed: "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" From this exclamation we understand, first, that He is God; for "hosanna" means "save." This is how the Seventy translators rendered the word in Greek in Psalm 117 (Ps. 117:25). For in the Hebrew language it reads "hosanna," but in Greek it is "O Lord, save!" To save is proper to God alone, and to Him it was said: "Save us, O Lord our God!"
From all the passages of Scripture, anyone can learn that salvation is ascribed by Scripture to God alone. Thus, those who exclaimed to Christ with the words of David show by this, first, that He is God; and then, that He is God in the proper sense. For they say "He who comes," and not "He who is led." The latter is something servile, while to come is an act of sovereignty.
With the words "in the name of the Lord" they express the very same thing, that He is true God. For they do not say that He comes in the name of a servant, but in the name of the "Lord." Furthermore, they also indicate that He is not an adversary of God, but came in the name of the Father, as the Lord Himself says: "I have come in My Father's name, and another will come in his own name" (John 5:43).
Jn. 12:13. the King of Israel!
They also call Him King of Israel, perhaps dreaming of a sensible kingdom; for they expected that some king of a nature higher than human would arise and deliver them from the dominion of the Romans.
Jn. 12:14. Jesus, having found a young donkey, sat on it, as it is written:
The other Evangelists say that the Lord told the disciples: "Untie it and bring it to Me" (Matt. 21:1–2; Mark 11:2; Luke 19:30). But here John mentions none of this, and simply says: "Jesus found a young donkey." However, there is no disagreement among the Evangelists. The others spoke more at length, while John said it more briefly: "Jesus, having found a young donkey." When the disciples untied it and brought it, Jesus found it and sat upon it.
Jn. 12:15. Fear not, daughter of Zion! Behold, your King comes, sitting on a young donkey.
In this circumstance He was also fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah, who said: "Fear not, daughter of Zion! Behold, your King comes to you, sitting on a young donkey" (Zech. 9:9). Since the kings of Jerusalem were, for the most part, unjust and greedy, the prophet says: "Fear not, daughter of Zion! The King of whom I foretell to you is not such, but is meek and humble-minded, and not at all proud." This is evident also from the fact that He came sitting on a donkey. For He entered not accompanied by an army, but rode on a single donkey.
The Lord's sitting upon the donkey was also a figure of things to come. This animal, unclean according to the law, was a figure of the unclean nation of the gentiles, upon which Jesus, the Word of God, sits, subjecting to Himself this disobedient and rough new people, like a donkey, whom He also leads up to the true Jerusalem after they have become tame and obedient to Him. For did not the Lord take up to heaven with Himself those gentiles who became His people and submitted to the preaching of the Gospel?
Jn. 12:16. His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him, and that they had done these things to Him.
I ask you, marvel at the evangelist, how he is not ashamed, but openly speaks of the former ignorance of the apostles. "His disciples," he says, "did not understand these things at first, but understood when Jesus was glorified." By glory he means the ascension, which followed the suffering and death. Then, without doubt, after the descent of the Holy Spirit, they came to know that these things had been written about Him. That these things were written, they perhaps knew, but that what was written referred to Jesus, this was hidden from them, and not without benefit. Otherwise they would have been scandalized by His crucifixion, when He whom Scripture calls King suffers so.
Jn. 12:17. The crowd that had been with Him before bore witness that He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead.
The people, having seen the miracle over Lazarus, bore witness and proclaimed the power of Jesus.
Jn. 12:18. Therefore the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this miracle.
Therefore those who had heard of the performance of this miracle also met Him with glory, that is, they believed; for if they had not believed, they would not have changed so quickly.
Jn. 12:19. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves: Do you see that you are gaining nothing? The whole world is going after Him.
The Pharisees who say "do you see that you are gaining nothing" say this not out of malice, for they were not among those who plotted against the Savior, but they appear well-disposed, only secretly, because they do not dare openly oppose those raging against the Lord. They attempt to calm them by pointing to the consequences of the matter, saying in effect: "What benefit is it to you that you devise so many plots against this Man? No matter how much you scheme, He continues to grow all the more, and His glory increases; for the world, that is, all the people, follows after Him. Therefore, having no success, abandon your plots and do not sin in vain."
Jn. 12:20. Some of the Greeks were among those who came up to worship at the feast.
On account of the beauty of the temple and the miracles reported among the Jews, many even of the Greeks came to worship. They were close to becoming proselytes as well, that is, to accepting Judaism.
Jn. 12:21. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying: Sir! We wish to see Jesus.
When the report about Jesus reached them, they come to Philip and ask him to arrange for them the opportunity to see Jesus.
Jn. 12:22. Philip comes and tells Andrew; and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.
Philip, out of humility and good order, speaks to Andrew as to one superior to himself. Andrew does not take on the report alone, does not decide this by himself, but, taking Philip with him, ventures to report to Jesus (such good order and mutual love prevailed among them).
Jn. 12:23. And Jesus answered them, saying: The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
What then does the Lord say? Since He had commanded the disciples "not to go in the way of the Gentiles" (Matt. 10:5), and now saw that the Gentiles were already coming to Him of their own accord (for the Greeks who wished to see Him were undoubtedly Gentiles), while the Jews were plotting against Him, He says: "The time has finally come to go to suffering, for the hour of the Cross has arrived, that the Son of Man may be glorified."
What is the benefit of not receiving the Gentiles who come to us, and imposing ourselves on the Jews who hate and persecute? Therefore, since the Gentiles are coming to us, the time has now come to be crucified. So I will allow the Jews to complete their schemes and permit them to crucify Me, so that they may afterwards be without any excuse, since I will justly leave them as crucifiers and murderers and turn to the Gentiles, who have already begun to come to My teaching. For it would be very unjust to give nothing to the Gentiles who thirst for the word and salvation, and to give abundantly to the Jews who trample upon what is given to them and plot evil against their Benefactor.
Jn. 12:24. Truly, truly, I say to you: unless a grain of wheat, having fallen into the earth, dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit.
Then, lest the disciples be scandalized that He dies at the very time when even the Gentiles had begun to come, He says: "This very thing, that is, My death, will increase the faith of the Gentiles all the more. For just as a grain of wheat bears much fruit when, having been sown, it dies, so also My death will bear much fruit for the faith of the Gentiles." Therefore, let no one be scandalized, because My death does not hinder the joining of the Gentiles, but by the example of the grain let him be convinced that My falling in My death will multiply the number of believers. For if this is what happens with a grain, how much more will it be with Me. For having died and risen, I shall through the resurrection manifest My power all the more, and then all will believe in Me as God.
Jn. 12:25. He who loves his soul will lose it; and he who hates his soul in this world will keep it unto life eternal.
Since the Lord was near to His sufferings and knew that the disciples would be filled with sorrow, He therefore says: "You ought not to grieve at all over My death. For if you yourselves do not die, there will be no benefit for you." And indeed every person in general who loves the present life and loves his soul, that is, fulfills its improper desires, when he indulges it more than he ought and does not despise death, will lose it. But whoever hates it, that is, does not serve it and does not bow down before it, will preserve it unto eternal life.
Wishing to show how strict an aversion one must have toward the lusts of the soul, he said "whoever hates." We can neither see the face nor hear the voice of those we hate; in the same way we must relate to the irrational desires of the soul, that is, hate them with a perfect hatred.
By the words "he who hates his life in this world" He shows the temporariness of the matter. This commandment seemed murderous and incompatible with the love of life. He softened it by adding "in this world." "I," He says, "do not always command you to hate your life, but 'in this world' of unfaith, turn away from it when it prescribes you 'to do those things which are not fitting'" (Rom. 1:28).
He adds the benefit as well: "He shall keep it unto life eternal"; you will hate it for a time, but will preserve it alive forever for the divine life.
Jn. 12:26. If any man serve Me, let him follow Me;
Wishing to further convince them to despise the present life and to encourage them against death, He says: "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me," that is, let him be ready for death just as I am. For He speaks here of following Him in actual deed.
