Commentarii in evangelium Joannis
“from where I came and where I am going. * * * you judge according to the flesh, “I judge no one. And yet if I do judge, my judgment is true, because
righteousness.” But if anyone thinks we are forcing the point by saying that to believe is not the same as to know, and that it is possible to believe
did not know the lord (for being a son he has not experienced the father as master), so observing the same God we will accept nothing absurd, saying t
but first the truth, that so he may come to see the substance or the power beyond substance and 19.6.38 nature of God. And perhaps just as in the temp
for the common good to be benefited in two ways, from both words and from deeds, which the righteous man does, these too are well brought up into the
of the wisdom spoken to the perfect, hidden in a mystery, which God predestined before the ages for the glory of His righteous ones, and to those
contain freedom. But who are they who will know or who will lift him up? as he himself teaches, saying, When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then
“You will die” is taken as the death of the enemy of Christ, as one who has sinned unto death dies, it is clear that those to whom these things were s
have come to be in incorruption? Therefore, can those who have been in ignorance and in unbelief and in sins come to be in incorruption if they were t
to have said as a unique feature of his departure from here, “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” for neither would Mos
of myself and the Father who sent me bears witness of me». 19.18.110 But what is plausible about killing himself after the words spoken in this more b
they said more simply, Will he kill himself? as if Jesus were going to kill himself and be in the place of those who have taken their own lives and
For earthly things are below, but heavenly things are above, so that in this respect, the one who is from below is in every way from this world, but t
Moreover <therefore> you will intelligibly understand † the thoughts of descending 19.22.145 things. At the same time, however, see if you might not h
<would> act irra 19.23.156 tionally. In addition to this, he who believes that He is our peace, would not do anything of war and sedition. But also
[of them] having been sown in their souls have come to dwell in the life of men. 20.2.6 But the cause of these things, according to great and ineffabl
to have become less than both of the brothers. 20.3.14 It is possible, therefore, for one not being of the seed of Abraham—since, because of the story
having governed.” And the same thing seems to me to be represented by the destruction of Sodom and of their land, of which “a testimony of their wicke
it has been said similarly. 20.6.40 But these people, to whom the word is addressed, seem not to contain the word, which is not able to enter into the
to the savior who has heard from the Father and has learned from him but the phrase “Therefore you also do what you have heard from the father,” bein
«But Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness», and thinking that this is what Do the works of Abraham refers to, so that i
«to him sheep and calves and donkeys and 20.10.74 'boys and girls and mules and camels.'» To speak about each of these would be the work of someone wi
has become human. For if he has become human, it is possible for him to be sought out to be killed but if he has not become human, then the Word who
to do,” even if we had not clearly 20.13.98 known the will of the one who spoke. But it is not surprising if to the Jews who had believed in him, but
John said, Everyone who sins has not seen him, <showing> through the has seen him that those who see the Son of God are always able to be so, and
is added, «You do the works of your father,» we inquire whether this was written on account of the first 20.15.124 commandment given to Abraham. The f
