“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 of Jesus’ soul from this life; but now the Jews were also about to die, 32.32.393 and Jesus, having died, was about to descend into Hades. How was it that where Jesus was going, they could not go? But someone will say, since He was also about to be in the paradise of God, where those who would die in their sins were not about to be, while the disciples of Jesus could not be there then, but later for this reason it was said to the Jews who would die in their sins, “Where I am going, you cannot come”; but to the disciples: “Where I am going, you cannot 32.32.394 come now.” For what follows in the text is like this: “As I said to the Jews, so I say to you: Where I am going, you cannot come now.” And so the passage presents no small inquiry, because of “The Son of man will be in the heart of the 32.32.395 earth for three days and three nights.” For how will He be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, <who> at the moment of His departure was about to be in the paradise of God, according to “Today you will be with me in the paradise of God”? And so this saying, as being inconsistent, disturbed some, so that they dared to suspect that “Today you will be with 32.32.396 me in the paradise of God” was added to the gospel by some unscrupulous persons. But we say more simply that perhaps before going to the so-called heart of the earth, He restored to the paradise of God the one who said to Him, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom”; but more profoundly, that in many places in scripture “today” extends to the whole present age; just as also in “This saying was spread abroad among the Jews until today” and “This is the father of the Moabites to this day” and “Today, if you will hear his voice, 32.32.397 † and do not depart from the Lord.” On this “today,” He promises to him, who asked to be remembered in the kingdom of God, to make him 32.32.398 to be with Him in the kingdom of God in the present age before the age to come. But let this be said as a digression in the middle of what has been said before. But to the disciples, who wished to follow Jesus, not physically as the more simple might suppose, but as is shown by “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy to be my disciple,” the Lord now says that “Where I am going, you cannot 32.32.399 come now.” For if they wished to follow the Word and confess Him without being scandalized in Him, they were not yet able to do this; “For the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified” and “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.” 32.32.400 But the Word goes His own ways, and he who follows the Word follows Him; but he who is not prepared to walk vigorously in His footsteps cannot follow, while the Word leads to His own Father those who do all things so that they may be able to follow Him and do follow Him, until <ἂν> they say to the Christ: “My soul has clung to you.” 32.32.401 And since the 32nd of the commentaries on the Gospel according to John has reached a sufficient conclusion, we will cease our discourse somewhere here.

