Homilies on John

Contents

Reading pages: 1.1–1.4 · 2.1–2.4 · 3.1–3.5 · 3.6 · 4.1–4.4 · 5.1–5.4 · 6.1–7.2 · 8.1–9.2 · 10.1–11.2 · 12.1–12.2 · 13.1–13.4 · 14.1–14.4 · 15.1–15.2 · 16.1–16.4 · 17.1–17.4 · 18.1–18.4 · 19.1–20.2 · 21.1–21.3 · 22.1–22.3 · 23.1–23.3 · 24.1–24.3 · 25.1–25.3 · 26.1–26.3 · 27.1–27.3 · 28.1–28.3 · 29.1–29.3 · 30.1–30.3 · 31.1–31.5 · 32.1–32.3 · 33.1–33.2 · 34.1–34.3 · 35.1–35.2 · 36.1–37.2 · 38.1–38.4 · 38.5–39.2 · 39.4 · 40.1–40.2 · 41.1–41.3 · 42.1–42.4 · 43.1–44.4 · 45.1–45.3 · 46.1–46.4 · 47.1–47.5 · 48.1–48.2 · 49.1–49.2 · 50.1–50.4 · 51.1–51.4 · 52.1–52.4 · 53.1–53.3 · 54.1–54.2 · 55.1–55.3 · 56.1–56.3 · 57.1–57.2 · 58.1–58.5 · 59.1–60.1 · 60.2–60.5 · 61.1–61.2 · 62.1–62.4 · 63.1–63.4 · 64.1–64.2 · 65.1–65.3 · 66.1–66.2 · 67.1–68.3 · 69.1–70.2 · 71.1–71.2 · 72.1–72.4 · 73.1–73.4 · 74.1–74.3 · 75.1–75.5 · 76.1–76.3 · 77.1–77.5 · 78.1–78.4 · 79.1–79.5 · 80.1–80.2 · 81.1–81.3 · 82.1–82.4 · 83.1–83.5 · 84.1–84.3 · 85.1–85.6 · 86.1–86.4 · 87.1–87.4 · 88.1–88.2

1. 1.1Chrysostom contrasts the crowds that throng to athletes, musicians and sophists with the far greater attention owed to John the evangelist, the son of thunder, whose voice fills the world.
2. 1.2John speaks not as a fisherman but as the instrument of the Spirit, teaching even the angels, so his hearers must keep both outward and inward silence and free themselves of passions.
3. 1.3The words of Scripture are more precious than pearls and sweeter than honey to the healthy soul, and anyone, like the penitent thief, can change his life at once if he wills it in earnest and shows it in works.
4. 1.4Chrysostom urges his hearers to prepare their souls as good ground and to keep away from the theater, recalling that at baptism they renounced Satan, his angels and his pomp.
5. 2.1Chrysostom stresses John’s humble origins as a poor, unlettered fisherman of Galilee to show that the lofty teaching of his Gospel comes from God, not from him.
6. 2.2Chrysostom contrasts the shifting, obscure and absurd teachings of Plato and Pythagoras with the certainty, clarity and worldwide reach of John’s teaching, and begins on John 1:1, refusing to rank Father and Son as first and second.
7. 2.4John begins with the Son because the Father was already known as God, calls him “the Word” to exclude any passion in his begetting, and by “In the beginning was” points to eternal being; Chrysostom then urges his hearers to listen with cleansed and undivided souls.
8. 3.1Chrysostom praises his hearers’ eagerness and urges them to talk over the sermons at home and to teach their children Scripture while they are young, since a soul with God’s law written on it is safe from the devil.
9. 3.2Against those who say “was” in John 1:1 does not prove eternity because it is also used of the earth and of a man, Chrysostom argues that “was” of God signifies eternity while of creatures it is limited by the words “made” and “man.”
10. 3.3John says the Word “was” with God and was God, not that God “made” him as Moses says of the earth; Peter’s “God made him Lord and Christ” refers to the economy of the incarnation, not to the divine nature.
11. 3.4Peter and Paul spoke of Christ as a man to hearers not yet ready for more, as Christ himself revealed his Godhead gradually; but if the Son were a creature John and Christ would have said so, whereas Christ’s words declare his equality with the Father.
12. 3.5Vainglory blinded the Jewish leaders, who believed in Christ but feared expulsion from the synagogue; it enslaves its victims to the fickle crowd, gives no real pleasure, and springs from a mean soul.
13. 3.6The opinion of the crowd is worthless and vainglory is the source of every evil, so Christians should seek God alone as their spectator, for he gives glory and wealth to those who do not love them.
14. 4.1John, unlike the other evangelists, begins with the Word’s eternal existence to lift up earthbound minds such as Paul of Samosata’s; “Word” means a subsisting divine person, eternal and co-eternal with the Father.
15. 4.2As the sun’s radiance is from the sun yet not later than it, so the Son is from the Father yet co-eternal; making the Son later would give the Father a beginning too and contradict Isaiah’s “after me there is no God.”
16. 4.3“In the beginning was” no more sets a beginning to the Son than “from everlasting to everlasting” does to the Father, and the lack of the article before “God” does not make the Son a lesser God, since John adds the marks of true Godhead: eternity, creation, life and light.
17. 4.4Christ came to free us from worshiping creatures, so we must not reduce him to a creature, and must join right faith to right living, above all by mastering anger and bearing wrongs meekly as God commands.
18. 5.1John comprises all creation, visible and invisible, in “all things came into being through him”; Chrysostom rejects the heretics’ punctuation “what has come into being, in him was life,” which they used to make the Spirit a creature, and explains “life” and “light” as the Son’s providence and enlightenment.
19. 5.4God draws people by their own choice, not by force; the light of Christ enters through faith and stays with a pure life, while sin is a darkness that blinds, frightens and disgraces those who live in it.
