John Chrysostom, On John

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And to the Jews indeed He did not speak so clearly. For if He had said, "You cannot come to the Father, except through me," they would have immediately considered the matter to be arrogance; but now by concealing it, He cast them into distress. But for what reason did He speak thus to the disciples, he says, and to Peter? He knew his great eagerness, and that he would press on even more from this, troubling Him. Therefore, to lead him away, He conceals it. But having accomplished what He wished through the lack of clarity and by concealing the saying, He reveals it again. For after saying, "Where I am, no one can come," He added, "In my Father's house are many mansions"; and again, "No one comes to the Father, except through me." This, therefore, He did not wish to say to them from the beginning, so as not to cast them into greater despondency; but when He had calmed them down, 59.398 then He says it. For from the rebuke of Peter, He cast out much of their despondency, and falling into fear lest they hear the same things, they were more restrained. "I am the way." This is proof of, "No one comes except through me"; and the, "And the truth and the life," is proof that these things will surely be. Therefore, there is nothing false from me, if I am the truth; and if I am also the life, not even death itself will be able to prevent you from coming. Otherwise, if "I am the way," you will not need one to lead you by the hand; and if I am also the truth, the things said are not false; and if I am also the life, even if you die, you will obtain the things that have been said. Therefore, they both understood and confessed that of the way; but the rest they did not know; however, they did not dare to say what they did not know. But nevertheless, they received much comfort from "the way." If therefore I am Lord, He says, of leading to the Father, you will surely arrive there. For there is no other way to come. And having said before, "No one can come to me, unless the Father draws him"; and again, "If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself"; and now again, "No one comes to the Father, except through me," He shows Himself equal to the one who begot Him. But how, after saying, "Where I am going you know, and the way you know," did He add: "If you had known me, you would have known my Father also; and from now on you will know Him, and have seen Him"? Not contradicting Himself; for they knew Him, but not as they ought. For they knew God, but not yet as Father; for later the Spirit, having come upon them, perfected all knowledge in them. But what He says is this: "If you knew my substance and worth, you would have known that of the Father also." "And from now on you will know Him, and have seen Him" (the one being of the future, the other of the present); that is, through me. And by sight He means knowledge according to the mind. For those who are seen we can both see and not know; but those who are known we cannot know and not