Jn. 12:26. If where I am, there My servant will be also.
Then He offers consolation as well: "Where I am, there My servant will be also." Where then is Christ? In the heavens. For the heavenly and the earthly are opposed to one another. Whoever loves being on earth will not be in heaven, but whoever shuns earthly things and this world will be on high and in the heavens.
Jn. 12:26. Whoever serves Me, My Father will honor.
He did not say "I will honor him," but — "the Father." By this He shows His kinship with Him. For the true Father will honor him as a servant of His true Son. By this He also shows that He is not an opponent of God. For God and the Father would not honor a servant who opposes Him.
So let us not place love for our soul in preserving it from dangers for the sake of truth and in not wishing to endure evil for the sake of good; but, if we are servants of Christ, let us give it over to dangers for the sake of truth, and without doubt we shall be in the same state in which Christ now is — I do not say in divine dignity, for He is God by Nature, but in that with which human nature can be adorned; for He is God by Nature, while we are gods by adoption and by grace.
Jn. 12:27. My soul is now troubled; and what shall I say? Father! deliver Me from this hour! But for this hour I have come.
What is it that He says? He seems to contradict Himself. Above He seemed to be preparing others for death and persuading them to hate their soul, but now He Himself, in the proximity of death, is troubled. This is fitting not for one who exhorts toward death, but for one who turns away from it. But if you consider carefully, you will find that His very disturbance is an exhortation to the contempt of death. Lest anyone should presume to say that it is easy for Him to philosophize about death and persuade others to endure afflictions when He Himself is beyond human sufferings and beyond danger, He shows that He Himself also experienced what is proper to human beings and partook of our nature, though without sin.
Therefore, although He as a Man, by nature loving life, does not desire death and is troubled, nevertheless He does not refuse it, inasmuch as it is necessary for the salvation of the world. "For this reason," He says, "I have come to this hour, to accept death for all." By this He clearly teaches us that we too, even though we may be troubled, even though we may grieve, should nevertheless not flee from death for the sake of truth. "I too," He says, "am troubled, for I am truly a man and I allow Human nature to manifest what is proper to it; nevertheless, I do not say to the Father that He should deliver Me from this hour." But what do I say?
Jn. 12:28. Father! Glorify Thy name.
"Father! glorify Your name," that is, grant Me to take up the cross and death for the salvation of all. See: He called death for truth the glory of God.
Jn. 12:28. Then a voice came from heaven: I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.
Therefore the Father also says: "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again." "I have glorified it" by those miracles which You performed before the Cross in My name; "and will glorify it again," by working miracles through You upon the Cross itself; and after the burial I will make even more glorious both My name and You, by raising You and sending down the Spirit.
Jn. 12:29. The crowd that stood and heard it said: it is thunder;
Since very many were crude and ignorant, they took the voice for thunder, even though the voice was articulate and very clear. For they quickly forgot the words of the voice, retaining only its echo.
Jn. 12:29. But others said: An angel spoke to Him.
Others remembered the very words of the voice: "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again," yet not understanding the meaning of these words, they thought that an angel had spoken to Him, and therefore these words, as spoken by an angel, were incomprehensible to them.
Jn. 12:30. Jesus said in response to this: this voice came not for My sake, but for the people's sake.
But Jesus says: "This voice came not for Me, but for you. I had no need to be taught that the Father glorified and will yet glorify His name. But you needed to be taught that I am not an adversary of God, but act for the glory of the name of God. For if through Me the name of God is glorified, how then am I an adversary of God?" So this voice came for you, that you might learn that I act for the glory of God, and if you cannot learn this on your own, then through inquiry you might learn what you do not know.
Jn. 12:31. Now is the judgment of this world; now the prince of this world shall be cast out.
The words "now is the judgment of this world" seem to have no connection with what precedes them. For what relation do they have to the words "and I have glorified it and will glorify it again"? But there is, without doubt, a connection. Since the Father said from above "I will glorify," the Lord shows us the manner of the glorification.
What exactly? That the prince of this world will be cast out and defeated, and for the world there will be judgment, that is, vengeance. These words have the following meaning: "Now judgment and vengeance are being carried out for this world. Since the devil subjected this world to death, having made all people guilty of sin, but having attacked Me and not found sin in Me, brought Me too under death equally with the rest, he will be condemned by Me, and thus I will avenge the world. Let him have inflicted death on the rest for sin; but what did he find in Me similar to the rest, so as to put Me also to death? Therefore, now by Me the judgment of this world is being carried out, that is, vengeance for it. For having put to death the one who put all to death, who then attacked Me as well, an innocent one, I will be the avenger for all those slain by him, and the cruel ruler (tyrant), condemned by My death, will be cast out."
The expression "cast out" is used by comparison with how in courts the condemned are pushed out of the tribunal. "Will be cast out" can also be understood as meaning that he will be cast out into the outer darkness. He will lose his dominion over people and will not, as before, reign in them, both in their souls and in their mortal bodies.
Jn. 12:32. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to Myself.
But I will draw all people to Myself when I am lifted up on the cross. For all, including those from among the Gentiles, will be drawn to faith in Me. Since they themselves cannot come to Me, being held back by this ruler, I, having defeated him, cast him out, and severed the threads of his dominion over people, will draw them even against his will.
This is what He called plundering in another place. "No one," He says, "can plunder the goods of the strong man, unless he first binds the strong man" (Mk. 3:27).
Jn. 12:33. This He said, signifying by what manner of death He would die.
"When I am lifted up" – He said this, giving to understand what kind of death He would die, that is, He would be crucified, for by this is signified the height of the Cross.
Jn. 12:34. The crowd answered Him: we have heard from the law that Christ abides forever; how then do You say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?
Thinking to expose the Lord and to confound Him as a false Christ, they say: "If Christ is immortal, and You say of Yourself that You will die, how shall we believe that You are truly the Christ?" They said this with malicious intent. For the Scripture, which they call the Law, mentions not only the resurrection but also the suffering. Thus, Isaiah points to both—to the suffering and death, when he says: "He was led... as a sheep... to the slaughter" (Isa. 53:7); to the resurrection, when he says: "The Lord wills to cleanse Him from His wound and to show Him as a light" (Isa. 53:11). David also mentions death and resurrection together. For he says: "You will not leave my soul in Hades" (Ps. 16:10). Likewise the patriarch, in blessing Judah, prophesies of Christ: "He crouched down, he lay down as a lion, and as a lion's whelp: who shall rouse Him?" (Gen. 49:9).
Therefore, rejecting the sufferings of Christ and ascribing to Him the resurrection, they did this with malicious intent. We know from the Law, that is, from Scripture (for the Law, as we have often noted, refers to all of Scripture), that Christ abides forever. Rightly you know this, for He abides forever and, as God, abides also after the resurrection. But how did you not learn of the sufferings, when those very same Scriptures, as we have shown, teach both together?
"How is it," they say, "that You say that the Son of Man must be lifted up?" You see, they understood much even from the Lord's parabolic sayings — for example, they understood that by the words "to be lifted up" He speaks of the Cross. Yes, they truly understood much, but out of their evil will they feigned ignorance. Note, then, what they say: "How do You say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?" Their speech is full of malice. They speak as if to say: "Although we do not know of whom You speak or who the Son of Man is, we nevertheless clearly understand the truth that whoever is lifted up, whoever he may be, is not the Christ — this is incompatible, for the Scriptures say that Christ is immortal."
Jn. 12:35. Then Jesus said to them: Yet a little while the light is with you; walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you: for he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.
What then does the Lord say? Stopping their mouths and showing that His sufferings in no way prevent Him from abiding forever, He says: "Yet a little while the Light is in you." By Light He referred to Himself. Just as the light of the sun does not completely disappear, but is hidden and shines forth again, so too My death is not destruction, but a setting and a departure, and through the resurrection I shall shine forth again. And since the sufferings in no way prevent Me from being eternal, and the Scriptures testify concerning Christ that He is eternal, then I am truly Christ, even though I shall endure sufferings. For I am the Light; I shall set and rise again.
