Homilies on John 17.1–17.4

[Homily 17.] “These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day he sees Jesus coming toward him, and says, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin [of the world.’]” A great good is boldness and freedom of speech, and putting everything second to the confession of Christ; so great and wonderful that the only-begotten Son of God proclaims such a person before the Father, though the exchange is not equal. For you confess on earth, but he confesses in heaven; you before men who are present, he before the Father and all the angels. Such was John: he looked with suspicion on no crowd, no glory, nothing else human, but trampled all these underfoot and proclaimed to everyone with fitting freedom the truth about Christ. That is why the evangelist notes the place too, to show the boldness of the loud-voiced herald. For it was not in a house, nor in a corner, nor in a deserted place, but having taken his stand at the Jordan, in the middle of the crowd, with all those he was baptizing present (for the Jews came upon him as he was baptizing), that he proclaimed that wonderful confession about Christ, full of lofty, great, and ineffable teachings, and that he was not worthy to untie the strap of his sandal. How then does he show this? By adding, “These things took place in Bethany” [or, as the more accurate copies] say, [in Bethabara]. For Bethany was not beyond the Jordan nor in the desert, but somewhere near Jerusalem. He notes the places for another reason as well. Since he was going to narrate things not long past but which had happened a short time before, he makes those who were present and saw them witnesses of what he says, and supplies a proof from the places too. For confident that he was adding nothing of his own to what was said but was simply relating everything as it was, with truth, he takes the testimony of the places, which, as I said, would be no ordinary proof of the truth. “The next day he sees Jesus coming toward him, and says, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.’” The evangelists divided the periods among themselves. Matthew, cutting short the times before John the Baptist was imprisoned, hurries on to what follows; but the evangelist John not only does not cut them short but dwells on them most of all. Matthew, after Jesus came from the desert, passed over in silence what happened in between, such as all that John said and all that the Jews said when they sent to him; cutting all the rest short, he leapt at once to the prison: “When Jesus heard,” it says, “that John had been handed over, he withdrew from there.” But John does not do so. He passed over in silence the journey into the desert, since Matthew had told it; but he narrates what happened after the descent from the mountain, and after going through much, then adds, “For John had not yet been thrown into prison.” And why, someone says, does Jesus now come to him, and not once only, but does it a second time? For Matthew says that his coming was necessary because of the baptism; that is why Jesus too, showing this, adds and says, “For thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” But John shows that he came again after the baptism, and made this plain by saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove and remaining on him.” Why then does he come to John? For he did not simply come; he was going toward him: “Coming toward him,” it says, “he sees him.” Why then did he come? Since John had baptized him along with many others, so that no one would suspect that he had hurried to John for the same reason as the rest, as if to confess sins and to wash in the river for repentance. That is why he comes, giving John the opportunity to correct this suspicion as well. For by saying, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,” he removes this whole suspicion. For one so pure as to be able to wash away even the sins of others plainly does not come to confess sins, but to give that wonderful herald an occasion to impress more exactly what he had said on those who had heard the earlier words, and to add other things besides. “Look” is said because many had often sought him, because of what had been said, and for a long time. That is why he points him out when present and says, “Look,” showing that this is the one long sought. This is the lamb. He calls him a lamb, reminding the Jews of the prophecy of Isaiah and of the shadow under Moses, so as to lead them from the type to the truth. That lamb took away the sin of no one at all; but this one took away the sin of the whole world. For when it was in danger of perishing, he quickly delivered it from the wrath of God. “This is he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me.’”