know. For this reason He says: "And you have seen Him"; just as it says, "He was seen even by angels." And yet the substance itself was not seen; but nevertheless it says He was seen, that is, in a way that it was possible for them to see. And this is said so that you may learn that he who has seen Him, knows the one who begot Him. And they saw Him not in his bare substance, but clothed in flesh. And elsewhere He is accustomed to call sight knowledge; as when He says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." And by pure, He means not those who are free from fornication, but those free from all sins; for every sin places a stain upon the soul. 3. Let us therefore do everything, so as to wipe away the filth. And first the font wipes it away; and afterward also many other ways of every kind. For God, being a lover of mankind, even after this gave us ways of various deliverance; of which the first of all is that through almsgiving. For by alms, it says, and by faith sins are cleansed. But I do not mean alms from injustice; for this is not even alms, but cruelty and inhumanity. For what is the benefit of stripping one person, and clothing another? For the act must begin from pity; but this is inhumanity. For even if we give all things from others, there is no gain for us. And Zacchaeus shows this, who then said he was making propitiation to God, by giving fourfold of what had been taken away. But we, seizing countless things, and giving a few, think we are making God 59.399 propitious, not knowing that rather

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καὶ Ἰουδαίοις μὲν σαφῶς οὕτως οὐκ εἶπεν. Εἰ γὰρ εἶπεν, ὅτι Οὐ δύνασθε πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα ἐλθεῖν, εἰ μὴ δι' ἐμοῦ, εὐθέως ἂν τῦφον τὸ πρᾶγμα ἐνόμισαν· νῦν δὲ ἀποκρύψας, εἰς ἀγωνίαν αὐτοὺς ἐνέβαλεν. Καὶ τοῖς μαθηταῖς δὲ τίνος ἕνεκεν οὕτως εἶπε, φησὶ, καὶ τῷ Πέτρῳ; Ἤδει αὐτοῦ πολλὴν προθυμίαν, καὶ ὅτι μᾶλλον ἐντεῦθεν ἐπικείσεται ἐνοχλῶν. Ὥστε οὖν αὐτὸν ἀπαγαγεῖν, κρύπτει. Κατορθώσας δὲ ὅπερ ἐβούλετο διὰ τῆς ἀσαφείας καὶ τοῦ κρύψαι τὸν λόγον, πάλιν αὐτὸ ἐκκαλύπτει. Εἰπὼν γὰρ, ὅτι Ὅπου εἰμὶ, οὐδεὶς δύναται ἐλθεῖν, ἐπήγαγεν· Ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ τοῦ Πατρός μου μοναὶ πολλαί εἰσι· καὶ πάλιν, Οὐδεὶς ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα, εἰ μὴ δι' ἐμοῦ. Τοῦτο οὖν οὐκ ἐβούλετο αὐτοῖς παρὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν εἰπεῖν, ὥστε μὴ εἰς πλείονα ἀθυμίαν ἐμβαλεῖν· ἐπειδὴ δὲ αὐτοὺς κατεπράϋνε, 59.398 τότε λέγει. Ἀπὸ γὰρ τῆς ἐπιτιμήσεως τοῦ Πέτρου τὸ πολὺ τῆς ἀθυμίας ἐξέβαλεν, εἰς φόβον τε ἐμπεσόντες μήποτε τὰ αὐτὰ ἀκούσωσι, κατεστέλλοντο μᾶλλον. Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδός. Τοῦτο ἀπόδειξις τοῦ, Οὐδεὶς ἔρχεται εἰ μὴ δι' ἐμοῦ· τὸ δὲ, Καὶ ἀλήθεια καὶ ἡ ζωὴ, τοῦ, ὅτι πάντως ταῦτα ἔσται. Οὐδὲν τοίνυν παρ' ἐμοῦ ψεῦδος, εἰ ἀλήθεια· εἰ δὲ καὶ ζωὴ, οὔτε αὐτὸς ὁ θάνατος ὑμᾶς κωλῦσαι δυνήσεται ἐλθεῖν. Ἄλλως δὲ, εἰ Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδὸς, οὐ δεήσεσθε τοῦ χειραγωγοῦντος· εἰ δὲ καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια, οὐ ψεῦδος τὰ λεγόμενα· εἰ δὲ καὶ ζωὴ, κἂν ἀποθάνητε, τεύξεσθε τῶν εἰρημένων. Τὸ μὲν οὖν τῆς ὁδοῦ καὶ συνῆκαν καὶ ὡμολόγησαν· τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ ἠγνόουν· οὐ μὴν ἐτόλμων εἰπεῖν ἅπερ ἠγνόουν. Ἀλλ' ὅμως πολλὴν ἀπὸ τῆς ὁδοῦ τὴν παραμυθίαν ἔλαβον. Εἰ τοίνυν ἐγὼ κύριός εἰμι, φησὶ, τοῦ πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα ἀγαγεῖν, πάντως ἥξετε ἐκεῖ. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔστιν ἑτέραν ἐλθεῖν ὁδόν. Εἰπὼν δὲ ἔμπροσθεν, Οὐδεὶς δύναται ἐλθεῖν πρός με, ἐὰν μὴ ὁ Πατὴρ ἑλκύσῃ αὐτόν· καὶ πάλιν, Ἐὰν ἐγὼ ὑψωθῶ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, πάντας ἑλκύσω πρὸς ἐμαυτόν· καὶ νῦν πάλιν, Οὐδεὶς ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα, εἰ μὴ δι' ἐμοῦ, δείκνυσιν ἴσον ἑαυτὸν τῷ γεγεννηκότι. Πῶς δὲ εἰπὼν, Ὅπου ὑπάγω οἴδατε, καὶ τὴν ὁδὸν οἴδατε, ἐπήγαγεν· Εἰ ἐμὲ ἐγνώκειτε, καὶ τὸν Πατέρα μου ἐγνώκειτε ἂν, καὶ ἀπάρτι γνώσεσθε αὐτὸν, καὶ ἑωράκατε αὐτόν; Οὐχὶ ἐναντιολογῶν· ᾔδεσαν μὲν γὰρ αὐτὸν, οὐχ οὕτω δὲ ὡς ἐχρῆν. Θεὸν μὲν γὰρ ᾔδεσαν, Πατέρα δὲ οὐδέπω ὕστερον γὰρ τὸ Πνεῦμα ἐπελθὸν, πᾶσαν ἐν αὐτοῖς κατεσκεύασε τὴν γνῶσιν. Ὃ δὲ λέγει, τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· Εἰ ᾔδειτε τὴν ἐμὴν οὐσίαν καὶ τὴν ἀξίαν, καὶ τὴν τοῦ Πατρὸς ᾔδειτε. Καὶ ἀπάρτι γνώσεσθε αὐτὸν, καὶ ἑωράκατε αὐτὸν (τὸ μὲν μέλλοντος, τὸ δὲ παρόντος)· τουτέστιν, δι' ἐμοῦ. Ὄψιν δὲ λέγει τὴν κατὰ διάνοιαν γνῶσιν. Τοὺς μὲν γὰρ ὁρωμένους δυνάμεθα καὶ ὁρᾷν καὶ ἀγνοεῖν· τοὺς δὲ γινωσκομένους οὐ δυνάμεθα γινώσκειν καὶ ἀγνοεῖν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτό φησι· Καὶ ἑωράκατε αὐτόν· ὥσπερ φησὶν, Ὤφθη καὶ ἀγγέλοις. Καίτοι γε οὐκ αὐτὴ ἡ οὐσία ὤφθη· ἀλλ' ὅμως φησὶν ὦφθαι, δηλαδὴ ὡς ἐκείνοις ἰδεῖν δυνατόν. Οὕτω δὲ εἴρηται, ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι ὁ αὐτὸν ἑωρακὼς, τὸν γεγεννηκότα οἶδεν. Ἐθεάσαντο δὲ αὐτὸν οὐ γυμνῇ τῇ οὐσίᾳ, ἀλλὰ σάρκα περιβεβλημένον. Οἶδε δὲ ἀλλαχοῦ καὶ τὴν ὄψιν γνῶσιν λέγειν· ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ, Μακάριοι οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ ὅτι αὐτοὶ τὸν Θεὸν ὄψονται. Καθαροὺς δὲ, οὐχὶ τοὺς πορνείας ἀπηλλαγμένους, ἀλλὰ τοὺς πάντων ἁμαρτημάτων φησί· πᾶσα γὰρ ἁμαρτία ῥύπον ἐντίθησι τῇ ψυχῇ. γʹ. Πάντα τοίνυν πράττωμεν, ὥστε ἀποσμῆξαι τὴν ῥυπαρίαν. Ἀποσμήχει δὲ πρῶτον τὸ λουτρόν· ὕστερον δὲ καὶ ἕτεραι ὁδοὶ πολλαὶ καὶ παντοδαπαί. Φιλάνθρωπος γὰρ ὢν ὁ Θεὸς καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν ὁδοὺς ποικίλης ἀπαλλαγῆς· ὧν πρώτη πασῶν ἐστιν ἡ διὰ τῆς ἐλεημοσύνης. Ἐλεημοσύναις γὰρ, φησὶ, καὶ πίστεσιν ἀποκαθαίρονται ἁμαρτίαι. Ἐλεημοσύνην δὲ οὐ τὴν ἐξ ἀδικίας λέγω· τοῦτο γὰρ οὐδὲ ἐλεημοσύνη, ἀλλ' ὠμότης καὶ ἀπανθρωπία. Τί γὰρ ὄφελος ἐκδῦσαι ἕτερον, καὶ ἐνδῦσαι ἕτερον; Ἀπὸ γὰρ οἴκτου τοῦ πράγματος ἄρχεσθαι δεῖ· τοῦτο δὲ ἀπανθρωπία. Κἂν γὰρ πάντα τὰ παρ' ἑτέρων δῶμεν, οὐδὲν κέρδος ἡμῖν. Καὶ δείκνυσιν ὁ Ζακχαῖος, ὃς τότε ἔφησεν ἐξιλεοῦσθαι τὸν Θεὸν, δοὺς τῶν ἀφαιρεθέντων τετραπλασίονα. Ἡμεῖς δὲ μυρία ἁρπάζοντες, καὶ ὀλίγα διδόντες, νομίζομεν ἵλεων ποιεῖν τὸν 59.399 Θεὸν, οὐκ εἰδότες ὅτι μᾶλλον