Fragments on John

On the Logos and John's Testimony§1

1So that not from the human nature—without some addition and definition.

[John 1:14] For no one will dare to hear a change in the Word becoming flesh (John 1:14).

But the tabernacling of him among us is to dwell with men.

[John 1:15] And if anyone were to perceive the becoming and the existing, as the prophet said, 'Before me no other god came to be' (Isaiah 43:10); therefore he also added beautifully, 'because he was first of me,' so that the 'having-become' might be joined to the 'was' in such a way that it might not be thought to be something else and that it might be said of him similarly,

'the having-become,' just as regarding the generated things which were not before the having-become.

And he was, he says, first of me always, clearly having being according to the divinity, never beginning as if not ceasing.

[John 1:19-21] the evangelist has stated the testimony of John mixed with his own, but now he will explain it clearly, as if repeating himself, and this is the testimony of John, which just now he said, to bear witness to him concerning himself and to have cried out coming from above, so that the forerunner might come to bear witness to the Lord (John 1:19).

The Jews, he says, sent from among the most tested of their own to those chosen to ask him who he might be, clearly having the expectation from their fathers of the coming Savior.

But they were sinning by dividing the prophet from Christ.

And the Baptist answered well, not being the prophet, saying the same thing he first said, 'I am not the Christ' (John 1:20), even though he clearly did not teach them that the Christ and the prophet would be the same.

The Jews sent, he says, from among the most tested among them those chosen to ask him who he is, because they held the expectation from their fathers of the coming Savior; and being stirred by such expectation toward an inference, they might see something strange or unexpected, lest this be the one hoped for.

Since John's life was indeed strange and holy, it led them to investigation and seeking, asking who he might be and whether he is the expected one.

He, he says, immediately spoke openly and did not hide the truth, that he is not the Christ.

The second time they asked if he might be Elijah; for Malachi had clearly foretold that Elijah would come, saying, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the Tishbite” (Malachi 4:5).

John said no; for he was not Elijah according to his own nature, even if he shared in the Spirit, and because of this he was called Elijah by the Lord (Matthew 11:14).

They propose a final mistaken question to him, asking him this again, just as they first asked...

The Prophet and Christ§2

2The prophet is one thing, while they suppose something else regarding the Christ. These indeed sinned by dividing the prophet from Christ.

But the Baptist answered correctly that he was not the prophet, saying the same thing, which he first answered by declaring 'I am not the Christ', even though he clearly did not teach them that the Christ and the prophet are the same (John 1:25, 27). [John 1:25-27] They speak obstructively to John, 'Why then do you baptize?', as if they did not know that not even the Christ himself, being the prophet, was baptizing, but his disciples. Even Elijah, during the time of Ahab, did not baptize the wood of the altar with washing, but commanded the priests to do this.

Regarding 'Why then do you baptize?', John presents his own baptism as bodily; but regarding 'If you are not the Christ', he speaks a glorification of the preceding essence of Christ, saying that he is invisible by divinity, present to the whole world. He also exposes their lowly opinion concerning Christ and joins the 'In the beginning' Word to his incarnation, connecting the unknown with 'he who comes after me' (John 1:27).

He shows the superiority of Christ toward himself through 'I am not worthy', saying that he would be a middle element of the whole world, through which all things extend according to logical natures, or of us, in the midst of whom is the ruling principle, where also the Word is in each one. If your middle is not perceptible, then neither is 'he who comes after me'. Having said these things about the essence of the Word, he joins the things of his coming after him by saying 'he who comes after me'.

[John 2:4] The Lord does not move too hastily into the work of manifest signs (John 2:4), since he had not yet taken the rank of a public teacher or a preacher of manifest things. For it was necessary that he be approached as a teacher and pursued as a savior to obtain healings, because it is also fitting that the one praying should approach the fulfillment of the need. Therefore, he says that his hour for signs—that is, according to reason and according to what is fitting—must not pass.

[John 2:4-5] The mother knew the Lord as becoming a son to her through persuasion (John 2:4). And indeed her response demonstrated this: 'What to me and to you, woman?' (John 2:4). For, being able to be offended, he answered in such a way as God's speech toward Moses was: 'Leave me,' meaning he was able to be offended and to persuade. Knowing indeed that he was staying toward her in faith, and seeing from the response that he was drawing near to the worthiness of the ministers, she commands them to do what he orders.

[John 2:13-16] Allegorically, regarding those who have come through shamelessness to provoke the silver which belongs to the Word of God (John 2:13-16), and moreover selling the gifts of the Spirit—pigeons named as such because they have a natural affinity for the Holy Spirit who, in the form of a pigeon, descended upon the Savior, casting out from the church of God—it is also good to say that the scourge of Jesus being made of ropes, by which he drove everyone out, occurred; for since through which things one weaves a rope, he is punished in sinning. Appropriately this has been written: for sins are called ropes.

[John 3:5] The Lord lifts him up to the true understanding by ascribing the rebirth to grace (John 3:5), which is accomplished through the ministry of water for the body.

The Light and the Spirit§3

3As he cleanses from human and evil impurities, and by the energy of the Spirit sanctifies the soul and fills it with divinity—of which having now dwelt in us like a kind of earnest and firstfruits, the kingdom of God will arrive at perfection, being the fullness of divinity in us.

[John 3:19] The light came from itself without anyone harming it in order to find it (John 3:19). [John 3:19] Those who loved the darkness rather than the light are without defense (John 3:19); for it is not through ignorance that they do not believe in Christ, but because they want to do base things, which the teaching of Christ does not accept. Therefore, when we hear that 'they were not able to believe' (John 3:19), let us not understand a power of nature or some other dominance, but the self-tyrannical thought that enslaves itself to shameful passions and does not want to depart from the worst habit; for these indeed recognize the light, but they do not come to it, so that their hypocrisy might not be exposed—those who say they know God but deny him by their works.

Since therefore he speaks the things of both the one believing and the one unbelieving, he both believes and disbelieves for that one. And he sealed instead of having shown.

[John 4:13-16] This, he says, the perceptible water will heal the thirst for a little while (John 4:13-16), but the invisible, just as it delivers from thirst, no longer leaves men in need of life; for it springs forth incorruption for them. This, that the Holy Spirit is promised as a gift through the following, is evident.

Therefore, there is an examination of the so-called spiritual water against material water, and also of the gift of the Spirit against the teaching of the law. For one was learning through letters, which man always needs because of forgetfulness, but the Spirit of wisdom provides a continuous supply. Having heard these things, the Samaritan woman remained upon the material concept and, passing over the small things as great, remained unfeeling toward the great things.

But the Lord, at least until these things, spoke toward the woman, desiring to lead the Samaritan nation to faith by joining to the call toward her the call toward the man. In this it is shown toward the knowledge of the word that the nature of a better man is more suitable than that of the woman, who was not reaching the spiritual teachings of the Lord. 18 John 4:33 [John 4:33] They show that he accepted the services of those offering food, even though he was able to feed and not to be fed; for to feed on Christ is a greatest blessing, of which he is not envious toward those willing. Therefore he also ordered the same for the disciples.

19 John 5:5 [John 5:5] The thirty-eighth year of the lying paralytic signifies a time of punishment already being fulfilled, that just as the people for forty years tested the judgments in the wilderness, and forty days the destruction fell, and the law punished the sinners for forty years, so the Lord, sparing the fullness of the punishment, heals the sick man in the thirty-eighth year, just as he also spared the legal punishments through grace, the cosmic time having been fulfilled.

22 John 5:44 [John 5:44] Then, because he says, 'You seek the glory from one another and do not seek the glory from God, you are not able to come to me.'

The Cause of Unbelief§4

4He says this, reproving the minds and stating the cause of unbelief: for the rulers pursue the approval from the people, but the people love the honor from the rulers, and so you stand away from the faith toward me; the rulers do this so that the glory in you might not be diminished, and you do this so that you might not lose the honor from them.

[John 6:1] At the same time, desiring to lead the benefit toward more, he did not remain settled in one place. [John 6:10-11] To the disciples, the sign that has happened he does not promise by word, but by deed he demonstrates (John 6:10-11); for this was fitting for the economy, not as it was said then to Moses, 'Will not the hand of the Lord suffice? You shall already see if my word descends upon you,' but here he commands only that the people rise up quickly and quietly, and having taken the loaves and the fishes, he gives thanks as if they were food lying before him, and as if feeding with these and giving with these, yet in this he was producing those which were not.

[John 6:27] He changes the focus not to fly toward food that is perishing, but toward that which remains for the age, which feeds the soul (John 6:27). This was the life-giving faith, through which one is made like to the flesh of the Lord, which has been sealed by divine power by the Father.