20. 6.1John the Baptist was sent from God to bear witness not because Christ needed it but so that the Jews might believe through a man like themselves; the evangelist adds “he was not the light” to keep anyone from thinking the witness greater than the one witnessed to.
21. 7.1Explaining “that was the true light,” Chrysostom warns against prying into how the Son can be without beginning, comparing such curiosity to Adam’s fall through the devil’s promise of greater knowledge.
22. 7.2The Son is begotten radiance of the Father, co-eternal yet with his own hypostasis against Sabellius and Marcellus; rather than pry into God, Christians should repent through confession, forgiving others, almsgiving, prayer and fasting.
23. 8.1Christ enlightens every man as far as depends on him, those who stay in darkness choosing it; “the world did not know him” means the earthbound multitude, for the patriarchs and prophets knew him before his coming in the flesh.
24. 8.2That many do not know God no more disproves him than the sick disprove the sun; “the world” that did not know Christ means those attached to worldly things, so Christians must leave the service of mammon, whose yoke is heavy, for Christ’s, and give to the poor.
25. 9.1“His own did not receive him”: the Jews, raised on Moses and the prophets and taught by Christ himself, rejected him, while the Gentiles, sunk in idolatry, believed; Paul traces this to their seeking their own righteousness and to pride and envy at the Gentiles’ equal standing.
26. 9.2The Jews’ envy at God’s grace to the Gentiles was folly, since Paul shows that all, Jew and Greek, have sinned and are justified freely; pride, the root of all sin, which cast down the devil and Adam, must be uprooted by humility.
27. 10.1God draws people by persuasion and kindness, not force, and turns to punishment only when kindness is refused; even those who killed Christ were offered repentance, as Paul the persecutor’s conversion shows.
28. 10.2Paul proclaims his past persecution to show Christ’s patience; those who rejected Christ lost the power to become children of God, which faith and baptism give to all ranks of people alike, though it must be guarded by our own effort and choice.
29. 10.3Grace is God’s part and faith man’s; baptism gives the new birth “of God,” but keeping it pure depends on our effort, lest we be cast out like the foolish virgins or the guest without a wedding garment.
30. 11.1Chrysostom asks his hearers to read the coming Gospel passage at home beforehand, rejecting excuses of business and poverty, and then explains that the Word became flesh without ceasing to be what he was, so as to make men children of God.
31. 11.2“Became flesh” refutes those who called the incarnation an appearance, yet implies no change in the unchangeable Word, for “dwelt” shows that God the Word and the flesh are one by an ineffable union without confusion, and he keeps our nature forever.
32. 12.1“We beheld his glory” was possible only because the Word took a body like ours, since even Moses’ glorified face had to be veiled; “as of the Only-begotten” is not comparison but affirmation that this was the glory of the true Son and King, unlike the glory of prophets and angels.
33. 12.2Creation recognized its Master at Christ’s birth, baptism, miracles, conversions and even his passion and resurrection, which all show “glory as of the Only-begotten”; to see his greater glory hereafter we must live worthily, since nothing else will save us from the fire.
34. 13.1After grieving that his preaching seems fruitless and recalling Moses’ refusal to abandon his people, Chrysostom explains why John the evangelist keeps citing the Baptist: the Jews revered him, and his witness, given before Christ appeared, prepared them to receive one whose outward appearance was lowly.
35. 13.3“Comes after me” refers to Christ’s preaching, not his birth, and “has become before me” means more honored, its reason being “because he was before me”; the past tense follows the prophetic habit of speaking of future events as accomplished.
36. 13.4Praise of God must be given by deeds, above all by almsgiving, the oil of the lamps and a living sacrifice greater than the old sacrifices, but only if it comes from honest gain and not from robbery.
37. 14.1“From his fullness we have all received” means that Christ is the source of every good, giving without being diminished like a fire that lights countless lamps; “grace for grace” is the new covenant’s reality in place of the old covenant’s types.
38. 14.2The old covenant had adoption and holiness in name and by abstaining from idolatry, the new in reality through baptism and a higher life; both were grace, but Christ’s is greater, and “came” versus “was given” shows him as King and the law as types he fulfilled.
39. 14.4As Christ fulfilled the types, stretching out his own hands on the cross where Moses’ hands had to be held up, and replaced the law’s curse with rest, those who have received so great a grace owe greater virtue, and the preacher’s rebukes are meant to heal.
40. 15.1Scripture must be read with understanding, not literally, as when it speaks of God’s bosom; the prophets’ visions of God were condescensions, since no creature, not even the angels, sees the divine essence, which only the Son and the Spirit see.
41. 15.2“In the bosom of the Father” shows that the Son alone knows the Father’s essence exactly, being of one essence, eternal and genuine Son; the clearer revelation through the Son calls for a higher life, in which Christians treat one another as members of one body.
42. 16.1Chrysostom traces the envy behind the delegation from Jerusalem and explains how John answered their hidden intention, refused every title, and pointed to Christ as incomparably greater.
43. 16.4Against those who claim to know God as he knows himself, Chrysostom denounces pride as worse than sexual sin and urges the rich to send their wealth ahead to heaven through the poor.
44. 17.1Chrysostom explains the place named in John 1:28, why Jesus came to John again after his baptism, what “the Lamb of God” and “ranks before me” mean, and why John says “I did not know him.”
45. 17.3John’s “I did not know him” shows that the stories of Christ’s childhood miracles are fictions; Chrysostom explains why not all saw the Spirit and urges hearers to be able to give an account of their faith.
46. 17.4Chrysostom rebukes Christians who can defend their favorite entertainers but cannot answer pagan questions about the Trinity, the resurrection, and the timing of Christ’s coming, and urges study of the Scriptures and a changed life.
47. 18.1John repeats his testimony because his hearers were asleep; his disciples follow Jesus when they hear that he takes away the world’s sin, and Chrysostom compares John to the friend who gives the bride to the bridegroom.