Jn. 12:36. While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of light.
So then, while the Light is with you, walk, that is, believe in Me. What time is He speaking of here? He speaks of the time before the sufferings, or of the time after the sufferings, or of both together. So then, He says, walk and believe in Me both before My crucifixion and after it. He indicates this by the words "while the Light is with you," that is, while you can believe in Me; and to believe in Me, who am the Light, you can both before the sufferings and after them. But whoever walks in unbelief does not know where he is going. For whatever the Jews do now, they nevertheless do not know what they are doing, but walk as if in darkness; they think they are going on the straight path, but everything turns out the opposite for them, when they observe the Sabbath and circumcision. But those who have believed do not act this way. They walk in the light, doing everything that pertains to salvation. For they escaped the shadows of the law and the darkness of riddles, and came to the light that had been hidden in them but has now shone forth, and became sons of the Light, that is, of Christ. "That you may become," He says, "sons of the Light," that is, My sons. Although the Evangelist at the beginning of the Gospel says that some were born of God (John 1:13), here he calls them sons of the Light, that is, of Christ. Let Arius and Eunomius be put to shame. For here too it is shown that the Father and the Son have one operation.
Jn. 12:36. He said this, and Jesus departed and hid Himself from them.
Why did the Lord hide from them? They had not now taken up stones against Him, nor spoken any blasphemy, as before. Why then did He hide? Although they said nothing, yet penetrating into their hearts, He saw that their fury was increasing. To subdue their hatred, He hides Himself.
Jn. 12:37. Although He had done so many miracles before them, they did not believe in Him,
That they did not believe but were vexed, the Evangelist himself indicated when he said, "Though He had done so many miracles, they did not believe in Him." And of course it is a matter of no small malice not to believe so many miracles. "So many," he says, "miracles about which he [the Evangelist] kept silent."
So. Jesus hid Himself in order to calm their malice, and at the same time in order to give them time and tranquility so that, having calmed down, they might consider His words and deeds. For in that case, if they had wished, they could have come to an understanding of His dignity — His Divinity. Although He knew their unbelief in advance, nevertheless, what depended on Himself, He did and permitted, giving them, as has been said, time for consideration.
Jn. 12:38. That the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled:
In the words "they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah might be fulfilled," what is expressed is not the cause, but the event. For they did not disbelieve in Christ because Isaiah had foretold it about them, but the prophet foretold it about them because they would not believe.
Jn. 12:38. Lord! Who has believed what they heard from us?
Let us also examine the words of Isaiah: "Lord, who has believed our report?" (Isa. 53:1). This means the same as "no one believed." For the word "who" is used in many places of Scripture in place of "no one." The prophet said this as if speaking in the person of Christ. Christ speaks thus, as it were, to the Father: "Lord, who has believed our report?" — that is, no one has believed Our word and My preaching, which He called "report." For He says: "What I have heard from My Father, that I speak" (John 8:26).
Jn. 12:38. And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
"And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" — that is, the mighty working of miracles, which He called "the arm," was not revealed to any of the senseless Jews, but they slander Me even when I perform so many miracles.
Jn. 12:39. Therefore they could not believe, because, as Isaiah said again,
The same thought is expressed in the words "therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again of them." By all this He wants to confirm that Scripture is not false and that the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled exactly as he had foretold.
Lest anyone should begin to speak and wonder why Christ came at all if He knew that the Jews would not believe in Him, the Evangelist for this reason brings forward the prophets who foretold this. Christ, although He knew of their unbelief, nevertheless came so that they would have no excuse for their sin and could not say that they would have believed if He had come.
The words "they could not believe" mean the same as "they would not." For an evil and crafty man, so long as he remains such, that is, chooses evil, cannot believe.
Jn. 12:40. This people has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and turn, so that I should heal them (Is. 6:10).
When you hear that God blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, do not think that He simply makes some good and others evil (away with such a thought!), but by the complete blinding understand the abandonment by God.
I will explain with an example. Suppose someone is moderate in wickedness. God, it seems, is with him, because there is hope that such a person will turn back. But when a person plunges into the depths of wickedness, then God abandons him on account of his evil will. Of a person who has been deprived of the Divine light and walks in the darkness of sin, it is said that he walks as one who is blind; the absence of the Divine word, which softens the hearts of those who receive it, is called hardening of the heart. Already blinded is the one who completely refuses to receive the ray of Divine light, and hardened is the one who does not wish to hear the teaching that softens the heart, and God's withdrawal completely blinds and darkens him. So when you hear that God blinds, understand it in this way: He blinds because He is not present. For if God were present with a person, the person would not have become blind. If the sun were there, there would be no darkness. But now the sun produces night. In what way? By setting. So too God makes people blind by withdrawing from them. And He withdraws from them on account of their wickedness, and from that point on they, like blind men, sin irretrievably and fall incorrigibly.
Jn. 12:41. Isaiah said these things when he saw His glory and spoke about Him.
"These things said Isaiah, when he saw His glory." Whose? The Son's. Although the prophet, judging by the connection of the speech, seems to have seen the glory of the Father, the evangelist says here that Isaiah saw the glory of the Son, and the apostle Paul says that he saw the glory of the Spirit (Acts 28:25). Truly the glory of the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is one.
"Isaiah," He says, "saw His glory": the smoke that appeared to him, the seraphim, the coals, the altar, the throne (Isa. 6:1–7). So Isaiah saw this glory and spoke of Him, that is, of the Son. What did he say of Him? That which was said above, that He blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts.
Jn. 12:42. Nevertheless, even among the rulers many believed in Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, lest they should be put out of the synagogue,
The Evangelist notes that many even of the rulers believed in Him, showing that the Pharisees lied in this also, when they said: "Have any of the rulers believed in Him?" (John 7:48). For behold, many even of the rulers believed, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess it.
Jn. 12:43. For they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God.
"For they loved the praise of men." Christ had said this to them before as well: "How can you believe, when you receive glory from men, and do not seek the glory that is from the only God?" (Jn. 5:44) So the Evangelist shows that what Christ had foretold them came to pass. Truly, they were not rulers but slaves, and the most base slaves at that. From this we learn that whoever loves glory is a slave and is dishonorable.
Jn. 12:44. Jesus cried out and said: he who believes in Me believes not in Me, but in Him who sent Me.
Jesus, yielding to the fury of the Jews, hid Himself for a time, and then appears again and cries out openly. Showing that He Himself is equal to the Father and not an adversary of God, He says: "He who believes in Me believes not in Me, but in Him who sent Me," speaking as if to say: "Why are you afraid to believe in Me? Faith in Me ascends to My Father."
Note also the precision in the words. The Lord did not say "he who believes Me," but "he who believes in Me," which signifies faith in God. For it is one thing to believe someone, and another to believe in someone. If someone believes someone, this can be understood as believing in the truthfulness of his words, but whoever believes in Him believes in Him as God. Therefore one can say "believes the apostles"; but one cannot say "believes in the apostles." Therefore the Lord did not say "he who believes Me." For both Paul and Peter could say "he who believes me." And the Jews were reproached for not believing Moses (John 5:46). But He said something greater — "he who believes in Me," by which He shows that He Himself is God, as He also says to the disciples: "Believe in God, and believe also in Me" (John 14:1). Therefore, whoever believes in Him directs his faith to the Father, and whoever does not believe Him does not believe the Father.
Jn. 12:45. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.
Does he who sees the physical features? No. For the Father is not a body, so that one could say that he who sees Christ bodily also sees the Father, but by seeing, I ask you, understand mental contemplation. The Lord speaks as if to say: "He who by contemplation of the mind has embraced My essence, insofar as is possible for man, has also embraced the essence of the Father. He who has recognized Me as God has, without doubt, also recognized the Father. For I am the Image of the Father."