[John 6:29] Here, the work of God is called that which is suitable to God. And he says that for the Lord to be the faith toward him is to declare faith as a work, making it both priestly and perfect.

Therefore, even without human works, it appropriately justifies and sanctifies, since it possesses the most excellent activity of the soul, not some idleness or inaction. [John 6:54] [John 6:54] There is no partaking of the word of God unto eternal life, except through his flesh; for previously it was not mixed with flesh, as all flesh was held by death. But now life-giving flesh is given, nourishing all the only-begotten into life through the strength being reinforced in it, and by remaining sharing in the flesh, it makes them shine through likeness.

[John 6:55] True is the food which is not an attacker of the temporary and perishing life, but a preparer of the eternal. [John 6:55] This also is a true drink, which if not sufficient for a little time to the thirst, but providing always the one who has filled it and making it unrequited, just as the Lord was saying to the Samaritan woman.

[John 7:6-8] He who blesses those who mourn over the present age also speaks now, something common also passing through all the saints, saying to himself that there is no time of feast for us in the midst of the present tribulations, in as much as malice is being mustered and truth is being set aside by the majority and the will of God is not prevailing on earth. [John 7:6-8] Because of these things the Lord was saying that his own time is not here; for it was not possible to feast together with the evil, nor with those who hate the one who remains hating.

[John 7:8] You, he says, ascend having feasted together, you who neither hate nor are hated by them. [John 7:8] But I do not ascend; for the time of my feast is different, when clearly the good will prevail, the hand being cast down, and the evil will be seen nowhere. [John 7:21] [John 7:21] He refers to the five loaves, saying, or to the...

Circumcision and the Sabbath§5

5Apart from having crossed over, it has happened (John 7:22-23).

[John 7:22-23] Wishing to introduce the circumcision performed on the Sabbath as being the beginning of the precision regarding the Sabbath, he presents the argument made concerning circumcision.

He says that this does not even profane the people, showing especially first, not even from Moses is the custom of circumcision, but from above and from the fathers, since it begins from Abraham.

Saying this, he refers them back to things more ancient than Moses, in which this thing is not yet law—that which they most admire as their own, the legal order—demonstrating it to be older and not yet legal.

He always introduces the greater things of the law, referring to the more ancient and primordial, since it was neither in Enoch nor in Noah.

Therefore he did not say 'from Abraham' but 'from the fathers' regarding the circumcision, so that, having viewed the matter over all things, you might not consider its use to be absolutely necessary, since it was not even upon all.

Coming to Moses, having used circumcision on the Sabbath, he left the Sabbath-rest having been dissolved by him because of the more divine work of Moses.

If, he says, because of the circumcision as a divine work the Sabbath does not cease, he leads it as idle, but there is a time when it is also active; how do you accuse the much greater thing of the circumcision, the healing of the whole human body, as not having been required to be done in a time of rest?

[John 7:28] The Lord introduces two opinions concerning him (John 7:28), and they know indeed whence he is, because his mother is Mary, but they also have the unknown, that he has both come and is from God.

Therefore, one should not be an arbitrary and self-appointed teacher, but should come to teaching having been sent by God the Father; yet the one who sent him was not known to them, because they were most far removed from the true knowledge of God, both in their judgment and in their actions.

It is natural, then, for one to know the Father, since he is near him; for the most known is that which is most intimate.

[John 7:39-44] Having taken upon himself, for our sake, communion in the flesh, he was going to grant from the Spirit a sanctification to men — one not truly given before the Word was made flesh and had run the whole human course of life and carried our dishonor into divine glory; for it is here that God, having made humanity receptive in Christ, bestows the Spirit as upon his own and upon those received,

and now the Spirit is present.

And it is in us from that Spirit; for the Scripture calls the sanctification in the Spirit 'the Spirit', as is shown in Acts where Paul is inquiring: 'Having received the Holy Spirit?' they were saying when asked, 'We have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit'; saying this, they meant that if a sanctification of the Spirit is given to men, they have not heard of it,

since it is the Spirit of God; again, it was shouted out from the divine Scriptures.

Let us not then marvel if, even in former times when the Spirit was working in the prophets, the gift of the resurrection of the Lord is said to be their own; for one is a prophetic energy of the Spirit, and another is sanctification and renewal, making manifest sons of God born of women.

And prophecy often follows the sanctification of adoption, when it is necessary, but regeneration did not coincide with prophecy, because the Holy Spirit was not yet.

It does not refer to the substance, but to the energy; for it was not yet working in the disciples, otherwise he would not have spoken concerning the substance of the Spirit, saying that it was not yet (but making it clear that it was), but concerning the grace which was about to come upon the apostles and through them upon the rest.

For that was not yet, since in those receiving it, the gift is taken and the diminution is often received through the self-evil of those receiving.

But the Pharisees again regarding the...

The Divinity of the Word and the Error of Locality§6

6Having left the opinion of the multitude, they decided to seize him through the servants. But no one began against all, being prevented by the divine grace. [John 7:50] Being one himself among those who believed, and having been led along with the accusers, he thunders at them, calmly rebuking, showing how they had judged before knowing, if they believed irrationally (John 7:50).

[John 8:19] Because they were asking as if he were contained in a human place: 'Where is your father?' (John 8:19), he marvelously said that their not knowing the Father is something they suffer because they also think the Son is nothing other than flesh, the one being seen in a place. And if you know, he says, that even though the Son has borne flesh, he is nothing inferior to the flesh, you would also recognize the Father as not being held by any local containment, but carrying all things in himself.

The evangelist, marveling, appears upon such boldness of speech and such reproofs, with no one being able to lay hold of the Lord, even though they were prepared and ready for this. But nevertheless, teaching in their midst in the temple near the treasury, he was speaking with boldness, providing proofs of divinity, rebuking their ignorance regarding these things, and no one laid hold of him.

[John 8:21] To those who will enjoy nothing of his presence, he threatens a painful destruction (John 8:21), and most appropriately; for those from the physician being present only heal, if not receiving the medicine, those who are dying from their sufferings. [John 8:22-23] And even if it seemed he was refuting himself according to their impious suspicion (John 8:22-23), they were able at any time, being mortals themselves, to go to him; for there is one exit for all, even if the path may seem different and the place receiving all is one before the resurrection of the Lord, even if after these things the order of the saints is transferred into paradise. What then is the Lord? He shows it even at their feet, having stated the reason and refuting their suspicion: 'You are of the world' (John 8:22-23). [John 8:22-23] The Word has such a power, that he will be transferred toward himself and toward the heavenly things; therefore this is not death as it is toward a truth, as it would be for a man being of the earth and according to the transfer from the body being drawn under the earth.

[John 8:26] Much is, he says, what even God has spoken through the prophets, rebuking your hard-heartedness and disobedience (John 8:26). And I, whatever I speak concerning you, is not from another, but I speak from the Father. And he spoke in a more human and clearer way, reasoning with those listening.

[John 8:27] For if they had understood that the Lord was speaking concerning God, they would not have asked, “Where is your father?” (John 8:27); therefore he rightly spoke to them not saying, “You do not know my father.”

[John 8:38] He has seen, and while speaking with the Father, he revealed not a sight of the eyes, but a natural knowledge (John 8:38); since he says that even those whom he calls having seen with their Father will not see from anywhere, but rather they are made to belong to the schemes of the evil one by the evilness dwelling in them.

[John 8:51-53] Having foretold that “he who is from God hears the words of God” (John 8:47), he now shows himself to be God by nature; this one keeps the divine commandment, sinning in no way and transgressing the divine acts; this one also hears the divine words. He says that death here is not the fleshly death, which all undergo, but he names as death that which is to come, the punishment for eternity, which is Gehenna and “the worm”; for indeed life is an unending enjoyment for the age, for he says, “the age to come” (John 8:52). Then they say to him, “Do you make yourself greater than Abraham and the prophets, promising to make others greater than them? What are you making of yourself, promising to give less of the zeal from God?”

Divine Power and the Blind Man§7

7It is believed regarding God that no one is the cause of evil. However, the suffering endured in training and the recognition of God's power at work was not fully known later, because of the greater rewards given to the righteous from God then, and not as now extending the struggles longer because of the life remaining for ages.

Since the blind man was blind from birth, it appears to the disciples to seek the cause; and as it was impossible for him to commit the same sin before being born, they look to that of the parents. For he knew through the grief of parents that there are sufferings concerning children. But the Lord says that blindness does not come because of some sin, but for the sake of the glory of God about to be, for the purpose of the power of God being known through the paradoxically occurring sight (John 9:7). [John 9:7] The participation of Siloam in the work, which is interpreted as having been sent, just as the evangelist did not mark in vain, shows the sending of the Creator's power toward the renewal of his own creation, being made purifying from sins, of which the water of the bath was a symbol, and through the cleansing of sins bringing back health and bringing the diseased and purified nature into perfection.