48. 18.4Christ came down to take human nature as his bride; Chrysostom explains “the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world,” the conduct of John’s two disciples and Jesus’ question to them, and urges constant hearing of Scripture instead of talk about dancers and prostitutes.
49. 19.1From God’s gift of companionship in marriage and among brothers, Chrysostom turns to Andrew, who at once shares his discovery of “the Messiah” with Peter, and to Jesus’ first words to Simon.
50. 19.2Jesus begins to show his divinity by prophecy, renaming Simon in humble terms; Chrysostom explains biblical renamings, urges Christians to live worthily of Christ’s name, and teaches that wealth is for distribution, not hoarding.
51. 20.1Philip follows Jesus at a single word and brings Nathanael, whose doubt about Nazareth rests on the prophecy of Bethlehem; the ref also contains, displaced in the scan, the end of Homily 19 on sowing wealth through almsgiving.
52. 20.2Jesus wins Nathanael by showing that he saw him under the fig tree and praising his honest doubt; Nathanael confesses him Son of God, and Chrysostom urges hearers to show their joy in Christ by obedience and gifts to the needy.
53. 21.1Nathanael confessed Jesus as Son of God and King of Israel in a lesser sense than Peter, so Jesus promises him greater sights; at Cana, Chrysostom argues that this was Jesus’ first sign and explains his reply to his mother.
54. 21.3Jesus’ reply to his mother guarded against suspicion and taught her rightly; as Mary’s motherhood profited her only with faith and virtue, so no one is saved by pious relatives without good works of his own.
55. 22.1Chrysostom explains “My hour has not yet come” as Christ’s ordering of all things at their proper time, not subjection to time, and why Jesus first declined and then granted his mother’s request; the ref also contains, displaced in the scan, the last lines of Homily 21.
56. 22.2Mary’s perseverance and the servants’ part made the miracle credible; Chrysostom explains the purification jars, why Christ changed existing water rather than creating wine, how this refutes those who posit another creator, and why the sober steward was the witness.
57. 22.3Christ’s miracles surpass nature; as he changed water into wine, he can change cold and unstable people, and Chrysostom describes the harm of luxury and gluttony to body and soul, urging delight in the Lord instead.
58. 23.1Chrysostom explains why he varies his preaching to reach every hearer, comments on Cana as the first sign after Jesus’ baptism, and begins the cleansing of the temple.
59. 23.2Chrysostom distinguishes the cleansing of the temple in John from the later one in the other Gospels, explains why Christ acted so forcefully—to show his zeal for his Father’s house—and why he answered the demand for a sign with a riddle about his resurrection.
60. 23.3Christ left the saying about the temple of his body veiled because it could not yet be understood; his resurrection is the chief sign of his divinity, and the Spirit later reminded the disciples of his words; Chrysostom ends by urging almsgiving as the oil for our lamps.
61. 24.1Jesus did not entrust himself to those whose faith rested only on signs, since he alone knows hearts; Nicodemus comes by night, well disposed but still weak, and Jesus receives him gently.
62. 24.2Nicodemus thinks of Jesus as a prophet empowered by God; Jesus, who speaks moderately but acts with full authority, gently tells him that without birth from above, through the washing of regeneration, no one can see the kingdom or rightly know him.
63. 24.3Nicodemus’s “how” shows the folly of measuring divine things by human reasoning, as heretics do with Christ’s incarnation and begetting; Chrysostom urges reverent faith, a pure life, and almsgiving, the evergreen olive that death cannot wither.
64. 25.1Chrysostom explains that rebirth of water and the Spirit is not only possible but necessary for salvation, a new creation as beyond human reasoning as Adam’s formation from earth, and solemnly warns the unbaptized.
65. 25.2Rebirth from water and the Spirit is a new creation surpassing the first; Chrysostom explains why water is necessary and how the triple immersion signifies burial and resurrection with Christ by the power of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
66. 25.3The baptized must live worthily, and catechumens must hasten to baptism, for they are strangers to the faithful and in danger of Gehenna if death finds them uninitiated; Chrysostom urges lending to Christ in the poor while the season for sowing lasts.
67. 26.1Rebirth from water and the Spirit is a new creation in which the font is a womb; Chrysostom distinguishes Christ’s birth of the virgin’s flesh and his begetting from the Father’s essence from our birth by grace, and explains the image of the wind.
68. 26.2The wind’s unseen working shows that the Spirit’s birth cannot be bound by nature; Chrysostom rebukes Nicodemus’s simplicity and lists the Old Testament types of baptism and of the virgin birth.
69. 26.3Christ’s “we testify to what we have seen” claims exact knowledge, and his mild “no one receives our testimony” teaches gentleness; Chrysostom exhorts against anger and shouting, especially toward servants.
70. 27.1Christ speaks humbly because of his hearers’ weakness, calling baptism “earthly” by comparison with his own eternal begetting; he corrects Nicodemus by declaring that he comes from heaven and is there, and joins baptism to the cross.
71. 27.2Christ points to the bronze serpent to show that his cross brings salvation without harm to himself; Chrysostom draws out the type and the infinite love in “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son.”
72. 27.3Since God gave his only Son for us, it is shameful to spare our money; Chrysostom urges clothing and feeding Christ in the poor rather than adorning ourselves, for almsgiving saves the giver from Gehenna.
73. 28.1Against those who deny future punishment, Chrysostom shows that God’s love appears in forgiving sins at baptism and giving time for repentance, while the baptized who sin incur heavier judgment; Christ’s first coming was to save, his second will be to judge.
74. 28.2Unbelievers condemn themselves by loving darkness, fleeing a Christ who came to pardon, because they will not give up their wicked deeds; Chrysostom doubts that pagans truly live virtuously and explains that Christ spoke of the general case.
75. 28.3Unbelief springs from love of an evil life and above all from slavery to glory, which kept pagans and Jews from faith; Chrysostom explains why Jesus taught Nicodemus at length and Nathanael briefly.