Do you see how here too he explains “before”? For after calling him a lamb, and saying that he takes away the sin of the world, he then says, “ranks before me,” showing that this is the “before”: taking away the sins of the world, baptizing with the Holy Spirit. “For my coming had nothing more than to proclaim the common benefactor of the world and to provide the baptism of water; but his is to cleanse all people and to bestow the working of the Paraclete.” “He ranks before me,” that is, he has been shown more glorious than I, “because he was before me.” Let those be ashamed who have taken over the madness of Paul of Samosata, opposing so plain a truth. “And I did not know him.” See how here he makes his testimony free of suspicion, showing that it did not come from human friendship but from divine revelation. “For I did not know him,” he says. How then could you be a trustworthy witness? How could you teach others when you yourself did not know? He did not say, “I do not know him,” but, “I did not know him”; so that in this way he would be most trustworthy. For how would he have shown favor to one he did not know? “But so that he might be revealed to Israel, for this reason I came baptizing with water.” So he himself did not need baptism, nor did that washing have any other reason than to prepare the way for faith in Christ for all the rest. For he did not say, “So that I might cleanse those being baptized,” or, “I came baptizing so that I might free them from sins,” but, “So that he might be revealed to Israel.” Why, tell me, could he not preach without baptism and bring the crowds? Not at all so easily. For they would not all have run together so, had the preaching been without baptism; they would not have learned the superiority that comes from the comparison. The multitude, at any rate, went out not to hear what he said, but for what? “To be baptized, confessing their sins.” But when they came, they were taught about Christ and the difference of the baptism. And yet John’s was more solemn than the Jewish washing, and that is why all ran to it; but even so it was imperfect. How then did you know him? “By the descent of the Spirit,” he says. But so that no one would think again that he stood in need of the Spirit as we do, hear how he removes this suspicion too, showing that the descent of the Spirit took place only to proclaim Christ. For after saying, “And I did not know him,” he added, “but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining, he is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’” Do you see that this was the Spirit’s work, to show Christ? [John’s] testimony too was free of suspicion; but wishing to make it more trustworthy, he referred it to God and the Holy Spirit. For since John had testified to something so great and wonderful, able to astonish all who heard it, namely that he alone takes away the sins of the whole world and that the greatness of the gift suffices for so great a ransom, he then establishes this declaration. And the proof is that he is Son of God, that he did not need baptism, and that the work of the Spirit’s descent was only to make him known. For it was not in John’s power to give the Spirit; those baptized by him show this when they say, “We have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” So Christ did not need baptism, neither John’s nor any other; rather, baptism needed the power of Christ. For what was lacking was the crown of all good things, that the one baptized should be counted worthy of the Spirit. This supply of the Spirit, then, he added when he came. “And John testified, saying, ‘I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove, and remaining on him. And I did not know him; but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining, this is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” And I have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.’” He keeps putting, “I did not know him,” not simply or at random, but because he was his kinsman according to the flesh. For “look,” it says, “your kinswoman, she too has conceived a son.” So that he would not seem to show favor because of the kinship, he keeps saying, “I did not know him.” And this happened with good reason, for he spent all his time in the desert, away from his father’s house. How then, if he did not know him before the Spirit’s descent, and if he recognized him then for the first time, did he try to prevent him before the baptism, saying, “I need to be baptized by you”? For this was evidence that he knew him well. But not earlier or long before, and naturally so. For the wonders that took place when he was a child, such as those concerning the Magi and others of that kind, had happened long before, when John too was very young; and since much time had passed in between, he was naturally unknown to all. For if he had been known, John would not have said, “So that he might be revealed to Israel, for this reason [I came baptizing].”

From this it is clear to us, then, that those signs which some say belong to Christ’s childhood are false, fictions of people who bring them in. For if he had worked wonders beginning from his earliest age, neither would John have failed to know him, nor would the rest of the multitude have needed a teacher to reveal him. But as it is, John himself says that he came for this reason, “so that he might be revealed to Israel”; and that is why he said again, “I need to be baptized by you.” But later, having learned more clearly, he proclaimed him to the crowds, saying, “This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me.’” For “he who sent me to baptize with water,” and sent me for this reason, “so that he might be revealed to Israel,” himself revealed him to John even before the Spirit’s descent. That is why, even before he came, John said, “After me comes one who ranks before me.” So he did not know him before coming to the Jordan and baptizing everyone; but when he was about to be baptized, then he knew him, the Father revealing him to the prophet, and the Spirit showing him, as he was being baptized, to the Jews, for whose sake the descent of the Spirit took place. For so that the testimony of John would not be despised when he said, “He was before me,” and, “He baptizes with the Spirit,” and, “He will judge the world,” the Father too sends forth a voice proclaiming the Son, and the Spirit comes upon him, drawing the voice to the head of Christ. For since one was baptizing and the other being baptized, so that none of those present would think the words were spoken about John, the Spirit comes, correcting such a suspicion. So when he says, “I did not know him,” he means the earlier time, not the time close to the baptism. Otherwise how could he have tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you”? How could he have said such things about him? How then did the Jews not believe, someone says? For John was not the only one who saw the Spirit in the form of a dove. Because even if they saw, such things need not only the eyes of the body, but before these the sight of the mind, so as not to think the event an empty apparition. If, at any rate, when they saw him working wonders and touching with his own hands the sick and the dead and so bringing them back to life and health, they were so drunk with envy as to declare the opposite of what they saw, how could they have shaken off their unbelief from the Spirit’s coming alone? Some say that not all of them saw it, but only John and those more fair-mindedly disposed. For even if it was possible with the eyes of sense to see the Spirit coming down as in the form of a dove, still it does not follow necessarily that the event was evident to all. For Zechariah too saw many things in sensible form, and Daniel and Ezekiel, and they had no one to share the sight; and Moses saw many things, such as no one else saw; and not all the disciples were counted worthy of the transfiguration on the mountain; nor did all share the sight at the resurrection; and Luke shows this clearly when he says that he showed himself “to the witnesses chosen beforehand by God.” “And I have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.” And where did he testify that this is the Son of God? He called him a lamb, and said that he would baptize with the Spirit, but nowhere Son of God. And yet the other evangelists record nothing that he said after the baptism; passing over what happened in between, they tell the miracles of Christ that took place after John’s arrest. From this one may reasonably conjecture that these things and many others besides have been left out; and this evangelist himself made it plain at the end of his book. For they were so far from inventing anything great about him that all of them with one voice and with complete exactness set down the things that seem to bring reproach, and you would not find one of them leaving out any of those; but of the miracles, some they left to others, and some they all passed over in silence. I say this not without purpose, but against the shamelessness of the Greeks. For this is a sufficient sign of the evangelists’ love of truth and of their saying nothing to please. And you will be able to arm yourselves against them with this line of argument too, along with the others. But pay attention. For it is absurd that the physician should contend with exactness for his own art, and the shoemaker, and the weaver, and in short all craftsmen, while the one who claims to be a Christian cannot give an account of his own faith. And yet those things, if overlooked, bring loss in money; but these, if neglected, destroy our very soul. Yet we are so wretchedly disposed that we give all our zeal to those, but despise as worth nothing the necessary things that are the ground of our salvation.