[John 9:10-17] Not as needing to learn something, these approach the question from the blind man (John 9:15), but as if shaming him with something more defamatory against the Lord because of the perceived brevity regarding the Sabbath (John 9:17); for they thought that being among many, they would drag one down, and these things were meager and cheap, but they thought it great to stop the praise for him and to be able to condemn the thing done not being testified by him who was healed. But he did not show fear, having known the Lord through trial (John 9:17), but as much as he was able to grasp, he says about him to be a prophet, and this appropriately, since he did not know the authority of the divinity, not knowing that he had made him by his own power.

[John 9:16] So much does a pre-conceived dogma and a certain disposition toward the passing of right upon things prevail, and to darken the reasoning.

And that he made the blind man see on the Sabbath, they do not consider; but that 'he made clay' [John 9:6], they judge, being scoffers of the Lord, working his works many times on this day, so that from the 'slavery under the elements' Galatians 4:3, as the apostle says, he might free the men having made them fit from the Sabbath-slavery into the slavery of God; for to work the work of God according to the Sabbath-rule is to serve God instead of the Sabbath.

[John 9:18-19] Not finding the denial they wanted from the healed one, they seek this from the parents, hoping that they, having been disturbed, would be accomplices to them in denying, because this one born blind is the one now seeing [John 9:18]. But the evangelist says that they do not even believe; for faith does not dwell in a contentious soul and in a soul arraying itself against the power of God, so that they are not without cause for their unbelief, but are even greatly to blame, having constructed hardness within themselves, through which they did not receive the good of faith. They disturb the parents, accusing them, saying that they say their son was born blind; how, they say, to see a son [John 9:28].

[John 9:28-31] You say this out of arrogance. What they say is such a thing. We know that God through Moses gave law, but this one we do not know, except as one loosening the law; for on the Sabbath he healed the blind; for it is for this purpose they say they do not know him [John 9:29-30]. And that you are a disciple of him, they say as if you are disparaging him; and that he does not know, they say as if they are able to conceive nothing concerning the suspicion of his birth according to the flesh, nor anything concerning his unspeakable birth. What then is against this the healed one? From these same words he perceives them and makes them fall upon themselves. This, he says, the wonderful thing, that you do not know where he is from, surpasses human comprehension. Furthermore, since he himself has not spoken from above, but knowing, for he says, 'we know that God does not hear sinners' [John 9:31], that he has spoken.

[John 10:1-6] With a wonderful veil, the parable covers the things revealed to the unworthy, leaving the recognition to the worthy. And the power of the parable is to reveal the departure occurring toward the good from the legal rule and...

The Shepherd and the Law§8

8From the Jewish upbringing to perfection in faith and in following Christ.

For the sheep, being well-led by the shepherd, knowing his voice and following him as he leads, are the people of Israel—those who leave behind bodily pursuits and follow the Lord as he exits the world.

These are those who understand that truly the things of Christ lead from small things to greater things and not from good to evil, which is the work of not a shepherd, but a thief and a robber, that is, an evil teacher who shifts from law to lawlessness, teaching not to follow him by saying that the sheep should not fall to lawless teachers, those who are obedient to both God and the law.

The shepherd calling his own sheep by name also shows the election of those with spiritual pursuits, according to what was said in the prophets: “but you shall gather the sons of Israel one by one”; “for not all have faith.”

Nor are all able, since they do not even want to depart from the accustomed habits and be freed from the worldly effort, but to live according to divine discipline and the supra-cosmic, toward which also the Lord guides his own disciples, going before them.

The time for such a parable is most opportune, the present one, teaching about those exiting from the Jewish synagogue; for they indeed brought out those who, having “looked up blind from birth” through the testimony concerning Christ, had been healed.

But for him it was not so bad, but the greatest good, because they did not perceive his voice as the cause of the healing.

And the one opening the door to the shepherd and opening the entrance decorously is the overseer of Israel, an angel who gladly receives the king's presence and hands over to the greater oversight those entrusted to him according to the measure of the domestic commission; for, he says, we were “under stewards” and “deputies” (Galatians 4:2).

[John 10:6] Proverbs also makes it clear that now he has called the parable (John 10:6).

[John 10:8-10] The Lord entered through the law of fulfillment, being himself in a certain way, and the law; for in the living and true Word, the legal is also contained.

And he led the followers onto pasture and life-giving nourishment, because by the power of the Spirit he feeds them so that they no longer need legal commands, but are led by rational doctrines; for he says, 'having abolished the law of commandments in doctrines' (Ephesians 2:15).

Indeed, law was given unable to give life, but the Word gives the life of Christ regarding eternal things from the good temporary things, and not life only, but also granting the kingdom within life, which is the abundance.

Who then would be the thieves and robbers who came before the Lord and were not heard by the sheep?

And who else but those who taught the law departed through the transfer to the Gentile life, those leading to the alienation of God and bringing destruction through that alienation.

Therefore the Lord most necessarily shows a difference from himself from those who transferred from the law, which the apostle also observes by saying: 'For I died by the law according to the law so that I might live to God' (Galatians 2:19); that is, the law was not set aside through lawlessness so that I might be driven into death, but through the truly lawful and divine polity,

which leads toward eternal life.

For since false and not good shepherds have stood, shepherds of hire who were for a portion of pleasure, to whom the sheep did not matter, but they were feeding their own pleasure, fleeing from this—the coming of the wolf to the sheep, that is, the destruction that accompanies wickedness—the Lord, so that we might not perish before sin, having taken up such oversight and died to sin for us.

But those shepherds gave the sheep over to sin, feeding 'themselves' as Ezekiel says (Ezekiel 34:2) and 'not the sheep.'

Therefore also God said: 'I will shepherd the sheep' (Ezekiel 34:15) and fulfilled this through the Lord shepherding.

[John 10:14-15] Having said that even the sheep know him (John 10:14), and to this he gave the likeness, saying to the sheep that the knowledge toward him is such as his toward the Father.

This indeed is among men the knowledge of the Lord according to virtue, but in the Lord the knowledge of the Father according to nature; for the likeness according to virtue imitates that which is good by nature.

Knowing his own...

The Security of the Believers and the Kingship of Christ§9

9They say that he protects them and even lays down his life for them.

[John 10:28-33] Death was snatching away those still led according to the law, not having perfection in the law, nor being able to remain in the house forever as slaves, as it has been said, not yet having obtained adoption (John 8:35).

But death no longer snatches those who are set free in Christ; for grace already keeps such ones always with God, and the power of God rescues them from death.

In this way also the Lord acquires us, not as being outside his creative power, since he also 'came to his own' (John 1:11) and all things were naturally his own, but as having fallen away from his holiness because of sin, and being made his own through his coming.

For having acquired a kingdom according to the flesh, he himself is king over those who have fallen, and he is not a different one from the King who is from the beginning and by nature, through whom the Father reigns.

Therefore he says that the things given to him and the things reigning through him are being reigned by the Father.

Thus the Jews bore up stones, in order to stone him, bringing upon him this punishment which he himself had appointed from the beginning against the ungodly, and through this alone being able to release those who are now running for his grace through philanthropy.

Upon these things the Lord was undisturbed, since he himself had the authority to suffer, being unable otherwise unless he himself willed it.

And he asks through what kind of work, which he showed to them from the Father, they are stoning him.

He says he is showing beautiful things, that all the wonders by him happen because of the beautiful, and not for the sake of a wonder alone; for he did not appear to astonish, but to do good.

The Jews answered him through the wise question, agreeing rightly; for they did not have the power to say that they had not seen good works, but they are slandering the truth of the words, which they ought rather to believe because of the demonstration of the good works.

[John 10:39] In order that the divinity might not be made too clearly manifest, joining with those approaching to seize him and not being seized, and that he might not disrupt the rhythm of human order (John 10:39).

[John 11:7-11] He does not show immediately that he comes for this; for all things are unmeasured with him and far from all bulk toward truth, not being accomplished for glory (John 11:7).

Jesus answered: are there not twelve hours of the day?

(John 11:9).

But the Lord teaches that before the time of the passion he would not suffer anything from the Jews.

He teaches by a parable, naming the day the time before the passion, and saying the time of the passion is night, that a man walking in the day does not stumble until the twelve hours of the day are fulfilled.

But if he walks at night, he stumbles.

He says the reason for not stumbling in the day is that this light is, and the reason for stumbling at night is the absence of the light.