All of this demonstrates the consubstantiality of the Father and the Son. Let those suffering from Arianism hear that he who believes in the Son believes not in Him, but in the Father, so that either the Father too is a creature, or the Son too is not a creature. Just as if someone were to say that he who draws water from a river takes it not from the river but from the source, so too he who believes in the Son believes not in the Son — the river (for the Son is not of a different essence from the Father and has nothing distinct from the Father) — but believes in the source of goodness, that is, the Father.
Jn. 12:46. I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not remain in darkness.
Again, with these words as well He shows His consubstantiality with the Father. For just as the Father is everywhere called Light in Scripture, so He too says of Himself: "I have come as a light into the world." Therefore the Apostle Paul also calls Him the Radiance (Heb. 1:3), showing thereby that there is nothing mediating between the Father and the Son, but the Father and the Son are together, just as light and radiance are together. And so the Son too is Light, inasmuch as He delivers from error and dispels the darkness of the mind, and because just as light, upon its appearance, becomes visible itself and reveals all other visible things, so also the Son, having come and appeared to us, gave knowledge of Himself and of the Father, and enlightened the hearts of those who received Him with all knowledge.
Jn. 12:47. And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
"If," He says, "anyone hears Me and does not believe, I do not judge him, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world." The meaning of these words is as follows: "I am not the cause of the condemnation of the unbelieving man, for I did not come primarily for this purpose, but it happened as a consequence. I came to save, and for this I taught. But if anyone does not believe, I am not the cause of his condemnation, but he himself brought it upon himself."
This will become even clearer from what follows. Listen, then, to what comes next.
Jn. 12:48. He who rejects Me and does not receive My words has that which judges him: the word that I have spoken, it will judge him on the last day.
I do not judge anyone, but the unbeliever has a judge for himself. It is customary among us, and we often say, when we wish to punish a disorderly child, that it is not we who punish him, but his carelessness and disorderliness, and it is not we who condemn him, but our convictions, to which he did not submit—they accuse him as one who is disobedient. So also the Lord says: "It is not I who judge, but the word which I spoke, it will judge."
Jn. 12:49. For I have not spoken of Myself; but the Father who sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what to say and what to speak.
For why did they not believe? Was it not because I am an adversary to God and seek glory for Myself? But "I have not spoken of Myself," rather I declared all things from My Father and nowhere presented Myself as one devising anything different. For "the Father who sent Me gave Me a commandment, what to say and what to speak." What profound humility is in these words!
Jn. 12:50. And I know that His commandment is life everlasting. Therefore, what I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.
Surely, Lord, before the Father sent You and gave You a commandment, did You not know what to say, did You not know that commandment which is eternal life? Did You not know this eternal life? How then did You say: "I am the life" (John 11:25)?
Do you see what kind of inconsistency arises if we do not prudently understand what is being said? So know that the Lord expresses Himself so humbly because His listeners are weak. And what does He wish to express by this? That He says nothing, thinks nothing different from the Father. "For as those who are sent," He says, "say nothing except what has been commanded, so I Myself think and have taught nothing other than what serves the glory of the Father." So, wishing to prove this, that is, His unity of mind with the Father, He recalled this example, that is, the commandment. Therefore He also adds: "So what I say, I say just as the Father has told Me. And since I have said nothing of Myself, what justification will the unbelievers present? Without any contradiction they will be condemned for not having believed the Father."
So, orthodox one, do not assume anything lowly in the humble words (such as "I received a commandment" and the like), but understand them prudently, as also this: "I received a commandment, what to say and what to speak." For the Son, being the Word and expressing what is in the Mind, that is, the Father, says that He received a commandment from Him, what to say and what to speak. Just as our word too, if we wish to be truthful, says what the mind proposes to it, and the word never differs in essence from the mind, but is perfectly consubstantial.
Jn. 12:1. Six days before Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, who had died, whom He raised from the dead.
On the tenth day of the month they choose a lamb for slaughter for the feast of Passover (Exod. 12:3), and from that same time they begin to prepare everything necessary for the feast. Customarily, six days before Passover as well, that is, on the ninth day of the month, they eat more lavishly, and with this day they begin the feast. Therefore Jesus too, having come to Bethany, shares in the supper.
Jn. 12:2. There they prepared a supper for Him, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with Him.
The Evangelist, wishing to show the truth of the resurrection of Lazarus, says: "and Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with Him." For he, having appeared alive, did not immediately die, but remained on earth for a long time, eating, drinking, and performing other usual activities.
By the words "Martha served," he indicated that the feast was at her house. Note, I pray you, the faith of this woman. She did not entrust the service to maidservants, but carries it out herself in person. And Paul speaks of a widow who "washed the feet of the saints" (1 Tim. 5:10).
Jn. 12:3. Then Mary, having taken a pound of pure, costly spikenard ointment, anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.
So then, Martha herself serves everyone in general, while Mary honors Christ alone, because she attends to Him not as a man, but as God. For she poured out the myrrh and wiped it with the hairs of her head, because she had a conception of Him not such as others had, not as of a mere man, but as of the Master and Lord.
Mary can also be understood in a higher sense — as referring to the divinity of the Father and Lord of all; for Mary means "lady." Thus, the Lordship of the Father's Divinity anointed the feet of Jesus — the flesh assumed in the last times by the Lord the Word — anointed it with the myrrh of the Spirit, as David also says: "Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness" (Ps. 45:7); and the great Peter says: "Let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). For the Flesh assumed by the Word, anointed by the divine Spirit who descended upon the Virgin's womb, and having become the same as the Word, that is, God, filled the world with blessing, just as the myrrh of Mary filled the whole house with fragrance.
What then are the "hairs" by which the feet were wiped? They are, of course, the saints who adorn the head of God and His supreme authority. For they, being to the glory of God, may be called His adornment. They also became partakers of the anointing of the Lord's flesh, just as David calls them "companions" (Ps. 45:7), and the Apostle Paul says to the Corinthians: "Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God" (2 Cor. 1:21). And everywhere we learn that those who live according to Christ are called christs (anointed ones). Thus, by the hairs which wiped the feet of Jesus and which partake of the divine anointing, we may understand Christians. Hairs are something dead. And Christians are dead, for they "have crucified the flesh" (Gal. 5:24) and "put to death the members which are on the earth" (Col. 3:5), and have died to the world. Hairs adorn the head and constitute its glory. The saints also constitute the glory of God, "since their light shines before men, and the Father is glorified through them" (Matt. 5:16), and they make their eating and drinking "to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31), and in their members they glorify Him.
And you, since Jesus has raised your mind, as if it were a certain Lazarus, receive Him into the house of your soul; let the one who was raised recline with Him; anoint the feet of the Lord, six days before Pascha, before the Pascha of the age to come arrives, while you live in this world, which was created in six days. By the "feet" of Christ one may understand: the Apostle and the Gospel, and in general the commandments, for by them He walks in us. So then, to these commandments add myrrh — a disposition composed of various virtues, of which the highest is faith, fervent as spikenard. For if you do not show a fervent, zealous, and virtuous disposition toward these commandments and do not wipe them with your mortified members, as with hair, and do not receive them into yourself, you will not be able to fill your house with fragrance. By the "feet" of the Lord one may also understand the least of the brethren, in whose person Christ comes to the door of each one and asks for what is needed: anoint them with the myrrh of almsgiving. Many give alms for show, and therefore receive no benefit for themselves, for they receive their reward here (Matt. 6:1–2). But you, wipe with the hairs of your head and receive the benefit for your soul, gather the fruit of almsgiving in the ruling part. And if you have anything dead and lifeless, like hair — perfume it with this good anointing. For it is said: "Redeem your sins with almsgiving" (Dan. 4:24).
Jn. 12:4. Then one of His disciples, Judas Simon's son, Iscariot, who was about to betray Him, said:
How then does another evangelist (Matt. 26:8–9) say that all the disciples said this? To this it must be said that although all said this, the others did not say it with the same thought as Judas.
Jn. 12:5. Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?
Judas, being covetous, did not approve of such a manner of care. "Why," he says as it were, "did you bring not money, from which I could steal, but myrrh?"