is one body but he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit. 20.17.n Jesus said to them: If God were your Father, you would love me for I came from
You shall not perjure yourself, but you shall pay to the Lord your oaths but I say to you, do not swear at all <the> That you may become sons of
sent forth by the divine will. 20.20.n Why do you not know my speech? Because you cannot hear my word. 20.20.163 The reason, he says, that my speech i
to be a certain one <not> in substance from creation, but having become such from a change and his own choice, and thus, so that I may name it 20.21.1
forgetting the better substance in us we will subordinate ourselves to the form from the dust, and the better part will take on the image of the earth
might say that it is sufficient for being a son of God to wish to do His desires, even if to this is not added the doing of the works of God. But it m
they will say. But see whether perhaps, even if this argument seems very plausible, being applied dissimilarly it is able to carry one away and deceiv
deceived and Eve gave to the hus 20.25.222 band from the tree, and the man ate. however, understanding according to the deeper aspects of the doctrine
of the Lord, we shall not «precede those who have fallen asleep for the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the «voice
men, you are dying.” If, then, anyone else 20.27.243 has not stood in the truth, it is clear that the devil also, a murderer from the beginning, and t
now to those. I consider every evil and deceitful spirit to be a lie, and each of these when it speaks, to speak from its own things and in no way fro
<αὐτὸν> 20.30.271 believe and do not believe. And then again, those who believe in the Father of Jesus Christ, but do not believe in the creator and m
theoretical visions of truth are not purified, because they have been veiled or 20.32.285 thickened or muddied by wickedness. But understanding what i
One does not become a son of the Father in heaven in any other way than by loving his own enemies and praying for those who persecute him, it is clear
and that the one who knows all the mysteries and all knowledge, and with these has achieved perfect 20.34.306 love, is wholly from God. But see if it
saying, You have a demon I do not have a demon. 20.35.317 And see if the parable in the Gospel according to Luke can be applied to this, concerni
of cures, in which are also the expulsions of demons, we will say that demons are always driven out by Jesus from all those who, because they have bee
of you». It is clear then that when Jesus said in the most masterful and most perfect way: 'I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father,' his imitato
it has been said, “All that is mine is yours,” it is clear that also this judgment about which he says, “My judgment is just,” is the Father's judgmen
to prevent death from being seen. And so one must hear the words, “If anyone keeps my word, he will never see death for ever,” as if he who said these
keeps it, he will never taste death for ever. Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died who do you make yourself out t
being pitied for this. Therefore, even if Abraham died, yet he lived and no longer saw death 20.42.395 from the time when, seeing the day of Jesus, he
the Lord can be tasted and seen, 20.43.408 so also his enemy, death, can be tasted and is seen. And its tastable aspect is presented by There are som
him. And the «Who then do you make yourself?» was the voice of those who had not perceived that Jesus did not make himself what 20.44.421 he is. There
Jesus. But if you are able, consider why in the case of the cave the stone lying upon it is not rolled away but is lifted, while in the case of the we
in imitation of Christ's prayer when he is about to pray, lifting up the eyes of his soul and raising them from the affairs and memory and notions and