76. 29.1Truth hides nothing, as Christ showed by teaching openly in Judea; Chrysostom explains why John kept baptizing while Jesus’ disciples did, and how John’s jealous disciples started a dispute about purification; the ref also contains, displaced in the scan, the end of Homily 28 on empty glory.
77. 29.2John’s jealous disciples complain that Jesus is baptizing and drawing all; John answers that no one receives anything unless God gives it, appeals to his own testimony, and rejoices as the bridegroom’s friend.
78. 29.3John rejoices that the bride has come to the bridegroom and declares, “He must increase, but I must decrease”; Chrysostom traces his disciples’ jealousy to empty glory, which ruins churches, cities, and even monks, and counsels setting heavenly glory against it.
79. 30.1John checks his disciples’ vainglory by contrasting the one who comes from above with himself, who speaks from the earth, and explains “what he has seen and heard” as a concession to make Christ’s words credible; the ref also contains, displaced in the scan, the end of Homily 29.
80. 30.2Christ appeals to the Father and the Scriptures out of condescension, not need; Chrysostom explains “no one receives his testimony,” warns that disbelieving Christ is disbelieving God, and interprets “God does not give the Spirit by measure” of Christ’s unmeasured share in the Spirit’s working.
81. 30.3Scripture is a spiritual armory that profits only those who use it in its proper order; Chrysostom laments that his hearers are sharp in worldly affairs but sluggish in spiritual ones, though the Scriptures were written for them.
82. 31.1Faith in the Son brings life, but faith without a right life does not save; Christ withdraws from Judea to quiet envy, wishing his true humanity to be believed.
83. 31.2The incarnation is the root of salvation; Christ goes to Samaria only in passing, and Chrysostom tells how the Samaritans came to be settled there and why the Jews despised them.
84. 31.3Christ's weariness at the well teaches frugality and freedom from pride, and the Samaritan woman's gentle questions contrast with the Jews' hostility.
85. 31.5If a Samaritan woman listened so patiently, we have no excuse for impatience with God's word; life is given for preparing for the life to come.
86. 32.1The Spirit is called water and fire for its operations; Christ leads the Samaritan woman step by step to see that his gift surpasses Jacob's well, and she shows more faith and courage than Nicodemus.
87. 32.2The Samaritan woman is led little by little to higher understanding, and receives Christ's exposure of her five husbands meekly, unlike the Jews who reviled him when reproved.
88. 32.3Shamed by the Samaritan woman's zeal, Christians should read and know the Scriptures rather than prize fine books or the races and shows; the Bible shows the righteous wrestling with the devil.
89. 33.1Faith is the anchor of doctrine; Christ tells the Samaritan woman that worship will no longer be bound to a place, while affirming that the Jews knew God and that salvation comes from them.
90. 33.2True worship in spirit and truth replaces the types; Christ reveals himself as the Messiah to the woman, and the disciples' reverent silence leads to a reflection on John's humility and the danger of pride.
91. 34.1The Samaritan woman, kindled by Christ's words, leaves her water jar and evangelizes her city; Christ calls the salvation of people his food.
92. 34.2Christ uses the images of food, fields and harvest to show that the prophets sowed and the apostles reap, both rejoicing together, as the Samaritans come out to believe.
93. 34.3Like the Samaritan woman we should not hide our sins from men but repent before God, applying remedies opposite to our sins, because the judgment and the end are near.
94. 35.1The Samaritans believe without signs and confess Christ as Savior of the world, shaming the Jews; Christ avoids his own country, which did not heed him.
95. 35.2Christ is honored in Galilee and Cana; the royal official's weak faith is reproved and healed along with his son, teaching us to serve God without waiting for miracles.
96. 36.1The pool of Bethesda prefigures baptism, in which the Spirit, not the water alone, looses sins; the paralytic's patience shames our sloth, and toil was joined to virtue because ease corrupted us.
97. 37.1The paralytic's patient, gentle answer comforts those in long suffering; he is not the paralytic of Matthew, and Christ's command to carry his bed proves the cure, as other signs were proved.
98. 37.2The healed paralytic boldly confesses his healer before the hostile Jews; Christ withdraws so the deed may speak for itself; envy, worse than other sins, destroys love and must be uprooted.
99. 38.1Sin often brings bodily disease as a remedy for the soul; the paralytic's long suffering shows that punishment is measured by the nature of sin, not its duration, and we must bear every blow with thanksgiving.
100. 38.2Christ's words to the healed man show grace and divine knowledge; answering the charge of breaking the Sabbath, Christ appeals to the Father's unceasing work and so makes himself equal to God, as the evangelist reports without correction.
101. 38.4“The Son can do nothing of himself” means not weakness but that he does nothing contrary to the Father; the following verses show his equal power and authority.
102. 38.5The love of precedence and vainglory breeds heresy and unbelief; we should seek the glory that comes from God and stop living as slaves to earthly cares.
103. 39.1Christ is judge of all so that all may honor the Son as the Father; “has given” means “begot”, and his lofty and humble sayings are mixed for his hearers' sake.
104. 39.2Humble expressions are condescension; whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father; the Son, who has life in himself, will raise and judge all, as the raising of Lazarus foreshadows.
105. 39.4Christ's humble words about judging as he hears show the unity of his will with the Father's, spoken to suit his hearers; we should forgive others, love our neighbor, and give our goods to buy heaven.
106. 40.1Christ's saying “if I testify about myself, my testimony is not true” is spoken according to the Jews' supposition; he then offers three witnesses: John, his works and the Father.
107. 40.2John's testimony, Christ's works and the Father's witness in the Scriptures testify to Christ; the Scriptures equip us completely, and love of money, the root of evils, must be cast out.
108. 41.1Christ sends the Jews to search the Scriptures, which testify to him; he needs no human glory, and their readiness to receive the Antichrist will show that they do not love God.