Jn. 12:6. He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. He had the money box with him and carried what was put into it.
If Judas was covetous and a thief, then why did the Lord entrust him with the management of the money? For that very reason — because he was a thief — so as to take away from him every excuse. For he could not say that he betrayed Him (Jesus) out of love of money. The money box consoled him, but even while carrying the box, he was not faithful. For he carried away, that is, stole what was put into it, and was a sacrileger, appropriating for himself the offerings intended for a holy purpose.
Let the sacrilegious hear what their lot is. The height of evil is that Judas afterwards betrayed Jesus and the Lord. Do you see where covetousness leads? To betrayal. Therefore, the Apostle Paul fittingly called "the love of money the root of all evils" (1 Tim. 6:10), because it betrayed the Lord and always does so. Some say that Judas was entrusted with the keeping of the money as one lesser than the rest. For serving around money is a lesser task than teaching, just as in Acts (Acts 6:2) the apostles say: "It is not right for us to leave the word of God and serve tables."
Jn. 12:7. Then Jesus said: Leave her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.
Jn. 12:8. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have Me.
The Lord does not rebuke Judas, although He knows that he said this with the intention of a thief. For He did not wish to put him to shame, teaching us also to bear with such people for a long time. Nevertheless, the Lord covertly reproaches Judas for the betrayal and for the fact that he would betray Him to death out of covetousness.
Therefore He mentions the burial as well, striking at his senseless heart so that he might be corrected, and the addition has this meaning: "You always have the poor with you," He says, "but you do not always have Me; yet a little while, and I will depart, since you have prepared death for Me. Therefore, if I am disagreeable to you and the honor done to Me is burdensome to you, endure a little longer, and you will be rid of Me; and then it will be revealed whether it is for the sake of the poor that you are concerned about the sale of the myrrh."
Jn. 12:9. Many of the Jews learned that He was there, and came not only for Jesus' sake, but also to see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.
Those who came to the Lord were better-intentioned than the rest, who were senseless and frenzied; for they came not only for the sake of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus. Since a truly great miracle had been performed, many wished to be spectators of the risen man, perhaps in the hope of learning from Lazarus something about those in Hades.
Jn. 12:10. But the chief priests resolved to kill Lazarus also,
Jn. 12:11. Because on account of him many of the Jews were coming and believing in Jesus.
The Pharisees, however, are so inhuman that they want to kill not only Jesus but also Lazarus, because he served as an occasion of salvation for many through the miracle performed upon him, leading simple people to faith. Thus even the beneficence of Jesus became a crime in their eyes. They were especially vexed by the fact that, with the approach of the feast, everyone was going to Bethany, learning of the miracle, and seeing the risen man with their own eyes.
Jn. 12:12. On the next day, a great multitude that had come to the feast, having heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
The Lord, having withdrawn into the wilderness for a short time in order to calm the fury of the bloodthirsty, again openly enters Judea and shows Himself before all. The time to suffer had finally come, and He ought not to hide, but to give Himself up for the salvation of the world.
See then what the sequence of the Passion was. The Lord raised Lazarus, having reserved this miracle, the most important of all the rest, for the end; as a result of this, many flocked to Him and believed. Because many believed, the envy of His enemies increased. After this followed the plots against Him and the Cross.
Jn. 12:13. Palm branches were taken,
The palms perhaps signified that He, having raised Lazarus, became the conqueror of death, for the palm was given to victors in combat. Perhaps they also expressed that the One being glorified is a heavenly Being who came from above. For the palm alone among other trees reaches, so to speak, heaven itself, puts forth leaves at its height, has white kernels in its leaves, yet in its trunk and middle, up to the top, is rough and difficult to climb, since it has thorns on its branches. So too, whoever strives toward the knowledge of the Son and Word of God will find it not easy but difficult, ascending through the labors of virtue; but upon reaching the height of knowledge, he will be illumined by the bright light of the knowledge of God and the revelation of ineffable mysteries, as if by the whitest kernels of the palm.
Jn. 12:13. went out to meet Him and cried out: Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord,
The people, having heard that Jesus was coming, met Him with glory, undoubtedly on account of the miracle over Lazarus, rendering Him honor greater than what would befit a mere man. For they no longer received Him as a prophet, because to which of the prophets had their fathers rendered such honor?
Therefore they also exclaimed: "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" From this exclamation we understand, first, that He is God; for "hosanna" means "save." This is how the Seventy translators rendered the word in Greek in Psalm 117 (Ps. 117:25). For in the Hebrew language it reads "hosanna," but in Greek it is "O Lord, save!" To save is proper to God alone, and to Him it was said: "Save us, O Lord our God!"
From all the passages of Scripture, anyone can learn that salvation is ascribed by Scripture to God alone. Thus, those who exclaimed to Christ with the words of David show by this, first, that He is God; and then, that He is God in the proper sense. For they say "He who comes," and not "He who is led." The latter is something servile, while to come is an act of sovereignty.
With the words "in the name of the Lord" they express the very same thing, that He is true God. For they do not say that He comes in the name of a servant, but in the name of the "Lord." Furthermore, they also indicate that He is not an adversary of God, but came in the name of the Father, as the Lord Himself says: "I have come in My Father's name, and another will come in his own name" (John 5:43).
Jn. 12:13. the King of Israel!
They also call Him King of Israel, perhaps dreaming of a sensible kingdom; for they expected that some king of a nature higher than human would arise and deliver them from the dominion of the Romans.
Jn. 12:14. Jesus, having found a young donkey, sat on it, as it is written:
The other Evangelists say that the Lord told the disciples: "Untie it and bring it to Me" (Matt. 21:1–2; Mark 11:2; Luke 19:30). But here John mentions none of this, and simply says: "Jesus found a young donkey." However, there is no disagreement among the Evangelists. The others spoke more at length, while John said it more briefly: "Jesus, having found a young donkey." When the disciples untied it and brought it, Jesus found it and sat upon it.
Jn. 12:15. Fear not, daughter of Zion! Behold, your King comes, sitting on a young donkey.
In this circumstance He was also fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah, who said: "Fear not, daughter of Zion! Behold, your King comes to you, sitting on a young donkey" (Zech. 9:9). Since the kings of Jerusalem were, for the most part, unjust and greedy, the prophet says: "Fear not, daughter of Zion! The King of whom I foretell to you is not such, but is meek and humble-minded, and not at all proud." This is evident also from the fact that He came sitting on a donkey. For He entered not accompanied by an army, but rode on a single donkey.
The Lord's sitting upon the donkey was also a figure of things to come. This animal, unclean according to the law, was a figure of the unclean nation of the gentiles, upon which Jesus, the Word of God, sits, subjecting to Himself this disobedient and rough new people, like a donkey, whom He also leads up to the true Jerusalem after they have become tame and obedient to Him. For did not the Lord take up to heaven with Himself those gentiles who became His people and submitted to the preaching of the Gospel?
Jn. 12:16. His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him, and that they had done these things to Him.
I ask you, marvel at the evangelist, how he is not ashamed, but openly speaks of the former ignorance of the apostles. "His disciples," he says, "did not understand these things at first, but understood when Jesus was glorified." By glory he means the ascension, which followed the suffering and death. Then, without doubt, after the descent of the Holy Spirit, they came to know that these things had been written about Him. That these things were written, they perhaps knew, but that what was written referred to Jesus, this was hidden from them, and not without benefit. Otherwise they would have been scandalized by His crucifixion, when He whom Scripture calls King suffers so.
Jn. 12:17. The crowd that had been with Him before bore witness that He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead.
The people, having seen the miracle over Lazarus, bore witness and proclaimed the power of Jesus.
Jn. 12:18. Therefore the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this miracle.
Therefore those who had heard of the performance of this miracle also met Him with glory, that is, they believed; for if they had not believed, they would not have changed so quickly.
Jn. 12:19. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves: Do you see that you are gaining nothing? The whole world is going after Him.