of themselves, not to look to heaven nor to remember righteous judgments, they repented, having made an attempt on the woman but not obtaining what th
the Father's will having hearkened to Jesus, and seeing her entering through the place, from where the stone was taken away, he said: Father, I thank
bound and tied by his own sins, living on the one hand through repentance and having heard the voice of Jesus, but on the other hand, because he has n
the Father to have made the soul of Lazarus return 28.9.69 to his body which was laid away in the tomb for one might say that the Father, having hear
having come to Mary and having seen what he did believed in 28.11.81 him. And especially because of the spiritual interpretation I am moved that per
of a power coming into being so that for this reason he was not able to do all things, nor to deliver 28.12.90 himself from their plot. They therefor
pursue,7 and 7wisely pursue wisdom,7 and 28.13.104 analogously for the other virtues. We said these things in order to make a comparison to someone
scribes, and they led him to their council. 28.14.115 But Mark says that Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, came to the chief priests in order to
because Jesus was not yet glorified. And if there was no spirit even in the apostles before Jesus was glorified, how much more was it not in Caiapha
himself to consider the things that follow from the sayings that have been set out concerning how Caiaphas prophesied. But perhaps these things also m
except for God, he might taste death for everyone», and he will punctuate 28.18.155 after «For everyone» or after «Except for God, for everyone». He w
unto death, even death on a cross,» the judgment was taken away for so I understand the text: «In His humiliation His judgment was taken away» so th
he says of the sick: Those who are strong have no need of a physician, but those who are sick, and as if there were righteous men, he says: I have
for one who has fallen into the struggle of confessing Jesus not to shrink from the confession, 28.23.194 nor to hesitate about dying for the truth. B
indeed, 'he said to them: I 28.23.207 am he,' [of power] they went backward and fell to the ground.” Then after this, because he wished to undertake t
He remained with 28.24.222 the disciples. And until now Jesus is with his disciples near the desert, in a city called Ephraim for he is present 28.24
sin of the world. And these Jews were seeking Jesus, not that they might be benefited, but that they might kill him to whom he might have said: «But n
Iscariot, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, rises from supper and lays
door, I will come in to him ‘and I will dine with him, and he with me,’ perhaps Jesus neither has breakfast with anyone (for he does not need an intro
the Father has given to him into his hands, and in Christ all will be made alive, the righteousness of God is not confused, nor the principle that eac
he rises from supper, and for a time stops eating, until he should wash the feet of the disciples, they being unable to have a part with him, unless h
we will use what was said in due course for the sake of an example, if it should be necessary, that it is possible for someone with the best intention
the feet of the disciples, but also of his fellow students. For if he himself, as he thought, did what was fitting in wishing to prevent it, but they
that has been said: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the 32.7.79 good news.” But if by washing the feet of the disciples he makes them
for “Every man is a liar” and we shall opportunely use the saying at some point against those who have said rather rashly and without judgment that
we will be content but the things that contribute to wealth and luxury accrue to the delicate-living from abundance, not as necessary and things wit
what defiles 32.10.117 his feet he casts off. And no one in his right mind would say that as he is the door, or as he is the shepherd, or as he is the
