Fragments on John · §27 · Ammonius of Alexandria

Peter, Judas, and mutual glory (John 13:8–33)

attain life nor enjoy the kingdom of the heavens.

[John 13:9] Having at first spoken against it through humility, now through excess of reverence Peter says something superfluous—both from fierce love.

[John 13:11] They were clean, enlightened by the teaching and freed from Jewish error and having cast off all wickedness by being with Christ. And by witnessing purity to the others he proves unclean the one who is not clean.

[John 13:13] By saying “I am” he showed that he is God by nature and teacher.

[John 13:14] Not because they were filthy did he wash them, but to teach them to be moderate. The basin does not hold the rank of a bath nor lighten sins, but leads toward perfect virtue.

[John 13:15] Not only in word but also in deed he gave the example of perfect humility.

[John 13:17] It is not knowing virtue that is to be emulated, but working it; for knowing and not doing brings greater punishment. Knowing happens to belong to many; doing does not belong to all. Therefore he said: blessed are you if you do them.

[John 13:18] Judas was not compelled to betray so that the Spirit’s words might come out—which is full of every blasphemy—but so that we may know that Scripture spoke about that one whom we see having done what was foretold. And if the Lord chose Judas and he transgressed, nothing follows from this; for he chose him while he was good, and he was changed like Adam and Saul; for God does not abolish free will, but allows each to act as he wishes, so that the wicked may be punished and the virtuous crowned.

[John 13:26] Through the morsel the Lord fulfilled the prophecy that says: “He who eats my bread has lifted up his heel against me” (Psalm 41:9; John 13:18).

[John 13:27] On the fourth day Satan cast into Judas that he should betray the Lord, and he spoke this to the Jews on the fifth toward evening. When he saw Judas wanting to betray the Lord in deed and hurrying to it, then he entered into him. So casting in is one thing and entering into him another, just as striking someone with the hand from outside is one thing and giving him an opening and thrusting the sword in is another.

[John 13:27] The evangelist calls the devil’s entrance the confirming of Judas to do what is pleasing to the devil. When God made him plain and set him apart, then the devil sprang upon him because of his measureless shamelessness.

He does not say this as commanding, but as reproaching the one he let do what he wished, since he did not want to be corrected. Since this is settled for you, hasten to the plot against me; for suffering does not grieve me.

[John 13:27] The morsel given him in the order of a blessing was not the cause of Judas’s apostasy, but the unchangeable wickedness after the exposure. Therefore the enemy also sprang in as into an ungated city.

[John 13:28] Since perhaps John said it to him secretly and he heard, no one knew; for if they had known, perhaps they would even have killed him—or because they were in turmoil, not knowing what was in Judas’s heart, they did not understand what was said.

[John 13:29] If someone says how the one fed from others’ means, who did not allow the disciples to carry a bag or purse, had a money-box, it must be said that this happened only for the sake of the poor.

[John 13:31] Even if the Son does all things, yet through what he does he ascribes them to the Father and glorifies the Father.

[John 13:31] Christ, as having put death to death through his own death, was glorified; he teaches that enduring what is shameful for God’s sake is glory.

[John 13:31] The Father was glorified in the Son, since it became known whose Father he is. So also the Son is glorified as having such a begetter.

[John 13:32] Through himself the Father will glorify the Son, and at once—that is, on the cross, when the sun was darkened, the rocks were split, and after fifty days the Spirit descending made the Son plain to all.

[John 13:33] They were seeking him as one who loves and as a teacher.

[John 13:33] He said this to human beings because of their unbelief; for with the disciples he was and is always present, and because after the resurrection they also