The Pharisees who say "do you see that you are gaining nothing" say this not out of malice, for they were not among those who plotted against the Savior, but they appear well-disposed, only secretly, because they do not dare openly oppose those raging against the Lord. They attempt to calm them by pointing to the consequences of the matter, saying in effect: "What benefit is it to you that you devise so many plots against this Man? No matter how much you scheme, He continues to grow all the more, and His glory increases; for the world, that is, all the people, follows after Him. Therefore, having no success, abandon your plots and do not sin in vain."
Jn. 12:20. Some of the Greeks were among those who came up to worship at the feast.
On account of the beauty of the temple and the miracles reported among the Jews, many even of the Greeks came to worship. They were close to becoming proselytes as well, that is, to accepting Judaism.
Jn. 12:21. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying: Sir! We wish to see Jesus.
When the report about Jesus reached them, they come to Philip and ask him to arrange for them the opportunity to see Jesus.
Jn. 12:22. Philip comes and tells Andrew; and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.
Philip, out of humility and good order, speaks to Andrew as to one superior to himself. Andrew does not take on the report alone, does not decide this by himself, but, taking Philip with him, ventures to report to Jesus (such good order and mutual love prevailed among them).
Jn. 12:23. And Jesus answered them, saying: The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
What then does the Lord say? Since He had commanded the disciples "not to go in the way of the Gentiles" (Matt. 10:5), and now saw that the Gentiles were already coming to Him of their own accord (for the Greeks who wished to see Him were undoubtedly Gentiles), while the Jews were plotting against Him, He says: "The time has finally come to go to suffering, for the hour of the Cross has arrived, that the Son of Man may be glorified."
What is the benefit of not receiving the Gentiles who come to us, and imposing ourselves on the Jews who hate and persecute? Therefore, since the Gentiles are coming to us, the time has now come to be crucified. So I will allow the Jews to complete their schemes and permit them to crucify Me, so that they may afterwards be without any excuse, since I will justly leave them as crucifiers and murderers and turn to the Gentiles, who have already begun to come to My teaching. For it would be very unjust to give nothing to the Gentiles who thirst for the word and salvation, and to give abundantly to the Jews who trample upon what is given to them and plot evil against their Benefactor.
Jn. 12:24. Truly, truly, I say to you: unless a grain of wheat, having fallen into the earth, dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit.
Then, lest the disciples be scandalized that He dies at the very time when even the Gentiles had begun to come, He says: "This very thing, that is, My death, will increase the faith of the Gentiles all the more. For just as a grain of wheat bears much fruit when, having been sown, it dies, so also My death will bear much fruit for the faith of the Gentiles." Therefore, let no one be scandalized, because My death does not hinder the joining of the Gentiles, but by the example of the grain let him be convinced that My falling in My death will multiply the number of believers. For if this is what happens with a grain, how much more will it be with Me. For having died and risen, I shall through the resurrection manifest My power all the more, and then all will believe in Me as God.
Jn. 12:25. He who loves his soul will lose it; and he who hates his soul in this world will keep it unto life eternal.
Since the Lord was near to His sufferings and knew that the disciples would be filled with sorrow, He therefore says: "You ought not to grieve at all over My death. For if you yourselves do not die, there will be no benefit for you." And indeed every person in general who loves the present life and loves his soul, that is, fulfills its improper desires, when he indulges it more than he ought and does not despise death, will lose it. But whoever hates it, that is, does not serve it and does not bow down before it, will preserve it unto eternal life.
Wishing to show how strict an aversion one must have toward the lusts of the soul, he said "whoever hates." We can neither see the face nor hear the voice of those we hate; in the same way we must relate to the irrational desires of the soul, that is, hate them with a perfect hatred.
By the words "he who hates his life in this world" He shows the temporariness of the matter. This commandment seemed murderous and incompatible with the love of life. He softened it by adding "in this world." "I," He says, "do not always command you to hate your life, but 'in this world' of unfaith, turn away from it when it prescribes you 'to do those things which are not fitting'" (Rom. 1:28).
He adds the benefit as well: "He shall keep it unto life eternal"; you will hate it for a time, but will preserve it alive forever for the divine life.
Jn. 12:26. If any man serve Me, let him follow Me;
Wishing to further convince them to despise the present life and to encourage them against death, He says: "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me," that is, let him be ready for death just as I am. For He speaks here of following Him in actual deed.
Jn. 12:26. If where I am, there My servant will be also.
Then He offers consolation as well: "Where I am, there My servant will be also." Where then is Christ? In the heavens. For the heavenly and the earthly are opposed to one another. Whoever loves being on earth will not be in heaven, but whoever shuns earthly things and this world will be on high and in the heavens.
Jn. 12:26. Whoever serves Me, My Father will honor.
He did not say "I will honor him," but — "the Father." By this He shows His kinship with Him. For the true Father will honor him as a servant of His true Son. By this He also shows that He is not an opponent of God. For God and the Father would not honor a servant who opposes Him.
So let us not place love for our soul in preserving it from dangers for the sake of truth and in not wishing to endure evil for the sake of good; but, if we are servants of Christ, let us give it over to dangers for the sake of truth, and without doubt we shall be in the same state in which Christ now is — I do not say in divine dignity, for He is God by Nature, but in that with which human nature can be adorned; for He is God by Nature, while we are gods by adoption and by grace.
Jn. 12:27. My soul is now troubled; and what shall I say? Father! deliver Me from this hour! But for this hour I have come.
What is it that He says? He seems to contradict Himself. Above He seemed to be preparing others for death and persuading them to hate their soul, but now He Himself, in the proximity of death, is troubled. This is fitting not for one who exhorts toward death, but for one who turns away from it. But if you consider carefully, you will find that His very disturbance is an exhortation to the contempt of death. Lest anyone should presume to say that it is easy for Him to philosophize about death and persuade others to endure afflictions when He Himself is beyond human sufferings and beyond danger, He shows that He Himself also experienced what is proper to human beings and partook of our nature, though without sin.
Therefore, although He as a Man, by nature loving life, does not desire death and is troubled, nevertheless He does not refuse it, inasmuch as it is necessary for the salvation of the world. "For this reason," He says, "I have come to this hour, to accept death for all." By this He clearly teaches us that we too, even though we may be troubled, even though we may grieve, should nevertheless not flee from death for the sake of truth. "I too," He says, "am troubled, for I am truly a man and I allow Human nature to manifest what is proper to it; nevertheless, I do not say to the Father that He should deliver Me from this hour." But what do I say?
Jn. 12:28. Father! Glorify Thy name.
"Father! glorify Your name," that is, grant Me to take up the cross and death for the salvation of all. See: He called death for truth the glory of God.
Jn. 12:28. Then a voice came from heaven: I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.
Therefore the Father also says: "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again." "I have glorified it" by those miracles which You performed before the Cross in My name; "and will glorify it again," by working miracles through You upon the Cross itself; and after the burial I will make even more glorious both My name and You, by raising You and sending down the Spirit.
Jn. 12:29. The crowd that stood and heard it said: it is thunder;
Since very many were crude and ignorant, they took the voice for thunder, even though the voice was articulate and very clear. For they quickly forgot the words of the voice, retaining only its echo.
Jn. 12:29. But others said: An angel spoke to Him.
Others remembered the very words of the voice: "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again," yet not understanding the meaning of these words, they thought that an angel had spoken to Him, and therefore these words, as spoken by an angel, were incomprehensible to them.
Jn. 12:30. Jesus said in response to this: this voice came not for My sake, but for the people's sake.
But Jesus says: "This voice came not for Me, but for you. I had no need to be taught that the Father glorified and will yet glorify His name. But you needed to be taught that I am not an adversary of God, but act for the glory of the name of God. For if through Me the name of God is glorified, how then am I an adversary of God?" So this voice came for you, that you might learn that I act for the glory of God, and if you cannot learn this on your own, then through inquiry you might learn what you do not know.