being discipled by falsehoods. 32.12.131 Yet even a holy person may need the washing of feet, since the widow who is enrolled for ecclesiastical honor
it has that reference. But the teachings according to the passage, how the feet of disciples who have already bathed are soiled, and in what way they
I hoped, he who ate my bread magnified against me a supplanting. 32.14.158 Therefore the Savior says this saying was spoken concerning Judas and hims
to the Lord, not accusing themselves as faithless they said to him, Lord, add to us faith for indeed in the add it is clearly shown that they had
having created and established and made all things from non-being into being all things. But one must also believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, and in a
a servant is greater than his lord, nor an apostle greater than him who sent him. 32.17.202 According to this, then, he will not err in calling John
Is 'the spirit of Jesus was troubled' analogous to 'Now my soul is troubled,' or is 'He was troubled in spirit' analogous to 'Now my soul is troubled'
imitating his 32.18.234 fall, sinners fall. For as he, being in divinity, has fallen, so also those to whom the word says, “I said: You are gods, and
relating that with good reason the disciples at the word of the Lord 32.19.247 looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he was speaking of. But i
of the gospel it is written that «Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved follow»ing, which also leaned on his breast at supper, and
a spiritual law, showing the way of life to be pure and 32.21.269 restored to the will of the nature of the Word. And observe that to these is added t
the Lord to Judas, but he then put aside something better that was within him, and perhaps the peace, which returns from the one who heard but did not
of those who did not understand in what way he said: “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass,” but most courageously for the 32.23.296 contest,
to a cup, which for a better underlying disposition works what is better, but for a worse one produces condemnation so the morsel from Jesus was of t
was glorified in him.” But the glory on account of the death for men was not of the only-begotten Word and Wisdom and Truth, who was not by nature sub
they spoke of his departure which he was about to fulfill 32.27.336 “in Jerusalem”. And Paul, see for what things he takes up the name of glory: for w
But one must venture to suggest what in 32.28.350 the passage can be sought. And I ask whether it is possible for God to be glorified, apart from bein
the Son of Man in 32.29.364 God, the lesser in the greater. And the glory is much more excellent in the Son when the Father glorifies Him, than in the
of the age») but by the fulfillment of «You will all be offended because «of Me this night. For it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, «and the s
“Where I am going, you cannot come,” the “As I said to the Jews,” although we thought these things were said more simply, referring to the departure o
[of them] having been sown in their souls have come to dwell in the life of men. 20.2.6 But the cause of these things, according to great and ineffable judgments, which are perceived by those who have received the mind of Christ, that they may see the things graciously given to them by God, it is possible for few to comprehend, for those who have more carefully apprehended the things before generation and the things in generation concerning each one; and since such things might disturb someone who understands them but does not grasp them precisely, we will expose ourselves to danger concerning such matters, where to speak and unfold 20.2.7 such things is precarious, even if they are true. And it is precarious but because the steward of the mysteries of God must seek the opportune time for the presentation of such doctrines, not