«Ὅπου ἐγὼ ὑπάγω «ὑμεῖς οὐ δύνασθε ἐλθεῖν» τὸ «Καθὼς εἶπον τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις» κἂν ἁπλούστερον ἐδοκοῦμεν ταῦτα εἰρῆσθαι, ἀναφερόμενα ἐπὶ τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ βίου ἔξοδον τῆς Ἰησοῦ ψυχῆς· νυνὶ δὲ καὶ οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ἀποθνή32.32.393 σκειν ἔμελλον, καὶ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀποθανὼν καταβαίνειν εἰς ᾅδου. πῶς ὅπου ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὑπῆγεν ἐκεῖνοι οὐκ ἐδύναντο ἀπελθεῖν; ἀλλ' ἐρεῖ τις, ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ ἔμελλεν γίνεσθαι τοῦ θεοῦ, ἔνθα οἱ μὲν ἐν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις αὐτῶν ἀποθανούμενοι γίνεσθαι οὐκ ἔμελλον, οἱ δὲ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ μαθηταὶ τότε μὲν οὖν οὐκ ἐδύναντο ἐκεῖ γενέσθαι, ὕστερον δὲ διὰ τοῦτο πρὸς μὲν τοὺς ἐν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις αὐτῶν ἀπο θανουμένους Ἰουδαίους λέλεκται τὸ «Ὅπου ἐγὼ ὑπάγω, ὑμεῖς οὐ δύ»νασθε ἐλθεῖν»· πρὸς δὲ τοὺς μαθητάς· «Ὅπου ἐγὼ ὑπάγω, ὑμεῖς οὐ 32.32.394 «δύνασθε ἐλθεῖν ἄρτι». τὸ γὰρ ἑξῆς τῆς λέξεώς ἐστιν τοιοῦτον· «Καθὼς εἶπον τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις καὶ ὑμῖν λέγω· Ὅπου ἐγὼ ὑπάγω, «ὑμεῖς οὐ δύνασθε ἐλθεῖν ἄρτι». καὶ οὕτω δὲ οὐκ ὀλίγην ἔχει ζήτησιν ὁ τόπος, διὰ τὸ «Ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ τῆς 32.32.395 «γῆς ποιήσει τρεῖς ἡμέρας καὶ τρεῖς νύκτας». πῶς γὰρ τρεῖς ἡμέρας καὶ τρεῖς νύκτας ποιήσει ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ τῆς γῆς, <ὃς> ἅμα τῇ ἐξόδῳ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ ἔμελλεν ἔσεσθαι τοῦ θεοῦ, κατὰ τὸ «Σήμερον μετ' «ἐμοῦ ἔσῃ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τοῦ θεοῦ»; οὕτω δὲ ἐτάραξέν τινας ὡς ἀσύμφωνον τὸ εἰρημένον, ὥστε τολμῆσαι αὐτοὺς ὑπονοῆσαι προστεθῆσθαι τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ ἀπό τινων ῥαδιουργῶν αὐτὸ τὸ «Σήμερον μετ' 32.32.396 «ἐμοῦ ἔσῃ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τοῦ θεοῦ». ἡμεῖς δέ φαμεν ἁπλούστερον μὲν ὅτι τάχα πρὶν ἀπελθεῖν εἰς τὴν λεγομένην καρδίαν τῆς γῆς ἀπεκατέστησεν εἰς τὸν παράδεισον τοῦ θεοῦ τὸν εἰπόντα αὐτῷ· «Μνήσθητί μου ὅταν ἔλθῃς ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ σου»· βαθύτερον δὲ ὅτι πολλαχοῦ τὸ «σήμερον» ἐν τῇ γραφῇ καὶ ἐπὶ ὅλον παρατείνει τὸν ἐνεστηκότα αἰῶνα· ὥσπερ δὲ καὶ ἐν τῷ «Ἐφημίσθη ὁ λόγος οὗτος «παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις μέχρι τῆς σήμερον» καὶ «Οὗτος πατὴρ Μωαβιτῶν μέχρι τῆς σήμερον ἡμέρας» καὶ «Σήμερον ἐὰν τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ 32.32.397 «ἀκούσητε, † καὶ μὴ ἀπόστητε ἀπὸ κυρίου». ἐν τῇ σήμερον ἡμέρᾳ ἐπαγγέλλεται αὐτῷ, ἀξιώσαντι μνησθῆναι αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ, τὸ ἐν τῷ ἐνεστηκότι αἰῶνι πρὸ τοῦ μέλλοντος ποιῆσαι αὐτὸν 32.32.398 γενέσθαι σὺν αὐτῷ ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ. ἀλλὰ τοῦτο μὲν διὰ μέσου ἐν παρεκβάσει εἰς τὸ προειρημένον εἰρήσθω· τοῖς δὲ μαθηταῖς, ἀκολουθεῖν βουλομένοις τῷ Ἰησοῦ, οὐχ ὡς ἂν οἱ ἁπλούστεροι ὑπολάβοιεν σωματικῶς, ἀλλ' ὡς δηλοῖ τὸ «Ὃς ἂν μὴ ἄρῃ τὸν σταυρὸν «αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀκολουθήσει ὀπίσω μου, οὐκ ἔστιν μου ἄξιος εἶναι μα»θητής» φησὶν νῦν ὁ κύριος ὅτι «Ὅπου ἐγὼ ὑπάγω ὑμεῖς οὐ δύνασθε 32.32.399 «ἐλθεῖν ἄρτι». εἰ γὰρ ἐβούλοντο ἀκολουθεῖν τῷ λόγῳ καὶ ὁμολογεῖν αὐτὸν μὴ σκανδαλιζόμενοι ἐν αὐτῷ, ἀλλὰ οὐκ ἐδύναντό πω τοῦτο ποιεῖν· «Οὔπω γὰρ ἦν πνεῦμα, ὅτι Ἰησοῦς οὔπω ἐδοξάσθη» καὶ «Οὐδεὶς δύναται εἰπεῖν Κύριος Ἰησοῦς εἰ μὴ ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ». 32.32.400 ἄπεισιν δὲ ὁ λόγος τὰς ἑαυτοῦ πορείας, καὶ ἀκολουθεῖ μὲν αὐτῷ ὁ λόγῳ ἑπόμενος· οὐ δύναται δὲ ἀκολουθεῖν ὁ μὴ εὐτρεπισμένος ὥστ' εὐτόνως κατ' ἴχνη βαίνειν, τοῦ λόγου ὁδηγοῦντος πρὸς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ πατέρα τοὺς πάντα πράττοντας ἵνα καὶ δύνωνται αὐτῷ ἕπεσθαι καὶ ἀκολουθῶσιν αὐτῷ, ἕως <ἂν> εἴπωσιν τῷ χριστῷ· «Ἐκολλήθη ὀπίσω «σου ἡ ψυχή μου». 32.32.401 Αὐτάρκη δὲ περιγραφὴν εἰληφότος τοῦ λβʹ τῶν εἰς τὸ κατὰ Ἰωάννην Εὐαγγέλιον ἐξηγητικῶν, αὐτοῦ που καταπαύσομεν τὸν λόγον.