Greek

τυγχάνει τῆς ζωῆς οὔτε ἀπολαύει τῆς τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείας. 449 {3Jο 13, 9}3Τὴν ἀρχὴν διὰ ταπεινοφροσύνην ἀντειπὼν νῦν δι' ὑπερβολὴν εὐλαβείας περισσόν τι λέγει ἀμφότερα ὁ Πέτρος ἐξ ἀγάπης σφοδρᾶς εἰπών. 450 {3Jο 13, 11}3Καθαροὶ ἦσαν τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ φωτισθέντες καὶ ἀπαλλαγέντες τῆς Ἰουδαϊκῆς πλάνης καὶ πᾶσαν πονηρίαν ἀποβαλόμενοι τῷ συνεῖναι Χριστῷ. δι' ὧν δὲ τοῖς ἄλλοις μαρτυρεῖ καθαρότητα, μεμολυσμένον ἀποδείκνυσι τὸν μὴ καθαρόν. 451 {3Jο 13, 13}3Εἰπὼν τὸ εἰμὶ ἔδειξεν, ὅτι φύσει θεός ἐστι καὶ διδάσκαλος. 452 {3Jο 13, 14}3Οὐχ ὅτι ῥυπαροὶ ἦσαν, ἔνιπτεν αὐτούς, ἀλλ' ἵνα διδάξῃ μετριάζειν. οὐ λουτροῦ τάξιν ἐπέχει ὁ νιπτὴρ οὐδὲ ἁμαρτήματα κουφίζει, ἀλλ' εἰς τελείαν ἀρετὴν ὁδηγεῖ. 453 {3Jο 13, 15}3Οὐ μόνον λόγῳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔργῳ τῆς τελείας ταπεινοφροσύνης δέδωκε τὸ ὑπόδειγμα. 454 {3Jο 13, 17}3Οὐ τὸ εἰδέναι τὴν ἀρετὴν ζηλωτόν, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐργάζεσθαι· τὸ γὰρ εἰδέναι καὶ μὴ ποιεῖν πλείω κόλασιν ἐπάγει. τὸ δὲ εἰδέναι τυχὸν πολλῶν, τὸ δὲ ποιεῖν οὐ πάντων. διὸ εἶπεν· μακάριοί ἐστε ἐὰν ποιῆτε. 455 {3Jο 13, 18}3Οὐ διὰ τὸ ἀποβῆναι τοὺς τοῦ πνεύματος λόγους ἠναγκάσθη ὁ Ἰούδας προδοῦναι, ὅπερ ἐστὶ πάσης βλασφημίας ἀνάμεστον, ἀλλ' ἵνα γνῶμεν, ὅτι περὶ ἐκείνου εἶπεν ἡ γραφή, ὃν ὁρῶμεν ποιήσαντα τὸ προλεχθέν. εἰ δὲ ὁ κύριος ἐξελέξατο τὸν Ἰούδαν καὶ παρέβη, οὐδὲν ἐκ τούτου· καλὸν γὰρ ὄντα αὐτὸν ἐξελέξατο καὶ μετεβλήθη ὡς ὁ Ἀδὰμ καὶ ὁ Σαούλ· τὸ γὰρ αὐτεξούσιον οὐκ ἀναιρεῖ ὁ θεός, ἀλλὰ συγχωρεῖ ἕκαστον, καθὼς βούλεται, πράττειν, ἵνα καὶ οἱ κακοὶ κολασθῶσι καὶ οἱ ἐνάρετοι στεφανωθῶσιν. 456 {3Jο 13, 26}3∆ιὰ τοῦ ψωμίου ἐπλήρωσεν ὁ κύριος τὴν προφητείαν τὴν λέγουσαν «ὁ ἐσθίων ἄρτους μου, ἐμεγάλυνεν ἐπ' ἐμὲ πτερνισμόν». 457 {3Jο 13, 27}3Τῇ τετράδι ἐνέβαλεν ὁ σατανᾶς τῷ Ἰούδα, ἵνα προδῷ τὸν κύριον καὶ ἐλάλησε τοῦτο τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις τῇ πέμπτῃ ἑσπέρας. ἐπειδὴ εἶδε τὸν Ἰούδαν θέλοντα ἔργῳ παραδοῦναι τὸν κύριον καὶ σπεύδοντα εἰς τοῦτο, τότε εἰσῆλθε εἰς αὐτόν. ἄλλο οὖν ἐστι τὸ ἐμβαλεῖν καὶ ἄλλο τὸ εἰσελθεῖν εἰς αὐτόν, ὥσπερ ἄλλο ἐστὶ τὸ πλῆξαί τινα χειρὶ ἔξωθεν καὶ ἄλλο τὸ δοῦναί τινι καιρίαν καὶ εἰσωθῆσαι τὸ ξίφος. 458 {3Jο 13, 27}3 458Εἴσοδον λέγει τοῦ διαβόλου ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς τὸ κυρῶσαι τὸν Ἰούδαν ποιῆσαι τὰ τῷ διαβόλῳ ἀρεστά. ὅτε δῆλον αὐτὸν ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς καὶ ἀφώρισεν, τότε αὐτῷ ὁ διάβολος ἐπεπήδησε διὰ τὴν ἄμετρον ἀναισχυντίαν. 459 {3ςο 13, 27}3Οὐχ ὡς προστάττων τοῦτο λέγει, ἀλλ' ὡς ὀνειδίζων ὃν ἀφῆκε πράττειν ὃ ἤθελεν, ἐπείπερ οὐκ ἐβούλετο διορθωθῆναι. ἐπειδὴ τοῦτό σοι δέδοκται, σπούδασον ἐπὶ τὴν κατ' ἐμοῦ ἐπιβουλήν· οὐ γὰρ λυπεῖ με τὸ παθεῖν. 460 {3Jο 13, 27}3Οὐκ αἴτιον τῆς ἀποστασίας Ἰούδα τὸ ἐν τάξει εὐλογίας δοθὲν αὐτῷ ψωμίον, ἀλλ' ἡ μετὰ τὸν ἔλεγχον ἀμετάθετος κακία. διὸ καὶ ὡς εἰς ἀθύρωτον πόλιν εἰσεπήδησεν ὁ ἐχθρός. 461 {3Jο 13, 28}3Ἐπειδὴ τάχα ὁ Ἰωάννης λάθρα αὐτῷ εἶπε καὶ ἤκουσεν, οὐδεὶς ἔγνω· εἰ γὰρ ἔγνωσαν, τάχα ἂν καὶ ἀπέκτειναν αὐτὸν ἢ ὅτι ἐν θορύβῳ ἦσαν ὡς μὴ εἰδότες τὰ ἐν καρδίᾳ τοῦ Ἰούδα ἠγνόουν τὸ λεχθέν. 462 {3Jο 13, 29}3Ἐάν τις εἴπῃ, πῶς ὁ ἐξ ἀλλοτρίων τρεφόμενος καὶ μήτε πήραν ἢ βαλλάντιον συγχωρήσας βαστάσαι τοῖς μαθηταῖς γλωσσόκομον εἶχε, λεκτέον, ὅτι ἕνεκεν μόνον τῶν πτωχῶν τοῦτο ἐγένετο. 463 {3Jο 13, 31}3Εἰ καὶ ὁ υἱὸς πάντα ποιεῖ, ἀλλ' οὖν δι' ὧν ὅσα ποιεῖ τῷ πατρὶ ἀνατίθησι, δοξάζει τὸν πατέρα. 464 {3Jο 13, 31}3Ὁ Χριστὸς ὡς διὰ τοῦ ἰδίου θανάτου θανατώσας τὸν θάνατον ἐδοξάσθη, διδάσκει, ὅτι τὸ ὑπομεῖναι διὰ τὸν θεὸν ἐπονείδιστα δόξα ἐστίν. 465 {3Jο 13, 31}3Ἐδοξάσθη ὁ πατὴρ ἐν υἱῷ, ἐπειδὴ ἐγνώσθη τίνος ἐστὶ πατήρ. οὕτως καὶ ὁ υἱὸς δοξάζεται ὡς τοιοῦτον ἔχων τὸν γεννήσαντα αὐτόν. 466 {3Jο 13, 32}3∆ι' ἑαυτοῦ ὁ πατὴρ δοξάσει τὸν υἱὸν καὶ εὐθύς, ὅ ἐστιν ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ, ὅτε ἥλιος ἐσκοτίσθη, αἱ πέτραι ἐσχίσθησαν καὶ μετὰ πεντήκοντα ἡμέρας τὸ πνεῦμα κατελθὸν πᾶσι κατάδηλον ἐποίησε τὸν υἱόν. 467 {3Jο 13, 33}3Ἐζήτουν αὐτὸν ὡς ἀγαπῶντα καὶ ὡς διδάσκαλον. 468 {3Jο 13, 33}3Τοῖς ἀνθρώποις εἶπεν τοῦτο διὰ τὴν αὐτῶν ἀπιστίαν· τοῖς γὰρ μαθηταῖς συνῆν καὶ σύνεστι διὰ παντὸς καὶ ὅτι μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν καὶ