This is what keeps the Greeks from quickly laughing at their own error. For when they, standing with a lie, do everything to cover the shame of their teachings, while we, the servants of the truth, cannot even open our mouths, how will they not condemn our doctrine for great weakness? How will they not suspect our faith of being deceit and folly? How will they not blaspheme Christ as a dissembler and a deceiver who used the folly of the many for his deception? And we are the cause of this blasphemy, because we will not keep wakeful over the arguments for true religion, but treat them as secondary and worry about the things of earth. Someone who is fond of a dancer or a charioteer or a man who fights wild beasts moves heaven and earth and takes every pains so as not to come off worse in the disputes about him; and they string together long praises, composing a defense against those who accuse their favorites and pelting their opponents with countless [jibes]. But when arguments for Christianity are proposed, they all hang their heads, and scratch themselves, and yawn, and withdraw laughed at. And how do these things not deserve endless wrath, when Christ appears less honored among you than a dancer? For on behalf of what those men have done, though it is more shameful than anything, you have practiced countless defenses; but about the miracles of Christ, though they drew the world to him, you cannot bear even to think or take any thought. We believe in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, in the resurrection of bodies, in eternal life. If then one of the Greeks asks, “Who is this Father? Who is the Son? Who is the Holy Spirit? How do you who speak of three gods charge us with polytheism?” what will you say? What will you answer? How will you beat back the assault of these words? And what if, while you are silent, he brings up the other question, asking, “What is resurrection at all? Shall we rise again in this body? Or in another besides this? And if in this, what need is there for it to be dissolved?” What will you say to this? And what if he says, “Why did Christ come now, and not in former times? Did he decide to take thought for human beings now, and despise us all the rest of the time?” Or if he examines still other questions besides, more than these? For it is not necessary for me to set out many questions in a row and keep silent about the answers, so as not to harm the simpler among you by it. What has been said is enough to shake off your sleep. What then? If they examine these things, and you cannot even simply follow the words, shall we pay a small penalty, tell me, when we become the cause of so great an error for those who sit in darkness? I would have liked, if you had a great deal of leisure, to bring into the midst of you all the book of a certain foul Greek philosopher written against us, and of another older than he, so that in this way at least I might rouse you and lead you away from your great sluggishness. For if they kept so wakeful in order to speak against us, of what pardon would we be worthy if we do not even know how to beat back the attacks against us? For what were we brought forward? Do you not hear the apostle saying, “Be ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you for an account of the hope that is in you”? And Paul too urges the same, saying, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” [But what] do those who are more senseless than drones say to this? “Every simple soul is blessed,” and, “He who walks simply walks confidently.” For this is the cause of all evils, that most people do not know how to bring forward even the testimonies of the Scriptures to the proper purpose. [For] here he does not mean the senseless man, nor the one who knows nothing, but the one without guile, who does no evil, the one who is intelligent. For if that were so, it would have been superfluous to hear, “Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” But why must I say these things, when this discourse comes in where it is not needed? For besides what has been said, the other things are not set right among us either, I mean the things of conduct and of life; we are wretched and ridiculous on every side, quick to blame one another, but slow to correct the things for which we blame and accuse others. Therefore I urge you, now at least, coming to yourselves, not to stop only at accusation; for this is not enough to appease God; but let us also be eager to show the best change in everything, so that, having lived to the glory of God, we too may enjoy the glory to come. May we all obtain it, by the grace and love for humankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and might to the ages of ages. Amen.