109. 41.2The Jews seek glory from one another rather than from God; Moses, whom they claim to follow, wrote of Christ and will be their accuser.
110. 41.3Wickedness is folly that harms the wrongdoer, while virtue, rooted in the fear of God, is true wisdom; we should pity those who do wrong, not those who suffer it.
111. 42.1Christ withdraws before his enemies, feeds the five thousand after testing Philip, gives thanks to show his agreement with the Father, and flees when the crowd, filled with bread, would make him king.
112. 42.4Human glory is worthless beside God's; money spent applauding dancers and prostitutes while the poor go hungry ruins both giver and receiver and leaves no defense at the judgment.
113. 43.1Christ leaves his disciples to deepen their longing and then shows them alone his power by walking on the sea; the crowds, though hinting at the wonder, ask nothing about it.
114. 43.2The crowd seeks Christ only for food, though his walking on the sea surpassed Moses' crossing; we should pray, as the Lord's Prayer teaches, for spiritual rather than earthly goods.
115. 44.1Christ rebukes the crowd for seeking him only for bread and bids them labor for the food that endures; this does not forbid work, which should be done in order to give to the needy.
116. 44.4We should ask God for spiritual goods, which endure, rather than for the passing goods of this life.
117. 45.1Gluttony blinds the Jews, who demand a sign like the manna; Christ points them from Moses' manna to the Father's true bread from heaven, himself, the bread of life.
118. 45.2Christ, the bread of life, first speaks of his divinity; the Jews' offence comes from losing hope of bodily bread; all whom the Father gives will come to him and be raised to life.
119. 45.3Faith needs both God's drawing and our free choice; the Son's will is one with the Father's; the constant remembrance of the resurrection and judgment restrains sin and refutes belief in fate.
120. 46.1The Jews grumble at the bread from heaven; the Father's drawing does not remove free will but gives help, and all who are willing are taught by God; Christ is the bread of life in his teaching and his body.
121. 46.2The flesh Christ gives surpasses the manna; though the crowds stumble at the “how,” the faithful in the mysteries are blended into his flesh and nourished by his blood, which the old types foreshadowed.
122. 46.4The eucharistic table is an awesome spring of spiritual rivers; Christ's blood bought and adorns the Church, but to receive it unworthily brings judgment.
123. 47.1Christ insists that eating his flesh and drinking his blood are necessary for eternal life; those who eat abide in him and will live the glorious life after the resurrection, as the manna could not give.
124. 47.2The “hard saying” exceeded the hearers' weakness; Christ points to his ascension and teaches that his words must be heard spiritually, for “the flesh profits nothing” refers to fleshly hearing, not to his flesh.
125. 47.3Many disciples turn back, but Christ, needing no one's following, asks the twelve whether they too will go; Peter confesses him as the Christ, and Christ marks out Judas.
126. 47.4Christ neither exposes nor hides Judas, warning all; his choosing Judas shows that his teaching is free of flattery and that God's call persuades but does not force.
127. 47.5Judas, though an apostle, was ruined by love of money; we betray Christ when we neglect the poor or receive the mysteries unworthily, and should spend on the needy rather than on luxury.
128. 48.1Christ withdraws from Judea as a man and yet appears in the temple as God; the evangelists record even the unbelief of his brothers, who taunt him with cowardice and love of glory.
129. 48.2From Christ's unbelieving brothers came James, first bishop of Jerusalem; Christ answers them meekly, and we too must master anger, which is worse than madness.
130. 49.1Christ goes up to the feast secretly to teach us prudence in danger; the crowds are divided, and he teaches that whoever does God's will will recognize that his teaching is from God.
131. 49.2Christ's teaching is his own yet the Father's, since their teaching is one; he defends his Sabbath healing by the law of circumcision and bids his hearers judge not by appearance but justly.
132. 50.1Chrysostom explains how the people of Jerusalem contradict themselves about where Christ comes from, and how Christ can say both that they know him and that they do not.
133. 50.2Christ shows from the people’s own words that he is the Christ; the rulers send officers to arrest him, and he warns that he will be with them only a little while.
134. 50.4Christ foretells his departure; the Jews wonder whether he will go to the Greeks; Chrysostom warns that sinners will not go where Christ is, and urges almsgiving so that the lamp of the Spirit is not quenched.
135. 51.1Chrysostom explains Christ’s invitation to the thirsty on the last day of the feast, why it was given then, and how “as the Scripture has said” is to be punctuated.
136. 51.4The “living water” is the Spirit, given after Christ’s glorification on the cross; Chrysostom explains why Christ did not answer the confused crowd and warns against revenge, urging Christians to leave vengeance to God.
137. 52.1The officers sent to arrest Christ return won over by his words; the Pharisees rebuke them, and Nicodemus appeals to the law against condemning a man unheard.
138. 52.2The Pharisees answer Nicodemus with insults; Christ calls himself the light of the world and defends his testimony about himself as true because of who he is.
139. 52.3Christ’s appeal to the law of two witnesses shows not merely that there are two but that he and the Father are of one essence; no one can know the Father without the Son.
140. 52.4Chrysostom urges his hearers to glorify the Son by their works as well as by right faith, to be light, salt, and leaven to others, and to see sin’s foulness and flee greed.
141. 53.1No one could seize Christ because his hour had not come; he warns that unbelievers will die in their sins and points to his being lifted up on the cross as the moment they will know who he is.
142. 53.2Christ says that when he is lifted up they will know who he is, through his resurrection and the city’s capture; he speaks humbly so that the Jews might believe, and many believe, though imperfectly.
143. 53.3Chrysostom urges his hearers to read the Scriptures, above all the Gospels, with care and reverence, since even hearing without doing begins to bear fruit, and the story of Christ’s birth teaches contempt for wealth.
144. 54.1Christ urges the Jews who believed to abide in his word, promising freedom from sin; they boast of being Abraham’s free descendants, and he shows that the true slavery is slavery to sin.