From these things he shows that according to the heavenly will it is that not to suffer or to suffer him happens, and according to the presence or absence of the light it is that men see or do not see, so that until the divine and heavenly will withholds the passion, it is impossible for it to happen; but when it yields and gives way, then it will occur.

He teaches them not to fear the plots against them from the Jews through such things, as if someone were saying: do not fear the stumbling blocks lying on the ground, since no light shines from heaven, nor from men do you expect to be overcome of the divine will not permitting.

And so that they might not wonder how he withdrew just now, but again hastens to the same places, he necessarily explains to them the case concerning Lazarus.

Mary was sitting in the house, evidently not knowing; for Martha is active and quick about the table, but Mary is wise and more firm concerning the faith (John 11:20).

[John 11:21] For that her brother would not have died had the Lord been present, she says truly from experience (John 11:21); and indeed not to despair completely...

The Compassion of the Word§10

10Regarding the resurrection of the subject, it was already the fourth day of faith, and this was being held. But such a belief was not held strongly; for a little later it appears that he was still being spoken of as a remarkable man and one very able through virtue, but the perfect knowledge concerning him as the Divine Word was not yet learned, but was entirely unknown.

[John 11:33] This is, being moved in spirit and by the Spirit usefully, he stirred himself up, like a brave champion seeing the enemies, and prepared himself against the opponents (John 11:33). [John 11:35] He does not repeat the likeness toward men, nor does he demonstrate everywhere that which is above man, but he showed the most philanthropic compassion toward those mourning by the tear (John 11:35). This tear of the Lord is a provision of life for men. This mercy of the Savior overcomes those who are mourning. For this reason the Word descended into a body, so that he might cause those mourning to weep, and that the incorruptible divinity might be brought back toward the life-giving of men. “For we have a high priest able to sympathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15).

[John 11:41-42] The Lord offers indeed the priestly office and prayers on behalf of men, but the Son has a connection and harmony toward the Father regarding his purposes for men, and thus the goodwill of God toward men came to be, after the Christ's sympathy toward fellow-born men had occurred (John 11:41-42). He calls the following of the Father's purpose toward his own purpose the obedience of a father regarding the life of Lazarus, and he gives thanks concerning this.

And he demonstrates such sharpness of the Father's agreement toward his petition, so that even before asking and before uttering the word of my prayer, 'you have heard me,' he says (John 11:41-42), and not as something wonderful or paradoxical for a son to hear a father, nor as if they were separate and becoming something else; for 'I knew,' he says, 'that you always hear me'; for nothing divided what was between, nor are the purposes separated, but whatever is the will of the Son, this is driven from the Father, and the Father's unutterable will is with the Son.

Why then do you say that I have made the Eucharist, which it was fitting to make, since he is more benefited by the extraordinary and rather by goodness? (John 11:41-42). [John 11:43-44] The calling of the one lying there by name was a symbol of friendship; for he called the youth, whom he raised, 'young man,' saying, 'Young man, I say to you, arise' (Luke 7:14), and the girl likewise 'Talitha koum', but he calls the friend and the familiar one by a more friendly name from the name itself, so that it might be a sign of the resurrection of those called friends by the Lord, whom the apostle says are dead in the Lord, and who will be called to meet him. This is consistent with what he said himself, that 'the dead shall come forth at the voice' (John 5:28-29) having heard 'the Son of God'.

And this exit from the tomb is more fearsome than the wonder according to the resurrection. Uncontradictedly, he also presented to the ignorant the authority of the Benefactor; for he did not go out walking many people; for he took away the authority of movement as if to show no suspicion of the ignorant, overturning their sophisms. Because of this, he also allows them to loose the risen one from the dead, so that they, having surrounded the bonds with their own hands and having freed him from the care, may stand as witnesses of the event to those who are absent. Why then does he pray, or rather take the form of a prayer? It is so that we may not think him to be contrary to God. And 'loose him and let him go', so that being led, he might not be praised with boasting (John 11:44).

[John 11:51] It was not spoken by Caiaphas as a prophecy of the Spirit; for the prophetic Spirit did not devise a plot against Christ, but by some coincidence with the truth and the happening thing, he was granted the opportunity to sense such a thought, because he was high priest, so that he might foretell through his mouth the thing hidden from men until then and unknown. [John 12:3] Mary fulfills a type of the Church, the Church of those from the Gentiles being set free from demons as 'seven demons had gone out' from this one, offering the fragrance of faith to the death of Christ and receiving from Christ power for her own head through the zeal and healing love concerning him, filling the whole world with the fragrance, as Paul says: 'we are the fragrance of Christ to God' (2 Cor 2:15).

[John 12:4-6] Making the pity of the penitents a pretext for his own greed, he did not even receive this ministry as more faithful than the others, but...

The Lowly Entry and Prophetic Symbolism§11

11It is something lesser; for the service regarding material things is lesser than the service in the Word, just as the twelve also showed in the deeds of the apostles (Acts 6:2). [John 12:13-15] With palms they were escorting his entry and shouting welcome to the coming King of Israel, which is to say, they were bringing in Christ, the promised one, with a conspicuous honor into the city. And he, having received such honor from the people, is shaped into the most moderate state, fulfilling at once also the symbol foretold according to the prophecy.

And thus the seat upon the donkey has a moderate and humble character, having hidden within it the symbol of the not-so-pure people of that time who are to receive the coming of the Lord. But a donkey is not clean according to the law. And the prophet Zechariah cried out, evangelizing Zion indeed, freeing the King of all from fears and redeeming her from mighty enemies, but by the symbol showing him being led by the nations and used by a new people, since even he was a colt, upon which he comes sitting.

[John 12:17-19] Therefore, necessarily also in rank, the Lord performed the miracle concerning Lazarus (John 12:17, 19), so that having this happened, he might be honored conspicuously by the multitude, and because of this honor, the Pharisees, having suffered greatly, might counsel against him, and thus the passion might be fulfilled, which indeed happens (John 12:19). [John 12:19] They see, therefore, that they argue in vain against the faith toward Christ, they separate the believers in vain, they turn away the rest in vain, some by arguing, others even by threatening. All things, therefore, they say, are useless, if they turn toward his undoing.

[John 12:25-26] He shows the honor descending from above from the Father toward his own human part which is below and is clearly seen and leads men toward life eternal and immortal (John 12:25, 26), not presenting to us the gift of life coming in any other way, or through him insofar as he is a heavenly power, since he himself also foretold that he would give eternal life to those who follow him by stepping, which bound him to say as the life springs forth. Here much of the human is shown, also showing a nature not willing to die, that he was not outside of human sufferings (John 12:27, 28).

For lest some might say that he easily disregards death, he shows by being outside of danger that he spoke these things in a way appropriate to the situation, as a man being troubled and seeking deliverance, if it were not useful. What he says is such: 'Even if I am now troubled, having known death, I do not say so as to flee from it; for it is necessary to bear the burden; for I do not say, deliver me from this hour, but, glorify your name, that is, lead now to the cross' (John 12:28). These things he says, introducing us into a pattern of manliness.

[John 12:28-30] There is no dialogue in a voice from the Father to the Son, for the divine is beyond voice; rather, a sound is sent from heaven to the ears of men from the face of the Father toward the Son, so that those hearing might more greatly remember Christ and know his divinity which is above man. Nor is glory attributed to the Father as always having it, except insofar as it shines forth and is known for the recognition of men; nor is the Son to be considered as being glorified from a lack of glory, except insofar as he, formerly unseen according to the flesh, is made manifest in the eyes of men.

The voice did not take the ears of those present, but the fact that it happened is what is glorified; for it was a doctrine among them from the fathers that audible voices are not to be received from the mouth of God, since even Moses and all the rest, whoever had spoken concerning the word of God having been heard, signaled to men that the manner of the conversation was that of an angel, saying. If indeed we also shall set the one who brought the voice to be an angel, it is well regarding the human face to have heard the paternal voice from above through an angel. Jesus answered and said: 'This voice did not happen through me' (John 12:30); for even he who knew the Father and the things of the Father was not seen.

Therefore, does he allow one to think anything small about him, or even as about a prophet, to know who he is before God? See, lest 'glorify your name' be the same as being referred to the Savior who exists as the Word of God. So also is the name of the Father, but a name not that which is composed of syllables nor signified in sounds, but that which makes manifest the identity of the Father. According to this is the understanding of the name of God and that which is said in the Psalm: 'I will declare your name to my brothers' (Psalm 22:22); for how else is a declaration of the name understanding of God?

Ignorance of the Prophets and the Nature of Faith§12

12They are shown to be ignorant regarding the prophets and lacking precise knowledge of the written things; for they have received voices saying that the Christ remains forever, but they did not understand the mystery of death occurring in between and the brief dissolution of the soul from the body (John 12:34).