Jn. 12:31. Now is the judgment of this world; now the prince of this world shall be cast out.
The words "now is the judgment of this world" seem to have no connection with what precedes them. For what relation do they have to the words "and I have glorified it and will glorify it again"? But there is, without doubt, a connection. Since the Father said from above "I will glorify," the Lord shows us the manner of the glorification.
What exactly? That the prince of this world will be cast out and defeated, and for the world there will be judgment, that is, vengeance. These words have the following meaning: "Now judgment and vengeance are being carried out for this world. Since the devil subjected this world to death, having made all people guilty of sin, but having attacked Me and not found sin in Me, brought Me too under death equally with the rest, he will be condemned by Me, and thus I will avenge the world. Let him have inflicted death on the rest for sin; but what did he find in Me similar to the rest, so as to put Me also to death? Therefore, now by Me the judgment of this world is being carried out, that is, vengeance for it. For having put to death the one who put all to death, who then attacked Me as well, an innocent one, I will be the avenger for all those slain by him, and the cruel ruler (tyrant), condemned by My death, will be cast out."
The expression "cast out" is used by comparison with how in courts the condemned are pushed out of the tribunal. "Will be cast out" can also be understood as meaning that he will be cast out into the outer darkness. He will lose his dominion over people and will not, as before, reign in them, both in their souls and in their mortal bodies.
Jn. 12:32. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to Myself.
But I will draw all people to Myself when I am lifted up on the cross. For all, including those from among the Gentiles, will be drawn to faith in Me. Since they themselves cannot come to Me, being held back by this ruler, I, having defeated him, cast him out, and severed the threads of his dominion over people, will draw them even against his will.
This is what He called plundering in another place. "No one," He says, "can plunder the goods of the strong man, unless he first binds the strong man" (Mk. 3:27).
Jn. 12:33. This He said, signifying by what manner of death He would die.
"When I am lifted up" – He said this, giving to understand what kind of death He would die, that is, He would be crucified, for by this is signified the height of the Cross.
Jn. 12:34. The crowd answered Him: we have heard from the law that Christ abides forever; how then do You say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?
Thinking to expose the Lord and to confound Him as a false Christ, they say: "If Christ is immortal, and You say of Yourself that You will die, how shall we believe that You are truly the Christ?" They said this with malicious intent. For the Scripture, which they call the Law, mentions not only the resurrection but also the suffering. Thus, Isaiah points to both—to the suffering and death, when he says: "He was led... as a sheep... to the slaughter" (Isa. 53:7); to the resurrection, when he says: "The Lord wills to cleanse Him from His wound and to show Him as a light" (Isa. 53:11). David also mentions death and resurrection together. For he says: "You will not leave my soul in Hades" (Ps. 16:10). Likewise the patriarch, in blessing Judah, prophesies of Christ: "He crouched down, he lay down as a lion, and as a lion's whelp: who shall rouse Him?" (Gen. 49:9).
Therefore, rejecting the sufferings of Christ and ascribing to Him the resurrection, they did this with malicious intent. We know from the Law, that is, from Scripture (for the Law, as we have often noted, refers to all of Scripture), that Christ abides forever. Rightly you know this, for He abides forever and, as God, abides also after the resurrection. But how did you not learn of the sufferings, when those very same Scriptures, as we have shown, teach both together?
"How is it," they say, "that You say that the Son of Man must be lifted up?" You see, they understood much even from the Lord's parabolic sayings — for example, they understood that by the words "to be lifted up" He speaks of the Cross. Yes, they truly understood much, but out of their evil will they feigned ignorance. Note, then, what they say: "How do You say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?" Their speech is full of malice. They speak as if to say: "Although we do not know of whom You speak or who the Son of Man is, we nevertheless clearly understand the truth that whoever is lifted up, whoever he may be, is not the Christ — this is incompatible, for the Scriptures say that Christ is immortal."
Jn. 12:35. Then Jesus said to them: Yet a little while the light is with you; walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you: for he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.
What then does the Lord say? Stopping their mouths and showing that His sufferings in no way prevent Him from abiding forever, He says: "Yet a little while the Light is in you." By Light He referred to Himself. Just as the light of the sun does not completely disappear, but is hidden and shines forth again, so too My death is not destruction, but a setting and a departure, and through the resurrection I shall shine forth again. And since the sufferings in no way prevent Me from being eternal, and the Scriptures testify concerning Christ that He is eternal, then I am truly Christ, even though I shall endure sufferings. For I am the Light; I shall set and rise again.
Jn. 12:36. While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of light.
So then, while the Light is with you, walk, that is, believe in Me. What time is He speaking of here? He speaks of the time before the sufferings, or of the time after the sufferings, or of both together. So then, He says, walk and believe in Me both before My crucifixion and after it. He indicates this by the words "while the Light is with you," that is, while you can believe in Me; and to believe in Me, who am the Light, you can both before the sufferings and after them. But whoever walks in unbelief does not know where he is going. For whatever the Jews do now, they nevertheless do not know what they are doing, but walk as if in darkness; they think they are going on the straight path, but everything turns out the opposite for them, when they observe the Sabbath and circumcision. But those who have believed do not act this way. They walk in the light, doing everything that pertains to salvation. For they escaped the shadows of the law and the darkness of riddles, and came to the light that had been hidden in them but has now shone forth, and became sons of the Light, that is, of Christ. "That you may become," He says, "sons of the Light," that is, My sons. Although the Evangelist at the beginning of the Gospel says that some were born of God (John 1:13), here he calls them sons of the Light, that is, of Christ. Let Arius and Eunomius be put to shame. For here too it is shown that the Father and the Son have one operation.
Jn. 12:36. He said this, and Jesus departed and hid Himself from them.
Why did the Lord hide from them? They had not now taken up stones against Him, nor spoken any blasphemy, as before. Why then did He hide? Although they said nothing, yet penetrating into their hearts, He saw that their fury was increasing. To subdue their hatred, He hides Himself.
Jn. 12:37. Although He had done so many miracles before them, they did not believe in Him,
That they did not believe but were vexed, the Evangelist himself indicated when he said, "Though He had done so many miracles, they did not believe in Him." And of course it is a matter of no small malice not to believe so many miracles. "So many," he says, "miracles about which he [the Evangelist] kept silent."
So. Jesus hid Himself in order to calm their malice, and at the same time in order to give them time and tranquility so that, having calmed down, they might consider His words and deeds. For in that case, if they had wished, they could have come to an understanding of His dignity — His Divinity. Although He knew their unbelief in advance, nevertheless, what depended on Himself, He did and permitted, giving them, as has been said, time for consideration.
Jn. 12:38. That the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled:
In the words "they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah might be fulfilled," what is expressed is not the cause, but the event. For they did not disbelieve in Christ because Isaiah had foretold it about them, but the prophet foretold it about them because they would not believe.
Jn. 12:38. Lord! Who has believed what they heard from us?
Let us also examine the words of Isaiah: "Lord, who has believed our report?" (Isa. 53:1). This means the same as "no one believed." For the word "who" is used in many places of Scripture in place of "no one." The prophet said this as if speaking in the person of Christ. Christ speaks thus, as it were, to the Father: "Lord, who has believed our report?" — that is, no one has believed Our word and My preaching, which He called "report." For He says: "What I have heard from My Father, that I speak" (John 8:26).
Jn. 12:38. And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
"And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" — that is, the mighty working of miracles, which He called "the arm," was not revealed to any of the senseless Jews, but they slander Me even when I perform so many miracles.
Jn. 12:39. Therefore they could not believe, because, as Isaiah said again,
The same thought is expressed in the words "therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again of them." By all this He wants to confirm that Scripture is not false and that the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled exactly as he had foretold.
Lest anyone should begin to speak and wonder why Christ came at all if He knew that the Jews would not believe in Him, the Evangelist for this reason brings forward the prophets who foretold this. Christ, although He knew of their unbelief, nevertheless came so that they would have no excuse for their sin and could not say that they would have believed if He had come.