145. 54.2Christ shows that only the Son can give true freedom, and that the Jews who seek to kill him are children not of Abraham or God but of the devil; Chrysostom urges his hearers to seize the kingdom of heaven by casting off wealth.
146. 55.1Insulted as a Samaritan and possessed, Christ answers meekly, promises that whoever keeps his word will never see death, and shows himself greater than Abraham.
147. 55.2Christ says that the Father glorifies him and that Abraham rejoiced to see his day, and declares, “Before Abraham was, I am,” signifying eternal being; the hardened Jews take up stones.
148. 55.3Chrysostom warns against the callousness of the soul and above all against envy, which destroys the envious and is the mother of all evils.
149. 56.1Christ heals a man born blind; Chrysostom explains that neither the man nor his parents caused the blindness, that “so that” marks consequence, and that by making eyes from clay Christ shows himself the Creator.
150. 56.3Chrysostom reconciles Paul’s and Christ’s uses of “night” and urges his hearers to build houses in heaven by giving to the poor rather than spending on splendid houses on earth.
151. 57.1Christ heals the blind man with clay and sends him to Siloam, so that his faith may be shown and many may witness the healing; the man boldly confesses that he is the one healed.
152. 57.2The healed man answers the Pharisees truthfully; the division among them leads Chrysostom to teach that there is good discord and bad concord, and to urge separation from wicked company and care not to give offense.
153. 58.1The Pharisees question the healed man, who calls Christ a prophet, and then question his parents, trying in every way to discredit the miracle; Chrysostom shows how falsehood only makes the truth shine brighter.
154. 58.2The parents, fearing expulsion, refer the Pharisees to their son; he refuses to deny the healing, testifies from the fact itself, and boldly asks whether they too wish to become Christ’s disciples.
155. 58.3The healed man argues that God does not listen to sinners, and is cast out; Chrysostom urges boldness for Christ and rebukes his hearers for flocking to shows and races while neglecting the Scriptures.
156. 58.5Chrysostom answers those who ask what harm there is in the shows: time given by God for learning piety is being wasted, and he urges his hearers to turn from the theater to the Scriptures.
157. 59.1Christ seeks out the man cast out of the synagogue, reveals himself as the Son of God, and receives his worship; he warns the Pharisees that their claim to see makes their sin remain.
158. 59.2Christ contrasts the shepherd, who enters by the door of the Scriptures and lays down his life for the sheep, with thieves, robbers, and hirelings, such as the rebels Theudas and Judas.
159. 59.4Chrysostom urges his hearers to stay under the good shepherd by obeying his voice, warning that love of money is the worst slavery, and urging rich and poor alike to give to Christ in the poor.
160. 60.1Christ, the good shepherd, lays down his life for the sheep, unlike the destroyers and the negligent teachers; his knowledge of the Father is equal to the Father’s knowledge of him.
161. 60.2Christ speaks of his other sheep, the Gentiles, who will become one flock with the Jews, and of his authority to lay down his life and take it up again, as something pleasing to the Father.
162. 60.3Christ’s “command” from the Father shows their oneness of mind; he bears silently being called possessed, teaching meekness; Chrysostom urges mourning for sin and mercy, especially visiting prisoners.
163. 60.5Chrysostom urges his hearers to visit prisoners instead of going to the theater, to show mercy to the wicked as God does, and to remember their own sins, including injustice in buying and selling.
164. 61.1At the feast of the Dedication the Jews surround Christ, demanding that he say plainly whether he is the Christ; he answers gently that his works bear witness about him.
165. 61.2Christ declares that no one can snatch his sheep from his or the Father’s hand and that he and the Father are one; Chrysostom then urges wives to shape their husbands by a quiet, modest life, adorning the soul rather than the body.
166. 62.1Lazarus, the friend of Christ, falls ill; Christ waits two days so that Lazarus may truly die, then goes to Judea, encouraging his fearful disciples.
167. 62.2Christ tells the disciples plainly that Lazarus has died; Thomas, at first fearful, later becomes the boldest of all; Martha and Mary come to meet Christ, Mary showing the greater faith.
168. 62.3Martha and Mary believe in Christ but not yet as God; Christ answers Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life,” lifting her mind from the request for prayer to faith in him as the giver of life.
169. 62.4Chrysostom rebukes the excessive and theatrical mourning of Christian women as a denial of the resurrection, permitting quiet tears but urging mourning for sins and help for the dead through almsgiving and offerings.
170. 63.1Mary hurries to meet Christ and falls at his feet; Christ, showing his human nature, weeps and asks where Lazarus is laid, while some of the Jews slander him even in their grief.
171. 63.2At the tomb Christ weeps and is deeply moved, showing his true human nature; he has the stone removed so that the people themselves may witness every detail of Lazarus’s raising.
172. 63.3Faith is a great good, enabling the apostles to do greater works than Christ in his name; Chrysostom contrasts the fishermen’s faith with the reasonings of Greek philosophers and of heretics.
173. 63.4Right faith profits nothing without a pure life; Chrysostom condemns adultery by married men, arguing that a wife may separate from an unfaithful husband though not from an unbelieving one, and bars the unrepentant adulterer from the church.
174. 64.1Christ prays aloud at Lazarus’s tomb for the sake of the crowd; Chrysostom argues that his humble sayings are condescension to his hearers’ weakness, while his lofty sayings show his equality with the Father.
175. 64.2Christ’s prayer at the tomb is a condescension for the crowd, not a sign of weakness, and his command “Lazarus, come out” shows his authority; the Pharisees, moved by envy, plot to kill him, and Chrysostom laments the envy and greed of his own day.
176. 65.1Caiaphas, though unworthy, prophesies that one man should die for the nation; Chrysostom explains how grace used his mouth only, and how Christ’s death gathered Jews and Gentiles into one body.
177. 65.2Christ withdraws to Ephraim with his faithful disciples while the priests plot his arrest at Passover; at Bethany Mary anoints him, and Christ bears patiently with Judas, who objects under a pretext of piety.