[John 12:36] He does not wish to be seized while wandering in the midst or discussing in between, but withdrawing and overshadowing himself; for in this He reproved the treachery of the traitor as a hired teacher receiving wages, and He guarded His own gentleness and was completely removed from audacity, even to the point of coming into the midst only to testify the truth; for it was not an act of wrath against the Savior that their work had to be, but a plan of malice; for everything done out of wrath is lesser for condemnation, but the extreme is to do evil with a plan.

[John 12:40] Let us not think that a hardening and a callousness of heart is brought on by God as the operation of the holy power (John 12:40), but rather a concession to the divine judgment, and the operation of the evil and opposing power.

[John 12:44-45] It is evident that before the fully revealed departure these things were said to the Lord (John 12:44-45), and after these words He withdrew, whom John, repeating, foretells having seen both the believers and those guarding their confession. He reproved the terrible sin of standing against confession; for he said that those doing this are setting aside faith in God; for one does not believe in something other than God, who is seen in Him, because, he says, the Father is seen in the Son. Therefore, just as one who received him as a servant did not receive the one who sent him, so he spoke of the one believing in Him as believing in God; for he would no longer follow as the one seeing Me sees the one who sent Me; for the faith toward the one serving is directed toward the servant seeing the sender, but he who, in the vision of the Son, sees the Father, does not turn beyond Jesus to the Father, but remaining in the Son and standing, receives the Father.

So that the one believing in me does not believe in me until he has the manifestation of the flesh and the human face. From the time that he who leads forward and brings up the hearts of men sees me, he says, he sees me fivefold; that is, the one able to know through insight who is present through the flesh, and grasping with a beautiful theory, this one finds me truly, and he finds in his faith toward me the faith toward the Father. So then, as he was saying, the one believing in me does not believe in a mere human, but in the power of God, in whom the Father is known and believed.

[John 12:50] His words are spoken with authority, because he is both Creator and the lawgiver to his own creatures, according to the word of God, through whom all things came into being (John 1:3), who came to his own (John 1:11) and converses with authority, not as if he were any servant of the words given from God. For to none of such things would the 'I say to you' and the comparison to the laws toward the gods be appropriate; for having placed alongside what was spoken from a divine person the 'you shall not murder' and the 'you shall not commit adultery,' he brings forth for each case the 'but I say to you.' Nor is the lawgiving foreign to the Savior, nor does he speak from revelation, nor does he converse as if things were commanded, if we think according to divinity his own nature and his eternal existence.

[John 13:1] First and readily available is the benefit of humility exceeding all by example and of the greatest love. He speaks of a transition from human weakness to the super-heavenly glory.

[John 13:6-11] The washing of the feet here alludes to the deeper matter, which seems to be a preparation of the apostolic feet for the work of the apostolate; for he sends them having been cleansed with the feet, through the purity being given by himself, so that indeed they might be able to run through the world, promising the gospels of salvation, according to the saying, 'how beautiful are the feet of those announcing peace' (Romans 10:15). Since they were clean, he said, it remains for the body also to have the cleansing of the feet; that is, so that they might not only be clean for themselves, but also in the course of their journey might be clean, bringing purity to all men. And he said that they are not all clean because of the twelfth one in them having all the uncleanness in himself.

The Divine Nature of the Sender and the Use of Evil§13

13No slave of any nature exists among men, nor does anyone naturally possess the power to send or to be sent (John 13:14, 16), but God alone is master by nature, being beyond the nature of his own works, and He alone is the apostle of nature, being above the being sent. Here it is impossible for slaves to surpass the master, or apostles the sender; for that which is greater by nature is not surpassed.

[John 13:21] In these things, the Lord showed both the knowing and the non-evil to be divine from Himself (John 13:21): the knowing by seeing the traitor and separating him by the word from those being saved, since He did not wish to separate him by the deed until even washing the feet like the others. But it is God's to examine hearts and to foresee what comes from them. And the non-evil is divine, not in the sense of dishonoring the plotter, but in honoring him equally by using his evil for the common good; for God provides the gifts from Himself to both the evil and the good, just as the Lord Himself has said: raising the sun upon the evil and the good (Matthew 5:45), and raining upon the just and the unjust. And He acts by permitting the evil of the wicked for some useful purpose, while destruction remains for the bad, yet He is by no means able to hinder the word of providence, but rather contributes more to its service, just as those who plotted against Joseph helped Joseph to glory through their plotting, and the salvation lying through him in famine for many (Genesis 50:20).

[John 13:24] It also happens upon the Lord as the greatest of evils among men (John 13:24), so that an end might be reached and he might no longer be able to go beyond; for evil, having been arrayed against Christ, is defeated, and having been defeated against the Master, the victory of the slaves is brought to ruin.

[John 13:25-26] Having leaned upon the chest of Jesus so as not to cry out loudly to the others (John 13:25-26), he was eager, and what he himself did not hasten to ask, perhaps he remained more patient. Therefore he loved him even more; for it is quieter and more patient and more precious to God. Thus Jesus grants to the beloved the sharing of the mysteries; for he says that to know and to make manifest what is hidden with him is to be a friend. Therefore he is judged by word and shows by deed the one he is signaling. And this is not in vain; for the movement through deed is more manifest and more able to be remembered. And he wanted him to be remembered, because he had foretold the betrayer, so that no one would think him to be acting without knowing.

And the sign for the signaling is wonderful; for through this unthinking gathering, he signals him by giving the morsel, and by this, having shown him, he will be a betrayer, whom he honored as a friend. Therefore the betrayer can no longer hold himself, but from the point where the Lord pointed him out, the devil prevails over his thoughts and leads him toward the evil outcome, having him through wickedness and the condemnation toward this, which he proved worthy of himself. Since it seemed to him to hide it, he was exposed by the glory of the morsel; not being able to bear the exposure, he hastened to go to the end. The evangelist called this the entrance of Satan, the condemnation of the passions by the devilish thoughts.

From here I think also the apostle, having learned the power of love (John 13:34-35), names it 'fullness' and 'law'; for it is evident that he who grants even of his own soul to his friends will stand away from all other pleasures and much more will forgive; and this being accomplished, there is no pretext or need for any of the partial commands, all of which are briefly contained in this.

[John 13:36] To all of them he foretold that they would not be able to go where he is [John 13:36]...

The Way and the Nature of Christ's Work§14

14Only because they cannot walk into heaven in the body, and also because they have not yet completed the 'race' of the apostolate, which made them worthy of following the Lord. But the saying shows that the souls follow the Lord into heaven, becoming no longer below or under the earth as captives (John 13:36).

[John 14:5-6] He calls Himself Truth because of the perfection and precision of virtue, and Life because of the lasting and eternal nature of existence; and He makes manifest those who are established in virtue and attain eternal life, showing them to be traveling toward God and that this is the way. He has also said that He is both traveling and being the way; traveling indeed according to the earthly citizenship, in which He fulfilled every virtue and brought life as if a crown to the citizenship, but being the way because He Himself is the living virtue and the eternal life, so that His movement and action toward the Father is not a movement connecting to the incorporeal divinity, but this nature and essence. And through incarnation He also took up the earthly energies and good works, through which He leads all toward God and toward His own divinity.

[John 14:12] He was currently exercising His natural unity toward the Father (John 14:12), and He freely offers also a union toward the apostles according to His grace; for this is the likeness and imitation of that which is natural according to grace; and indeed this happens through faith, but that the former is not through faith, but according to natural power; for Christ does not work the wonders toward the Father by faith, but the apostles perform the things of the Son by faith in the Son, and the works are not the apostles' own, but the Lord's own, and those things being done through them. Therefore, reverence is indeed offered to the Son, but reverence is owed to the apostles in no way, nor would they do anything greater than the Lord.

[John 14:13] Christ does whatever the apostles ask (John 14:13); for He said, 'I will do whatever you ask in my name.' And His own work is thus demonstrated.

In this he says that the Father is glorified in himself, the Father working, while the Father is being manifested through the energy of the Son; for there is no other approach to the Father or through the Son, neither of old nor now nor again, but the approach through the Son is more intimate, and it has come to be now, because having been made flesh, he has become nearer to us.

[John 14:15-16] Regarding John 14:15-16, they owe to the Lord from us, concerning which he also commands, but he himself provides to us, concerning which he promises; for the keeping of the commandments is ours, and this is the proof of the love toward the Lord; but from him to us the participation in the divine nature is granted to those who are suitable for becoming participants through obedience; and he says to ask the Father as a brotherly embassy on our behalf; for it is he who gives according to the despotic authority and according to the energy of all the paternal wills.