harming the hearer, and must consider the measure of what is lacking or excessive, even if the opportune time is observed, if it is done contrary to right reason, and must examine more carefully whether they are fellow-servants to whom such things are delivered, or servants of some other besides the lord 20.2.8 of those who are lords. That the steward of the mysteries of God must examine all these things, the following text shows: “Who then “is the faithful and wise steward, whom the lord will set “over his household, to give the measure of grain in due season to “his fellow-servants?” Therefore not all men are the seed of Abraham; for they do not have the logoi sown in their souls, which are able, if they were cultivated, to make them children of Abraham. 20.3.9 And someone might raise an objection to this, saying that one who has become the seed of Abraham can be blameworthy, if he does not also become his child; but how could one who does not do the works of Abraham be reasonably blamed, who does not even from the beginning have the quality of being the seed of Abraham, from 20.3.10 which comes the becoming of children to Abraham? But we shall say to this, using the historical account as a kind of stepping-stone and seeking the traces of the truth concerning the passage in the writings, that if someone who was not a child of Abraham was the seed of no righteous man, then a sinner would be would be blameless, having no starting point for the good from seeds; but as it is, just as in the case of bodies someone is the seed of more righteous ones, and another of fewer, as will be clear from the comparison of the things to be said, so also in the case of spiritual interpretations 20.3.11 it will be possible to say the analogous thing. Abraham was born the twentieth from the first-formed man; for there are ten generations from Adam to Noah, and ten from Noah to Abraham; and the brothers of Abraham were Nahor and Haran; for the three were sons of Terah. Nahor and Haran, therefore, were not the seed of Abraham; but not even Abraham himself was the seed 20.3.12 of Abraham. But the three were the seed of righteous men, as it is still a question concerning Adam among which he is to be numbered; of Seth, whom God raised up in place of Abel; and of Enos, who ”hoped to call upon the name of the Lord God”; and of Enoch, “who pleased God, after he begot Methuselah, “for two hundred years”; and of Noah, concerning whom it is said that he was “a righteous man, “perfect in his generation; Noah pleased God”; and of Shem, whose “Lord God” first appears in Genesis to have been called God, which is clear from “Blessed be the Lord 20.3.13 “God of Shem”; of the remaining unrighteous men besides these, these three sons of Terah were the seed. What we said, therefore, concerning the seed of Abraham, this must be understood concerning the seed of Shem and Noah and the righteous men before them, whose qualities Abraham and Nahor and Haran seem to have received in common in seminal form when they came into being; but Abraham cultivated the seminal principles of all the righteous men before him which he had in himself, and added to these a holy, unique quality, that according to his own seed, of which those after him who are called the “seed of Abraham” were able to partake; while Haran took very little care of himself and of the ancestral seeds within himself, whence he was able to bring forth Lot, breathing at least to some extent of salvation; but Nahor
[αὐτῶν] ἐγκατασπαρέντων αὐτῶν ταῖς ψυχαῖς τῷ βίῳ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐπι 20.2.6 δεδημήκασιν. τὴν δὲ τούτων αἰτίαν κατὰ μεγάλας κρίσεις
καὶ δυσ διηγήτους, θεωρουμένας ὑπὸ τῶν εἰληφότων τὸν Χριστοῦ νοῦν, ἵνα ἴδωσιν τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ χαρισθέντα αὐτοῖς, ὀλίγοις ἐστὶν
δυ νατὸν καταλαβεῖν τοῖς ἐπιμελέστερον τὰ πρὸ γενέσεως καὶ τὰ ἐν γενέσει περὶ ἑκάστου διειληφόσιν· καὶ ἐπεὶ ταράξαι ἄν τινα