178. 65.3Chrysostom denounces the love of money as a slavery and a form of idolatry, the source of Judas’s betrayal and countless evils, and urges his hearers to build their houses in heaven.
179. 66.1The rulers plot to kill Lazarus because his raising drew crowds to Christ; Christ enters Jerusalem on an ass, fulfilling and foreshadowing prophecy, though the disciples understood it only later.
180. 66.2Greeks come seeking Jesus, and he declares that the hour of his glorification on the cross has come, like a grain of wheat that dies; Chrysostom defends the bodily resurrection against heretics and pagan philosophers.
181. 67.1Christ teaches that whoever hates his life in this world will keep it, calls his servants to follow him even to death, and shows his true humanity by being troubled at the approach of his passion.
182. 67.2The Father’s voice answers Christ’s prayer “Glorify your name,” for the people’s sake; Christ’s unjust death is the judgment of the world and the casting out of the devil, and by it he draws all people to himself.
183. 68.1The crowd objects that the Christ remains forever; Christ answers that the light is with them only a little longer, urges them to walk in it, and withdraws, alternating lofty and humble words to suit his hearers.
184. 68.2The Jews’ unbelief fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy, which foretold it because they would not believe, not causing it; “they could not” means “they would not,” and God hardens only by permitting those who first turn away from him.
185. 68.3Chrysostom urges his hearers not to cut off members of the church who are spiritually sick, but to keep caring for them and bear one another’s burdens.
186. 69.1Many rulers believe secretly but love human glory; Christ declares that whoever believes in him believes in the Father who sent him, and that he came as light to save the world, not to judge it.
187. 69.2Christ’s word will judge those who reject him; his humble language about receiving a command expresses his oneness of will with the Father; Chrysostom urges women to give up costly ornament for almsgiving and so win their husbands.
188. 70.1Christ teaches humility by deeds, washing even the traitor's feet to draw him back by persuasion, and showing his love for his own to the end.
189. 70.2Christ's washing of the disciples' feet, Peter's refusal and yielding, and the meaning of “clean” lead to an exhortation to protect widows and orphans.
190. 71.1Christ bids the disciples wash one another's feet after his example, and Chrysostom rebukes those who despise their fellow servants and demand honors.
191. 71.2Christ's foot-washing pulls down pride; his forbearance toward Judas, and Joseph's toward his brothers, teach us to forgive and to pray for those who wrong us.
192. 72.1Receiving Christ's messengers is receiving Christ; Christ, troubled at Judas, points him out to John, the disciple whom he loved, and Satan enters the traitor.
193. 72.2Christ lets Judas go and calls his coming death glory; foretelling his departure, he gives the disciples the new commandment of love as their mark.
194. 72.4Love, not miracles, marks Christ's disciples and wins unbelievers; the vices of Christians keep the Greeks in their error and cause God's name to be blasphemed.
195. 73.1Peter's love makes him contradict Christ, who foretells his denial and allows the fall to teach him humility, while comforting all the disciples with the many dwelling places.
196. 73.2Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and knowing him is knowing the Father; sins are washed away by baptism and afterward above all by almsgiving, but not almsgiving from injustice.
197. 73.4Alms given from robbery defile the altar and the souls of the saints; inner cleanness matters more than washed hands, and almsgiving must come from honest means.
198. 74.1Christ's answer to Philip shows that the Son is what the Father is while remaining Son, so that whoever has seen the Son has seen the Father, against both those who sever them and Sabellius.
199. 74.2The Son is in the Father and the Father in him, and the works prove their one essence; Christ promises that believers will do greater works in his name.
200. 74.3Christians must put their passions to death as a living sacrifice; the love of money is neither natural nor necessary and leaves us without excuse, since God asks for alms by the measure of the will.
201. 75.1Love is shown by keeping Christ's commandments; Christ promises another Paraclete, a word that refutes both Sabellius and those who belittle the Spirit, and promises not to leave his disciples orphans.
202. 75.2Christ promises to come to his disciples, who will live because he lives and will know that he is in the Father; love for him is shown by keeping his commandments, not by grief at his departure.
203. 75.3Christ will manifest himself to those who keep his commandments, not as a dream or apparition; he promises the Paraclete as teacher and leaves his peace.
204. 75.4“The Father is greater than I” is said in condescension to the disciples' weakness and does not make the Son of another essence; Christ goes to his death willingly, the devil having nothing in him.
205. 75.5The Spirit made the fearful apostles fearless; virtue depends on the will, not on having or lacking a body, so the flesh is no excuse for the passions.
206. 76.1Christ withdraws with the disciples to let them listen without fear, and in the parable of the vine teaches that they bear fruit only by abiding in him, under the Father's care.
207. 76.2The fruitless branch is cast out and burned, but those who keep Christ's commandments abide in his love and glorify the Father by bearing fruit.
208. 76.3Love must be shown in deeds; Chrysostom attacks greed, the tyranny of mammon, and concern for the opinion of the crowd, and praises poverty endured for virtue.
209. 77.1Christ comforts the disciples so that their joy may be complete, gives the commandment of love modeled on his own, and calls them friends whom he chose and planted to bear lasting fruit.
210. 77.2Christ foretells the world's hatred and persecution of the disciples, consoling them that they share his lot and the Father's, that the persecutors are without excuse, and that the Spirit and they themselves will bear witness.
211. 77.4Looking to Christ and to the crowns makes suffering, chastity, and almsgiving easy; those who turn away and insult the hungry poor will answer for it at the judgment, as the rich man did for Lazarus.
212. 77.5Since Christ gives us heaven, the sun, and his own body and blood, we must not refuse him bread and clothing in the poor; greed makes the rich cruel, while alms laid up with the poor lead to God.