[John 14:16-17] Regarding John 14:16-17, the Spirit indeed of truth, the incorporeal, is being sent from the incorporeal. Therefore also he has said the Father sends it, revealing his incorporeal presence, since he himself is seen in a body. But the presence of the incorporeal is invisible. Therefore also to those who think that only the visible things are real, this presence of his is ungraspable; for indeed he is also unfeeling and because of this unknown; for what they do not behold with eyes, this they neither know nor think to be, but they are able to participate of him being present. These, recognizing a greater essence of perception from the participation, grasp themselves from others, when they are filled with the Spirit, and through which they participate, they recognize the cause of the divine state, either a divine power or some art, just as one having wisdom or some art in himself understands what he has, even if it is unknown to those near him.

[John 14:27] Regarding John 14:27, Christ came to those being at war, and he worked peace, pulling down the strength of those warring; for there is no longer power for the opposing powers against those belonging to Christ; for they have come out of captivity, having known the Redeemer. Therefore peace is motionless for them, because it is a peace of the soul toward freedom being attained and fear being cast off and turmoil being expelled. Since therefore the good things of the soul are certain and unshakeable, the peace of the soul is certain. [John 14:30-31] Regarding John 14:30-31, saying that a commandment again is being given to him, it seems to us according to similarity to say to understand God in a human manner, but not even a Son...

The Economy of Love and Obedience§15

15They are listening; for the divine things are perceived by a greater voice and in a natural way according to the indwelling of God, being the word of the Father's such-as-it-is will, the Son being in agreement and a companion, accomplishes the economy. For it is most beautiful also what he does, so that we may see that the passion was his activity, through which he rather removes those who lay hands upon him, since even while being triumphed over he triumphed, and while being crucified he was crucified, and he led those working this into shame. So, because of the love, he says, which is toward the Father, I endure death (John 14:30-31). [John 14:30-31] The ruler of evil prevails through the evil in man, taking as his own the one found under evil. Therefore, he says, it shall not happen to me as it does to certain men lying under sin, but as one voluntarily handing himself over and showing to the world the love which I have toward the Father, because, the Father willing to save the world, I work this.

[John 14:31] The matter seems to be a departure, but it is a voluntary issuing forth, because he pursues such a place, in which he shall be known by the betrayer and shall be betrayed (John 14:31). [John 15:6] Whoever therefore separates himself from the Lord toward fleshly matters, has driven himself away from the vine and becomes dry, no longer receiving the life-giving cluster (John 15:6). And such a one shall be kept for the eternal judgment just as the dry branches are for the fire (John 15:6).

[John 15:7] Remaining in me, he says, you shall not only have the things of virtue bearing fruit from yourselves, but also the greater things of virtue, I mean indeed the powers from God, which you shall receive through asking (John 15:7); for whatever you shall wish to ask, and it shall happen to you, is the power surpassing the extraordinary (John 15:7).

[John 15:9-10] Just as I, he says, fittingly loved by him according to divinity and not having risen from men, so also you, fittingly toward me in the flesh, were loved by me (John 15:9-10). Therefore, the love which you have received, guard it. And guard it, if you keep the things commanded by me, preserving in this the imitation and the likeness toward me; for I also, thinking and doing in agreement with the Father, precisely guarded the love toward the Father (John 15:10).

And you, likewise, fulfilling the commands of mine through work, will demonstrate the love toward the Master; for neither is the love shown by you toward the Lord in the same way as the Lord toward the Father, nor is the keeping of the commandments given in equal measure by servants toward a Master and by a son toward a father. For it was by nature for the Lord to fulfill all things that are pleasing to the Father, without any toil, nor any care, nor any discipline regarding this, but for us, the achievement is through toil. And one keeps the decrees of the Father without hope of a reward, but we endure toil for the sake of reward and we practice the keeping of the commandments. Thus, there is one way of the love of the Lord toward the Father, and another way for us toward Him.

In John 15:15, [John 15:15] he does not speak of such a hearing as that of men, just as he does not speak of such a love nor of a similar keeping of commandments; for a word brought from the Father to the ears is not intended to inform of the decrees of the Father, but he has spoken of a hearing that is not received by him at a certain time, but is always present. For wisdom does not lead from ignorance into knowledge, nor is knowledge something other than wisdom, so that he might show it as not knowing itself; rather, through common and human words, the divine excellence must be sealed for us to perceive familiarly as God, and not according to human lowliness, since even the Word concerning God has taken on the form of a human shape and our names of passions, interpreting the incorporeal, formless, and impassible God.

[John 15:16] From Him, the familiarity toward Him is given to men, and the good is not grasped by men, as the Apostle, teaching, says: 'I press on, if I may lay hold of it, because I was also laid hold of by Christ' (Phil 3:12). For we were not chosen because we were pleasing, but so that we might be pleasing. Therefore, he says, having chosen them, he set them for fruit-bearing, so that, even if we were not previously made precious to God, we might become so through the latter things.

What is this incorruptible fruit of the apostles that remains forever? It is the Church. And it is not possible for God to hear the one who does not hear, nor for one to receive blessing who does not bear fruit.

The Spirit's Work and the Humanity of Christ§16

16A gift, so that if you hear the commandments, he says, and bring forth fruit, and your requests will be fulfilled. And requests are granted to you from God, those being offered through my name; for through me you have access to God by my name and with boldness (John 15:16). [John 15:17] As they are about to hate you by all, he commands them to love one another.

[John 16:8] He will convict the world as having been condemned under sin because of unbelief; for faith has loosed sin, but unbelief has bound it, and appearing among those believing, the Spirit was a condemnation of those unbelieving; for being deprived of the gift, they were convicted of the one present to those having believed, and this showed them to be vessels unfit for the Spirit (John 16:8). [John 16:8-11] He also showed the righteousness in the believers, and this was not for the sake of anyone else, except for the ascent of Christ; for this kindled the men, that the flesh from us and a human appearance might ascend the heavenly throne and sit beside the Father. And this itself had the condemnation of the world, when, having been seized by man and having fallen under his feet, he trod upon the head of him. So it is rightly said that the presence of the Spirit in us has a demonstration of these three: the sin of the world, the righteousness of faith, and the condemnation of the devil.

[John 16:14] the energy and teaching of the Spirit will be directed toward me, for even by me the Spirit moves (John 16:14). And that which is saying 'by me' is clear, and that which is 'from the Father'; for the Father's things are mine. Therefore, that which is from me shall be received, according to the same manner again heard, not as some knowledge being added to the Spirit in this present time; for that would be troubling and raise doubts, if the Spirit then receives the learning whenever it is about to bring it to men.

And it is terrible if someone should set it as being entirely taught; for it will no longer be believed, dwelling in men and bringing all wisdom into them, if it is not some natural wisdom, but he himself needs to be taught.

So, instead of saying that the Spirit moves entirely from himself, he said, 'he will receive from mine and will announce to you' (John 16:14). For voices are smaller toward a more known man, but the glory of the Spirit is greater toward that which is more at home with divinity.

And it is said that God hears the words of man, and it is clear that not only at a certain time does knowledge of God approach, but also before our words, he knew our prayers and the whole according to thought from the beginning from the creation; knowing also the movements of his own creatures that are changing, and yet it was said, 'hear, O Lord' and 'the Lord heard.' Even though it is fitting that God should receive nothing of this sort chronologically, nor should any change occur concerning God from human prayers, nor is there knowledge of the so-called later things to God, but the words are human, as I said, while they are understood divinely by the pious; and the unchangeable and unwavering glory of God shall not be shaken in your suspicions because of Him hearing men speaking.

So then, neither in the Spirit is hearing and receiving an addition of some knowledge, nor a change upon the unchangeable essence of the Spirit. Alluding to the ascension into the heavens to the others, to whom the said thing was not yet clear, they hesitate to ask. Therefore they observe for themselves and speak quietly. And it was not necessary to inquire by word, since he knew the seeking in their hearts even before the question (and Christ hears the thoughts in the heart before the words on the lips), and how they would ask them and how to propose the seeking to them; he answers by indicating to them and through this the divinity for the confirmation of faith: 'for you seek,' he says, concerning the word which soon declares my departure, and soon again there shall be the return (John 16:16-20).

This shall be so. It is also said that through sorrow it is necessary for joy to appear to you, and injustice shall rejoice for a little while as if it had prevailed, but when I have passed over the passion: but you shall be grieved as if you no longer had the Savior. But change shall follow quickly the matter, and you from the sorrow of death the [...]

The Joy of Resurrection and the Parables of the Word§17

17You will be brought to the joy of the resurrection (John 16:22).

[John 16:22] His departing will be sorrowful for the disciples, but the resurrection a delight; and each occurs in a short time.