The words "they could not believe" mean the same as "they would not." For an evil and crafty man, so long as he remains such, that is, chooses evil, cannot believe.
Jn. 12:40. This people has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and turn, so that I should heal them (Is. 6:10).
When you hear that God blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, do not think that He simply makes some good and others evil (away with such a thought!), but by the complete blinding understand the abandonment by God.
I will explain with an example. Suppose someone is moderate in wickedness. God, it seems, is with him, because there is hope that such a person will turn back. But when a person plunges into the depths of wickedness, then God abandons him on account of his evil will. Of a person who has been deprived of the Divine light and walks in the darkness of sin, it is said that he walks as one who is blind; the absence of the Divine word, which softens the hearts of those who receive it, is called hardening of the heart. Already blinded is the one who completely refuses to receive the ray of Divine light, and hardened is the one who does not wish to hear the teaching that softens the heart, and God's withdrawal completely blinds and darkens him. So when you hear that God blinds, understand it in this way: He blinds because He is not present. For if God were present with a person, the person would not have become blind. If the sun were there, there would be no darkness. But now the sun produces night. In what way? By setting. So too God makes people blind by withdrawing from them. And He withdraws from them on account of their wickedness, and from that point on they, like blind men, sin irretrievably and fall incorrigibly.
Jn. 12:41. Isaiah said these things when he saw His glory and spoke about Him.
"These things said Isaiah, when he saw His glory." Whose? The Son's. Although the prophet, judging by the connection of the speech, seems to have seen the glory of the Father, the evangelist says here that Isaiah saw the glory of the Son, and the apostle Paul says that he saw the glory of the Spirit (Acts 28:25). Truly the glory of the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is one.
"Isaiah," He says, "saw His glory": the smoke that appeared to him, the seraphim, the coals, the altar, the throne (Isa. 6:1–7). So Isaiah saw this glory and spoke of Him, that is, of the Son. What did he say of Him? That which was said above, that He blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts.
Jn. 12:42. Nevertheless, even among the rulers many believed in Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, lest they should be put out of the synagogue,
The Evangelist notes that many even of the rulers believed in Him, showing that the Pharisees lied in this also, when they said: "Have any of the rulers believed in Him?" (John 7:48). For behold, many even of the rulers believed, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess it.
Jn. 12:43. For they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God.
"For they loved the praise of men." Christ had said this to them before as well: "How can you believe, when you receive glory from men, and do not seek the glory that is from the only God?" (Jn. 5:44) So the Evangelist shows that what Christ had foretold them came to pass. Truly, they were not rulers but slaves, and the most base slaves at that. From this we learn that whoever loves glory is a slave and is dishonorable.
Jn. 12:44. Jesus cried out and said: he who believes in Me believes not in Me, but in Him who sent Me.
Jesus, yielding to the fury of the Jews, hid Himself for a time, and then appears again and cries out openly. Showing that He Himself is equal to the Father and not an adversary of God, He says: "He who believes in Me believes not in Me, but in Him who sent Me," speaking as if to say: "Why are you afraid to believe in Me? Faith in Me ascends to My Father."
Note also the precision in the words. The Lord did not say "he who believes Me," but "he who believes in Me," which signifies faith in God. For it is one thing to believe someone, and another to believe in someone. If someone believes someone, this can be understood as believing in the truthfulness of his words, but whoever believes in Him believes in Him as God. Therefore one can say "believes the apostles"; but one cannot say "believes in the apostles." Therefore the Lord did not say "he who believes Me." For both Paul and Peter could say "he who believes me." And the Jews were reproached for not believing Moses (John 5:46). But He said something greater — "he who believes in Me," by which He shows that He Himself is God, as He also says to the disciples: "Believe in God, and believe also in Me" (John 14:1). Therefore, whoever believes in Him directs his faith to the Father, and whoever does not believe Him does not believe the Father.
Jn. 12:45. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.
Does he who sees the physical features? No. For the Father is not a body, so that one could say that he who sees Christ bodily also sees the Father, but by seeing, I ask you, understand mental contemplation. The Lord speaks as if to say: "He who by contemplation of the mind has embraced My essence, insofar as is possible for man, has also embraced the essence of the Father. He who has recognized Me as God has, without doubt, also recognized the Father. For I am the Image of the Father."
All of this demonstrates the consubstantiality of the Father and the Son. Let those suffering from Arianism hear that he who believes in the Son believes not in Him, but in the Father, so that either the Father too is a creature, or the Son too is not a creature. Just as if someone were to say that he who draws water from a river takes it not from the river but from the source, so too he who believes in the Son believes not in the Son — the river (for the Son is not of a different essence from the Father and has nothing distinct from the Father) — but believes in the source of goodness, that is, the Father.
Jn. 12:46. I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not remain in darkness.
Again, with these words as well He shows His consubstantiality with the Father. For just as the Father is everywhere called Light in Scripture, so He too says of Himself: "I have come as a light into the world." Therefore the Apostle Paul also calls Him the Radiance (Heb. 1:3), showing thereby that there is nothing mediating between the Father and the Son, but the Father and the Son are together, just as light and radiance are together. And so the Son too is Light, inasmuch as He delivers from error and dispels the darkness of the mind, and because just as light, upon its appearance, becomes visible itself and reveals all other visible things, so also the Son, having come and appeared to us, gave knowledge of Himself and of the Father, and enlightened the hearts of those who received Him with all knowledge.
Jn. 12:47. And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
"If," He says, "anyone hears Me and does not believe, I do not judge him, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world." The meaning of these words is as follows: "I am not the cause of the condemnation of the unbelieving man, for I did not come primarily for this purpose, but it happened as a consequence. I came to save, and for this I taught. But if anyone does not believe, I am not the cause of his condemnation, but he himself brought it upon himself."
This will become even clearer from what follows. Listen, then, to what comes next.
Jn. 12:48. He who rejects Me and does not receive My words has that which judges him: the word that I have spoken, it will judge him on the last day.
I do not judge anyone, but the unbeliever has a judge for himself. It is customary among us, and we often say, when we wish to punish a disorderly child, that it is not we who punish him, but his carelessness and disorderliness, and it is not we who condemn him, but our convictions, to which he did not submit—they accuse him as one who is disobedient. So also the Lord says: "It is not I who judge, but the word which I spoke, it will judge."
Jn. 12:49. For I have not spoken of Myself; but the Father who sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what to say and what to speak.
For why did they not believe? Was it not because I am an adversary to God and seek glory for Myself? But "I have not spoken of Myself," rather I declared all things from My Father and nowhere presented Myself as one devising anything different. For "the Father who sent Me gave Me a commandment, what to say and what to speak." What profound humility is in these words!
Jn. 12:50. And I know that His commandment is life everlasting. Therefore, what I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.
Surely, Lord, before the Father sent You and gave You a commandment, did You not know what to say, did You not know that commandment which is eternal life? Did You not know this eternal life? How then did You say: "I am the life" (John 11:25)?
Do you see what kind of inconsistency arises if we do not prudently understand what is being said? So know that the Lord expresses Himself so humbly because His listeners are weak. And what does He wish to express by this? That He says nothing, thinks nothing different from the Father. "For as those who are sent," He says, "say nothing except what has been commanded, so I Myself think and have taught nothing other than what serves the glory of the Father." So, wishing to prove this, that is, His unity of mind with the Father, He recalled this example, that is, the commandment. Therefore He also adds: "So what I say, I say just as the Father has told Me. And since I have said nothing of Myself, what justification will the unbelievers present? Without any contradiction they will be condemned for not having believed the Father."
So, orthodox one, do not assume anything lowly in the humble words (such as "I received a commandment" and the like), but understand them prudently, as also this: "I received a commandment, what to say and what to speak." For the Son, being the Word and expressing what is in the Mind, that is, the Father, says that He received a commandment from Him, what to say and what to speak. Just as our word too, if we wish to be truthful, says what the mind proposes to it, and the word never differs in essence from the mind, but is perfectly consubstantial.