213. 78.1Christ rebukes the disciples' excessive sorrow, explains why he had not told them of the coming persecutions earlier, and shows that his departure is to their advantage, since the Spirit will come and convict the world.
214. 78.2The Spirit will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; he speaks what is Christ's and the Father's, not as inferior or as needing to learn, for the Father, Son, and Spirit share one knowledge, one will, and one dignity, as baptism shows.
215. 78.4Concord and friendship multiply each person's strength and safety; even monks in the mountains are bound to others in love, and the church's kiss in the mysteries and its common prayers express this unity.
216. 79.1Christ prepares the disciples for his departure with the image of a woman's labor pains turned to joy, foretelling his death and resurrection and the power of prayer in his name.
217. 79.2Christ will speak plainly after the resurrection; the disciples' faith is still imperfect, but he has conquered the world, so Christians, as strangers and sojourners, should not be troubled by death or by insults.
218. 79.4Insults from kin are lighter to bear since we are members of one body; Chrysostom shames his hearers by the devotion lovers show harlots, asking at least as much love for God, who promises heaven.
219. 79.5Men give everything to harlots but begrudge alms to the poor; the life of virtue brings greater pleasure and freedom, and like the prodigal son the fallen may return to the Father.
220. 80.1Christ teaches by deeds and turns to prayer to confirm his disciples; asking to be glorified, he shows that he goes willingly to the cross and that the Father wills the gospel to reach all nations.
221. 80.2The Son is true God although the Father is called the only true God; he asks the glory he had before the world for his flesh. Chrysostom then attacks luxury, many servants, and needless wants as slavery, praising simplicity and freedom from need.
222. 81.1Christ has made the Father's name known to the disciples given him; that all the Father's things are the Son's and the Son's the Father's shows their equality, and “you gave me” is said by condescension.
223. 81.2Christ's commending of the disciples to the Father is said in a human way for their comfort; Judas perished by his own choice, not because Scripture had to be fulfilled.
224. 81.3Like children dazzled by clay toys, many admire earthly wealth; Chrysostom urges daily almsgiving from honest means as the soul's food and medicine.
225. 82.1Chrysostom explains Christ's prayer that the disciples be kept from the evil one and sanctified in the truth, reading “I sanctify myself” as Christ offering himself as a sacrifice.
226. 82.2Christ prays for the unity of all believers, a peace greater than signs, and that they may behold his glory; Chrysostom closes by rebuking those who neglect even their own relatives.
227. 82.4Looking down on human life from a height would show its folly: luxury, usury and corrupt courts while the poor starve; Chrysostom calls for works, not mere words in church.
228. 83.1Christ goes willingly to the garden known to Judas, throws his captors to the ground with a word, and hands himself over only after securing his disciples' release.
229. 83.2Peter's sword, the healing of Malchus, Jesus before Annas and Caiaphas, Peter's denials, and the blow in the high priest's court show Christ's forbearance and Peter's weakness without God.
230. 83.4Before Pilate the Jews avoid a plain charge; Christ says his kingdom is not of this world, meaning it is from above, not that the world lies outside his providence.
231. 83.5Christ bore mockery and blows in silence; Chrysostom teaches that insults only harm those who resent them and urges month-by-month correction of faults as a climb up Jacob's ladder.
232. 84.1Christ's long-suffering before Pilate; Pilate declares him innocent, offers him for release, and has him scourged and mocked hoping to appease the crowd, which still cries “Crucify.”
233. 84.2Pilate repeatedly declares Jesus innocent but yields to the Jewish leaders' charges and their threat about Caesar; Chrysostom explains “unless it had been given you” as divine permission, not excuse.
234. 84.3Remembering the mockery Christ bore should quench our anger; Chrysostom warns that faith without a matching life condemns, and urges daily use of Scripture and provision for death.
235. 85.1Pilate hands Jesus over from fear; Christ carries the cross like Isaac and like a victor's trophy, is crucified between robbers, and the title, the lot, and the tunic fulfil prophecy.
236. 85.2From the cross Christ commits his mother to John, dies by his own authority, and from his pierced side flow water and blood, the sources of baptism and the Eucharist; Joseph and Nicodemus bury him.
237. 85.4Christ is laid in a new nearby tomb, sealed and guarded, so that his death and burial are attested; the folded grave clothes show the body was not stolen, and Peter and John believe.
238. 85.5Since Christ rose naked, costly burial is vainglory that profits the dead nothing; the true grave clothes are almsgiving, which rises with the dead.
239. 85.6Restraint at funerals shows Christ's power over death; the dying should leave Christ as heir through almsgiving, the best grave clothes for the resurrection.
240. 86.1Mary Magdalene, weeping at the tomb, sees angels and then the risen Christ, whom she knows not by sight but when he calls her by name.
241. 86.2Christ's “Do not touch me” lifts Mary's thoughts to his ascension; that evening he gives the disciples peace and, breathing on them, the authority to forgive sins, a gift shared by Father, Son and Spirit.
242. 86.4Because priests are entrusted with the forgiving of sins and answer for their people's souls, the faithful must honor them; the sacraments do not depend on the priest's worthiness, for God's grace works all.
243. 87.1Thomas, demanding to touch, is met by Christ, who shows his wounds out of condescension and blesses those who believe without seeing.
244. 87.2John wrote only what suffices for faith; at the sea of Tiberias the risen Christ provides a miraculous catch and a meal; Chrysostom turns to the longing to see Christ and against love of money.
245. 87.4Love of money estranges a man from kin, friends, God and himself, and makes him money's slave; the pleasure of almsgiving is safe and joyful, unlike the ruinous pleasure spent on prostitutes.
246. 88.1Christ restores Peter with a threefold question of love, entrusts him with the care of his sheep and of the brothers, and foretells his martyrdom as glory to God.
247. 88.2Christ checks Peter's curiosity about John; John vouches for his own testimony as written without flattery; Chrysostom closes by urging Scripture reading, mourning for sin, and almsgiving free of greed.