The matter will appear similar to the pangs of women; for just as a woman labors before the birth, but from the pangs the birth and the after-birth end in delight, and the delight destroys the memory of the sorrow, so it will happen to you regarding this new and wonderful birth; for now, as truly a man is born into the world from extraordinary pangs,

so pangs concerning the passion will come to you, but a joy through the resurrection after the passion, a joy that is by no means again being cast away or removed by man or anyone else, when, through the resurrection of the new man, having newly stood forth, you will arrive at boldness toward God; for you will rejoice when you see a child produced, strange to the world,

both incorruptible and undying, yet saying that he makes himself known.

[John 16:25] The sayings concerning God are parabolic and through likenesses (John 16:25), in which God is compared to a man speaking and the Son to one listening, and the Spirit likewise as one listening and receiving words.

Father and Son are made similar as those coming to a man and dwelling in men; for speech and hearing and going and dwelling, and as many such things as have bodily similarities.

It is not possible for men to hear otherwise than thus.

And there will be, he says, a time when not through visible likenesses, but through the invisible glory of God, you will hear and know, when, having been perfected in the Spirit, you will be familiarly disposed toward the knowledge of God, and then some divine conversation of the Lord toward you will become clear, and not the teaching concerning the Father being done through some veil.

[John 16:32] But even that which is now credible, he says, will immediately be shaken (John 16:32), and you who say you believe will flee a little later, once your faith has been shaken by fear.

And this, he says, is not difficult for me, but for you; for you will be left alone by the teacher and will leave the Savior, but I will not be left alone by the Father; for there is nothing separating me and the Father.

[John 16:33] In the world you will have tribulation; but take courage, I have conquered the world (John 16:33).

About to depart, he says, I establish your souls by necessity through the things now spoken, so that they may not be troubled, but to hold fast by faith against circumstances; for many are the things troubling among men, but great is the help for courage from the one who has conquered; for your courage will never be firmly established from your own manliness,

since there is nothing in man hard and unshakable and good, but from my unassailable power, the confidence will be secure for my partakers.

[John 17:9-13] Why does he say he asks about them, and what is the asking?

Already, he says, they need the spiritual perception of the invisible working in souls, because I no longer walk among them according to the flesh, nor will I discourse with them; for I am already leaving the world, passing into the heavens.

But set over them the invisible oversight, keeping them as sons, since they have become sons, having received from me the name of sonship.

While I was indeed present, it sufficed for them to see me and to hear me, and this was sufficient for them to guard the faith.

Therefore they were guarded, and no one of the salvation in me fell away, except the one who having offered himself to destruction alone, concerning whom also the prophetic Spirit is filled that his 'memorial from the earth' should be destroyed.

But now, returning already to you, I ask for your invisible perception for them.

[John 17:10] This is what I possess through sanctification, and with which I give them completion by sharing the divine form.

And he adds that yours are also mine.

But these would be the heavenly things, which do not receive sanctification now, but from the beginning have stood in sanctification; for even to those the sanctification is not otherwise than through the Son.

Sanctification and the Distinction of the World§18

18He has sanctified all things both divinely and carnally. Therefore, he is glorified not only in those currently possessed under his kingdom, but also in those who remained from the beginning under the kingdom; for this is the 'let your will be done on earth as in heaven' (Matt 6:10). Such also is that which is said by the angels: 'glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men of good will' (Luke 2:14). Because of this, the Son of God came through a body, in order to extend the glory that is in heaven onto the earth, and to be glorified not only in the holy ones according to heaven, but also in those being sanctified according to the earth.

[John 17:16] Clearly in this he divides that which is according to nature and that which is according to likeness (John 17:16); for he says that he himself is not from the world, and likewise the disciples are not from the world. It is evident, however, that Christ indeed was not from the world according to truth, until he had descended from heaven, but the apostles, according to the likeness, have descended from the world after having become like Christ. He says, moreover, that they have become men who are strangers, because of the virtue which is above man, and that they are appropriately hated by those thinking the opposite. They indeed now have with me, through the intimacy toward me, the estrangement toward the world, and no longer are bound to it. But they are anxious for the confirmation in this good thing, lest they be harmed by the evil malice of the devil and be estranged again from this divine intimacy.

[John 17:17-19] Let the good be in them truly and the sanctification be real (John 17:17), lest, 'beginning in spirit, in flesh,' they should ever be accomplished, or even live according to carnal irrationality, but according to the virtue of this word, in which is again true virtue.

[John 17:18] Much there is in this of inequality (John 17:18); for he says that he sends the disciples just as he himself is sent from the Father. There is no equality between the presence from heaven into the earth and the mission of the disciples occurring in the earth; for they are not sent as teachers by nature just as the Lord is, but having received the teaching power and wisdom, and thus through imitation, the good enters into the world, and that which was sent from heaven from the Father passes through all via the disciples sent by him.

[John 18:1-4] One must pay attention to John presenting the history concerning the distress and grief of the Lord (John 18:1), which the others do not omit. But, as I have said, his writing leans more toward the manifestation of divinity, since the humanity was sufficiently foreknown; he speaks of human things more from an attack, but the proofs of divinity are clearer because of the folly.

[John 18:10-11] It also seems there was a forgiveness from the Lord regarding their use of the sword then. For Luke recorded this as the Savior manifesting the impending war by saying, 'let someone sell his garment and buy a sword' (Luke 22:36), while the disciples said, 'look, two swords are here' (Luke 22:38), to which he replied, 'it is enough' (Luke 22:38). This was not a mindless thing being forgiven by the Lord, who commanded not to resist 'the evil one,' but also for the sake of what was said, so that he might show by deed what he had foretold by word, and since they were using the righteous sword, he stood and prevented them, so that they would no longer use it; as he himself, having said these things, recorded that after saying this, the Lord said, 'let it be until this,' and this 'until' has a limit and a prohibition of the use of the sword according to the law. And Luke adds to the history, 'and having touched the ear, he healed him' (Luke 22:51), which was the most manifest work toward harming no human being. But it should not be unknown that regarding such things there is also something mystical.

[John 18:10-11] The cutting off of the high priest's servant's right ear should be considered by anyone as a sign of the deafness imposed upon them and of their inability to hear. For 'paralysis has come upon Israel' and 'hearing and not hearing' because of the impiety against the Savior, which was most present in the high priests. Therefore, the symbol of the removal of the ear was concerning a servant of the high priest.

And this too must be added to Luke's history, so that one might say that the restoration of the ear signifies the later restoration of the understanding of Israel, which is now removed, when they shall understand Him whom they ignored and may perhaps hear the preaching of Elijah; for the heart of the fathers shall be restored to the sons according to Malachi (Malachi 4:6). And those second ones shall be joined to us, being former according to time and...

The Sign of the Ear and the Timing of the Passion§19

19Fathers will be numbered with sons. The cutting off of a servant-priest's ear was thus a sign of the darkness of deafness cast upon them; and regarding the restoration of the ear, one might say it signifies the later restoration of the understanding of Israel which is now spoken of, when they will understand the one they ignored and may perhaps hear the one preaching, Elijah; for then the hearts of the fathers will be restored to the sons according to Micah (Malachi 4:6).

[John 18:28] It seems John clearly intends to demonstrate what has been clearly revealed by the other evangelists regarding the day of the passion; for he has related that the supper was before the Passover feast, from which time after rising he was handed over, lest the Passover be eaten, at the very moment when the time of the slaughter of the lamb and the death of Christ was being drawn together. For the time was evening, in which 'the Spirit delivered over' (John 19:30) the true Lamb at the ninth hour of the day, and the slaughter of the lamb is also in the evening according to the law, so that by the same day and hour the event was prefigured to be fulfilled.

And the Jews were not able to escape, not that they would fulfill the event during the feast, even though they were keeping watch and saying, 'Not during the feast, lest there be a disturbance' among the people. Therefore, it is possible to understand also regarding the other evangelists that they call the first of the Unleavened Bread the one before the Unleavened Bread, that is, the thirteenth, and that a Passover was prepared for them by the disciples in this way, but the supper was not the eating of the Passover; for in this they coincide with John, and most especially the voice of Matthew coincides, whom he remembered after the Lord said: 'Know that in two days the Passover takes place, and the Son of Man is handed over to be crucified' (Matthew 26:2), as regarding this day both the Passover would be offered and he would be crucified.

[John 18:37] He says he himself will prove the Truth to men and through his own knowledge grant salvation to them, but they stand only at the threshold of the matter.