τὰ τοιαῦτα, συνέντα μὲν ταῦτα, μὴ ἀκριβοῦντα δέ, κινδύνῳ παραβα λοῦμεν ἑαυτοὺς τῷ περὶ τῶν τοιούτων, ἔνθα τὸ λέγειν καὶ ἀνα
20.2.7 πτύσσειν τὰ τοιαῦτά ἐστιν ἐπισφαλές, κἂν ἀληθεύηται. καὶ ἐπι σφαλὲς <δὲ> διὰ τὸ δεῖν τὸν οἰκονόμον τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ μυστηρίων
καὶ τὸν καιρὸν ζητεῖν τῆς προσαγωγῆς τῶν τοιούτων δογμάτων, <μὴ> βλάπτοντα τὸν ἀκούοντα, καὶ τὸ μέτρον περιαθρεῖν τοῦ ἐλλείποντος
ἢ πλεονάζοντος, κἂν ὁ καιρὸς τηρῆται, παρὰ τὸν ὀρθὸν λόγον γινομένου, καὶ ἐπιμελέστερον ἐξετάζειν πότερον σύνδουλοί εἰσιν
οἷς παραδίδοται τὰ τοιαῦτα, ἢ δοῦλοι ἄλλου τινὸς παρὰ τὸν κύριον 20.2.8 τῶν κυριευόντων. ὅτι δὲ δεῖ πάντα ταῦτα ἐξετάζειν
τὸν οἰκονόμον τῶν μυστηρίων τοῦ θεοῦ παρίστησιν ἡ φάσκουσα λέξις· «Τίς ἄρα «ἐστὶν ὁ πιστὸς καὶ φρόνιμος οἰκονόμος, ὃν καταστήσει
ὁ κύριος «ἐπὶ τῆς οἰκετίας αὐτοῦ, τοῦ διδόναι ἐν καιρῷ τὸ σιτομέτριον τοῖς «συνδούλοις ἑαυτοῦ;» οὐ πάντες οὖν εἰσιν ἄνθρωποι
σπέρμα τοῦ Ἀβραάμ· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔχουσιν τοὺς λόγους ἐγκατεσπαρμένους αὐτῶν ταῖς ψυχαῖς, δυναμένους, εἰ γεωργηθεῖεν, ποιῆσαι τέκνα
τοῦ Ἀβραάμ. 20.3.9 Καὶ ζητήσαι τις ἂν πρὸς ταῦτα φάσκων ὅτι δύναται μὲν ψεκτὸς εἶναι ὁ γενόμενος σπέρμα τοῦ Ἀβραάμ, εἰ μὴ
καὶ τέκνον αὐτοῦ γένοιτο· πῶς δ' ἂν εὐλόγως μεμφθείη μὴ ποιῶν τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ὁ μηδὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἔχων τὸ εἶναι σπέρμα τοῦ
Ἀβραάμ, ἀφ' 20.3.10 οὗ ἔρχεται τὸ γενέσθαι τέκνα τῷ Ἀβραάμ; ἐροῦμεν δὲ πρὸς ταῦτα ὡσπερεὶ ἐπιβάθρᾳ χρησάμενοι τῇ ἱστορίᾳ καὶ
τὰ ἴχνη τῆς κατὰ τὸν τόπον ἀληθείας ζητοῦντες ἐν τοῖς γράμμασιν, ὅτι εἰ μὲν μὴ ὤν τις τέκνον τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ οὐδενὸς δικαίου σπέρμα
ἦν, καὶ ἀνέγκλητος ἐτύγ χανεν <ἂν> τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν τις, μηδεμίαν ἔχων ἀπὸ σπερμάτων ἀφορμὴν τοῦ καλοῦ· νυνὶ δὲ ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν
σωμάτων ὁ μέν τίς ἐστιν πλειό νων δικαίων σπέρμα, ἕτερος δὲ ὀλιγωτέρων, ὡς δῆλον ἔσται ἐκ τῆς παραθέσεως τῶν λεχθησομένων,
οὕτως καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν τῆς ἀναγωγῆς 20.3.11 τὸ ἀνάλογον ἔσται λέγειν. Ἀβραὰμ εἰκοστὸς γεγέννηται ἀπὸ τοῦ πρωτοπλάστου· δέκα γὰρ
γενεαὶ ἀπὸ Ἀδὰμ ἐπὶ Νῶε, καὶ δέκα ἀπὸ Νῶε ἐπὶ Ἀβραάμ· καὶ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ γεγόνασιν ἀδελφοὶ Ναχὼρ καὶἈρράμ· οἱ γὰρ τρεῖς ἦσαν υἱοὶ
Θάρα. Ναχὼρ μὲν οὖν καὶ Ἀρρὰμ οὐκ ἦσαν σπέρμα τοῦ Ἀβραάμ· ἀλλ' οὐδ' αὐτὸς Ἀβραὰμ σπέρμα ἦν 20.3.12 τοῦ Ἀβραάμ. ἦσαν δὲ σπέρμα
οἱ τρεῖς δικαίων μέν, ὡς ζητου μένων ἔτι τῶν κατὰ τὸν Ἀδὰμ ἐν τίσιν ἀριθμητέον αὐτόν, τοῦ Σή , ὃν ἐξανέστησεν ὁ θεὸς ἀντὶ
τοῦ Ἄβελ· καὶ τοῦ Ἐνώς, ὃς»ἤλπισεν ἐπικαλεῖσθαι τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ»· καὶ τοῦ Ἐνώχ, «ὃς εὐηρέστησεν τῷ θεῷ, μετὰ τὸ γεννῆσαι
αὐτὸν τὸν Μαθουσάλα, «ἔτη διακόσια»· καὶ τοῦ Νῶε, περὶ οὗ εἴρηται ὅτι «Ἄνθρωπος «δίκαιος, τέλειος ἐν τῇ γενεᾷ αὐτοῦ· τῷ θεῷ
εὐηρέστησεν Νῶε»· καὶ τοῦ Σήμ, οὗ «κύριος ὁ θεὸς» πρώτου φαίνεται ἐν τῇ Γενέσει κεχρηματικέναι θεός, ὅπερ σαφές ἐστιν ἐκ τοῦ
«Εὐλογητὸς κύριος 20.3.13 «ὁ θεὸς τοῦ Σήμ»· τῶν δὲ λοιπῶν <ἀδίκων> παρὰ τούτους οὗτοι ἦσαν οἱ τρεῖς τοῦ Θάρα υἱοὶ σπέρμα.
ὅπερ οὖν εἴπομεν περὶ τοῦ σπέρματος τοῦ Ἀβραάμ, τοῦτο νοητέον περὶ τοῦ σπέρματος τοῦ Σὴμ καὶ Νῶε καὶ τῶν ἀνωτέρω δικαίων,
ὧν τὰς ἰδιότητας σπερματικῶς δοκοῦσιν κοινῇ ἀνειληφέναι εἰς γένεσιν ἐρχόμενοι Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Ναχὼρ καὶ Ἀρράμ· ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν Ἀβραὰμ
γεγεωργηκέναι οὓς εἶχεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ σπερματικοὺς λόγους πάντων τῶν πρὸ αὐτοῦ δικαίων, καὶ τούτοις προσ τεθεικέναι ἁγίαν ἰδίαν
ποιότητα, τὴν κατὰ τὸ ἴδιον αὐτοῦ σπέρμα, οὗ ἐδύναντο μετέχειν οἱ μετ' αὐτὸν καλούμενοι «σπέρμα Ἀβραάμ»· ὁ δὲ Ἀρρὰμ ἐπὶ ἐλάχιστον
ἑαυτοῦ ἐπιμέλειαν πεποιῆσθαι καὶ τῶν πατρικῶν ἐν ἑαυτῷ σπερμάτων, ὅθεν δεδύνηται προβαλεῖν πνέοντα κἂν ἐπὶ ποσὸν τῆς σωτηρίας
τὸν Λώτ· ὁ δὲ Ναχὼρ