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About this text

Short notes on the whole of John's Gospel, from the Word in the beginning to Peter restored, defending the Trinity against the heresies along the way.

Ammonius of Alexandria (c. 5th cent.) was a presbyter of the church in Alexandria who wrote biblical commentaries. This work, preserved only in fragments within later chains of quotations from church fathers, addresses Christian readers seeking commentary on the Gospel of John. He wrote to explain the Gospel's teaching on Christ's divinity, the Trinity, and the incarnation while answering doctrinal controversies of his time.

The fragments survive as verse-by-verse comments on the Gospel of John, gathered from catenas. Ammonius wrote in a period of sharp theological dispute, and his comments directly oppose Arianism, Sabellianism, and Manichaeism. He defends the full divinity and consubstantiality of the Son with the Father, insists that the Word's incarnation was real rather than apparent, and teaches that Christ's flesh is life-giving.

A reader will meet Jesus Christ as the incarnate Word, along with John the Baptist, Peter, Judas Iscariot, Mary Magdalene, Thomas, Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, Martha, Mary of Bethany, Lazarus, Pilate, Caiaphas, Philip, and Andrew. Ammonius quotes the words of Jesus, John the Baptist, the Jews who dispute with Jesus, and the evangelist John himself, and he also quotes and argues against heretics. To follow the work, know that "consubstantial" means sharing the same essence, "person" means a distinct member of the Trinity, "divine plan" means God's saving work through the incarnation, and "Word" means the second person of the Trinity who became flesh. Old Testament books are cited from the Greek Septuagint, so Psalm numbering follows the Greek rather than the Hebrew.

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Translated from PG 85 (Greek)

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