[John 19:11] He says that the sin of the betrayer is greater (John 19:11) because, according to the prophet, 'those whom you struck down, they themselves persecuted' and as it is elsewhere foretold concerning the betrayer, 'instead of which he did not remember to do mercy, but persecuted a man, poor and wretched, and whose heart was set on killing.' For it is a terrible thing to impose a burden of pain and tribulation in time upon one who does no wrong, instead of the righteous and good; for he to whom it was necessary to suffer, to him, having added pains, stands against God.

[John 19:16] They lead him away as if they had conquered, but the Lord, being led, conquers, carrying upon his shoulder the beginning or the instruction, as one might interpret the prophecy of Isaiah saying, 'whose beginning was upon his shoulder' (Isaiah 9:6). It is instruction, because he bore the instruction on our behalf, according to: 'the instruction of our peace is upon him' (Isaiah 53:5); and it is the beginning, because he reigns over the captives under death and under sin, enduring on the wood the death on the wood instead of them (John 19:16). [John 19:16] He says this forgiveness from above as glory; but he says it as a man, for according to the word, the one giving and forgiving was the Word of God and was God (John 19:16).

[John 19:23] Many still dare to do the same as the soldiers, those scattering the church of Christ and seeking each one his own profit, doing whatever he might take (John 19:23). This was the work of the heresies of the impious. The antichrist will desire to tear apart the whole church just like the tunic; for indeed a people is depicted as being around the stumbling block of God, which is made manifest in those regarding Jeremiah where it was said, 'just as the girdle clings to the waist of a man, so I joined the house of Israel and all the house of Judah' (Jeremiah 13:11); but the true girdle of Christ remains, being neither torn apart nor alienated (John 19:23).

[John 19:30] He who accepted all unmercilessness on our behalf and, drinking vinegar, says 'it is finished' (John 19:30), was demonstrating the intention of the visitation and the purpose of all things occurring therein; for on account of completion, all these things occur, for I speak not only of the completion of the prophetic words, but also of all virtue practiced among men remaining incomplete without Christ, and of all the providence which comes from God concerning men, enjoying its completion in the salvation through Christ (John 19:30). [John 19:30] As he breathed his last, 'the veil of the temple was torn' (John 19:30). [John 19:33-34] Since it was not necessary for the harmony of the bones to be divided, this does not happen (John 19:33–34).

The Side of Christ and the Resurrection§20

20A side had to be struck, and this is excused for the soldiers; for the Lord provided one side instead of another. The woman's side and that which is evil from her releases the Lord from suffering; for from her side there proceeded a disastrous counsel for man. But from the holy side water and blood flow, through which the world is cleansed, having its sins removed by the joining of those who were divided according to the law; for there were blood sprinkleings for cleansing and water baptisms for purification. Since all things pertaining to Him were pre-arranged for Christ, the Lord's body provided both to the world: sacred blood and holy water, and already existing as dead according to the human manner; for it holds within itself a great power of life.

[John 19:36] The bones of the lamb are not broken (John 19:36), showing by the type that the suffering does not belong to the power of the body; for the power of the body is such that our bones were being said to be broken by men near Hades. But that He did not die in the same way for all men, He showed the change in this, in that the harmony of His bones was not scattered.

After the Sabbath evening (John 20:1), the Lord raised the one previously foretold by Him, bypassing the three days, as it was said that the first day had suffered, but immediately the third was beginning to rise. And the three days seem to endure instead of all the time of the then-past and the then-future, delivering Himself to death instead of all those who were finishing.

Thus, rising to reach those arriving at the tomb, and no one stood by for the resurrection to be happening; for it was a mystery, if indeed something else of those administered by God, which is not manifest to men and does not lie before the eyes. A woman first stands at the tomb and at first announces to the disciples that the Lord is not in the tomb, not implying the resurrection, but thinking that He had been carried away from the tomb by the adversaries and as if calling them to a search.

After these things, seeing the Lord, she announces the blessed sight to the disciples (John 20:18). For it was necessary that the good thing be known and announced through a woman, so that the evil caused by a woman might be undone by the good knowledge which the woman brought. Not being overwhelmed by the brightness of the angels, but being surprised at the sight, she turned back and saw Jesus standing, this being the result of Him having been seen by her.

[John 20:17] The Savior wants to show the resurrection and persuade (John 20:17), but he approaches those who have not yet heard of the resurrection in a similar way to how he approached those before the resurrection, not knowing how to fit them, unless he leads them into the same living way, so that having a familiar relationship with him, they might approach him familiarly. He says it is necessary to ascend to the Father, and after doing this second appearance, to receive the known friends and new men already approaching in the time. Do not, he says, grasp me now; for there is another great and salutary work remaining for you which I must fulfill, to ascend to the Father, who will indeed be your Father through me, and especially when I ascend the firstfruits rising from among you. This indeed she, having gone, has made good news to the brothers (John 20:18).

Falling in through the closed doors by the power of divinity, performing a transgression, he gave them the beginning to understand the power and the authority of Christ not according to the flesh nor yet according to the human manner, but beyond the nature of the flesh. And that it might be certain to appear more divine to them, it is clear from the fact that he immediately showed them only those things pertaining to the faith of the resurrection and granted the divinity of the Spirit (John 20:22). For these things were not done while walking with them and eating with them and resting with them and walking along with them, but he begins to accommodate himself similarly to being higher than the human way of life.

[John 20:22] We see an inspiration in the first breathing of the soul of man being made with sanctification. For the mission was not of soul alone, even if the thing breathed in is called the spirit of life; it is clear from the prophecy of him who is immediately prophesied by the one who was breathed in; for without the divine Spirit it is not possible for prophecy to exist, as Paul testifies. Therefore, he who from the beginning breathed in, after the soul, gave the Holy Spirit himself to the soul.

The Purpose of John's Gospel§21

21He was separated and turned away through the sin of man. [John 20:28-31] Not only for the sake of the resurrection of the body, but also for the sake of the divine presence of the Spirit upon all, he proclaimed Christ his own Lord and God (John 20:28), just as Nathanael, perceiving the near truth concerning the deity of Jesus, said the same, 'the Son of God,' and acknowledged him as 'King of Israel' (John 1:49).

Many indeed and other signs Jesus performed in the presence of his disciples. Many indeed things left behind by John have been written alongside the other evangelists, and many also are left there; for not one single book can contain all things accomplished concerning the Savior.

And John also teaches us, for which reason of scripture he was worthy to recount the recollections of the presence of Christ, that it is for the greatest benefit of those hearing; for it is neither for the purpose of striking wonder at the miracles nor for the purpose of delight in the narrative, but so that we might believe by the power through his works, and believing, we might bring to ourselves the only true benefit, which is unto eternal life.

The Shepherd's Care and Peter's Duty§22

22[John 21:15-17] For this very thing was foretold even before the denial (Luke 22:31-32), showing indeed that he will be tested by the devil when he turns away from the confession into Christ, but by the help from Him, he remains upon the faith.

And it is necessary for the one receiving this help to show similar sparing and care toward the brothers. For 'Simon,' He says, 'Simon, behold, Satan has asked you to sift you like wheat (Luke 22:31). But I have prayed for you, so that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers' (Luke 22:32).'

The Lord repeats those words and says that, if you love the Teacher and Savior who kept you even until now in love, you must imitate my care toward you, strengthening the brothers and feeding them just as a shepherd feeds a flock, calling the sheep his own.

And if he was shepherding through Peter, it is because he is the true shepherd and teacher. And he added...

The Third Question and the Triple Confession of Love§23

23Regarding the third of those questions, he is simultaneously making an exhortation to him that reminds him; at the same time, he is reminding him of the third denial that had occurred, and opposing the triple confession of love against the triple denial and demanding the readiness of service, so that he might confess Christ in works,

whom he denied by words while taking care of his own salvation (John 21:18-19).

[John 21:18-19] He says that he will make an even greater proof of love through martyrdom, and prepares him to have this readiness, so that, opposing need with courage, he might remove the martyrdom unto death concerning the Lord, which previously had become a denial through fear of death.

And ‘to be girded,’ he says, means to be bound.

And the following path will be especially through the cross, because he suffers the same things as the Savior and turns to him and the...

The free transition and the promise of life§24

24A free transition is held from the prisons of Hades because the soul is being led up to Christ. Therefore also the 'better to loose' is said by Paul, because of 'being with Christ' (Phil 1:23).

[John 21:23] Thus, therefore, the word of the Lord was about those who in the end do not die. And this was made manifest by saying: 'He who believes in me, even if he dies, shall live, and everyone living and believing in me shall not die for ever' (John 11:25-26).

Because of this, they were making it without hopelessness to live and not to die. But it was laid up for those left behind until the presence of Christ, for those being born in the last generation, just as Paul taught.

And John points out that he himself did not have the promise of not dying, but the brothers, hearing this word, took this from ignorance (John 21:23).