ACC ~ John 12 v27 - 36

OVERVIEW:

Jesus’ troubled soul is indicative of a humanity that has feelings in no way different from ours (CHRYSOSTOM). And so, when I see him troubled, I am consoled, knowing that if he ultimately triumphed over his fears, I can too (AUGUSTINE). He went through all of our fears and troubles so that he might transform them in such a way that they no longer overtake him or us (CYRIL). We see Jesus struggling with the fear of death (CHRYSOSTOM), but we also view an example of how, even in the face of death, he chose his Father’s will over his own (Augustine). The glory that would come to the Father’s name through Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection (CYRIL) was something he chose over his own comfort and safety (CHRYSOSTOM). The Father’s name, in and of itself, received no further glory except in the sense of humanity being made aware of his glory through the action of his Son. As a result, the voice from heaven confirms Jesus’ divinity—not to Jesus (APOLLINARIS) but to those who were capable of hearing the voice (AMBROSE). His name was glorified before the creation of the world, it was glorified throughout the life of Jesus, from his birth and the visit of the magi, through his transfiguration and miracles, and it would be glorified at the cross and the resurrection (AUGUSTINE). The voice that had spoken at the moment must have been the voice of an angel (GREGORY THE GREAT). When the Jews said “it thundered on him,” they unwittingly confirmed Jesus’ sonship with the Father (AMBROSE). Although God chose to reveal himself by this voice from heaven for the crowd, we should not continue to seek this kind of revelation for the senses but rather worship him in awe and reverence (HILARY).

The present judgment that Jesus speaks of is the judgment of the devil (AUGUSTINE), who will be deposed from his throne (THEODORE). His lifting up is his exaltation (CYRIL) as Christ the head of the church will draw all things to himself at the proper time (IRENAEUS) when he is lifted up from the earth on the tree of martyrdom (IRENAEUS). As he spread out his hands on the cross, he drew the ancient people of the old covenant with one hand and the Gentiles of the new covenant with the other, uniting them in himself (ATHANASIUS). Jesus’ previous discussions about his impending death enable the crowd to understand what he meant by being “lifted up” (CHRYSOSTOM). Or perhaps their consciences convicted them of what they were about to do (AUGUSTINE). Those who live enslaved to bodily desires are living in darkness (GREGORY OF NYSSA) and not in the light of Christ (AMBROSE), who will go away but will return (CHRYSOSTOM). But while he is with them, they should believe that he is the light that shines as the radiance of the Father (ORIGEN), and as they are enlightened, they become children of the light of Christ and his Father (CHRYSOSTOM).

After speaking these things, Christ withdraws to escape the crowd’s wrath, knowing what human nature is capable of (CHRYSOSTOM)—only to later yield himself up to suffering (CYRIL).

12:27 | Jesus’ Troubled Soul and Plea to His Father

THE INFIRMITY OF HUMAN NATURE

CHRYSOSTOM: Surely this is not the expression of one urging them to go even to death. No, but it is that of one who is greatly urging them on. For they might try to say that he was exempt from mortal pain and so it was easy for him to ruminate about death, and this is how he can exhort us because he himself is in no danger. This is why he shows here that, although he dreaded death, he does not refuse it, because it is efficacious for our salvation. But this is a manifestation of his humanity not of his divinity, which is why he says, “Now my soul is troubled,” since if this is not the case, what connection does what was spoken here have with his saying, “Father, save me from this hour”? And he is so troubled that he even looked for deliverance from death if it were possible to escape. These were the infirmities of his human nature. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 67.1. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:249**.

HIS SUFFERING STRENGTHENS US

AUGUSTINE: I heard him saying previously … “If anyone wants to serve me, let him follow me. And where I am, there my servant shall also be.” [1] And so, I was all on fire to despise the world, and the whole of this life, however long it might be, had become only a vapor before my eyes. In comparison with my love for eternal things, everything temporal had lost its value for me. But now, this same Lord, whose words had transported me from the weakness that was mine to the strength that was his—I now hear him saying, “How is my soul troubled.” What does this mean? How can you ask my soul to follow you when I see your own in so much turmoil? How can I endure when even a strength as great as yours feels it is a heavy burden? What kind of foundation am I left with when the Rock is giving way? But the Lord is already forming the answer inside my own head, saying: You shall follow me that much better, because it is to strengthen your own endurance that I included this. You have heard, as if addressed to yourself, the voice of my strength. Now hear in me the voice of your infirmity. I supply strength when you need to run without slowing you down, but I take on myself whatever makes you afraid, paving the way for you to continue your march. Lord, I acknowledge your mercy! You, who are so great, allowed yourself to be troubled in order to console all of those in your body who are troubled by the continual experience of their own weakness—keeping them from perishing utterly in despair. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 52.2. [2]

[1] Jn 12:26.

[2] NPNF 1 7:287**.

CHRIST’S HUMAN NATURE HAD TO FEEL WHAT WE FEEL

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Only the death of the Savior could bring an end to death, and it is the same for each of the other sufferings of the flesh too. Unless he had felt dread, human nature could not have become free from dread. Unless he had experienced grief, there could have never been any deliverance from grief. Unless he had been troubled and alarmed, there would have been no escape from these feelings. Every one of the emotions to which human nature is liable can be found in Christ. The emotions of his flesh were aroused, not that they might gain the upper hand, as indeed they do in us, but in order that when aroused they might be thoroughly subdued by the power of the Word dwelling in the flesh, human nature as a whole thus undergoing a change for the better. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 8. [1]

[1] LF 48:154**. See also Athanasius Against the Arians 3.26, where he includes this passage in a list of passages the Arians cite as showing Jesus’ inferiority to the Father. He refutes the charge by showing how these pertain to his humanity, not his divinity.

JESUS STRUGGLES WITH HIS FEAR

CHRYSOSTOM: Although my trouble urges me to say, “Save me,” yet I say the opposite, “Glorify your name,” that is, “From now on, lead me to your cross.” Here he definitely shows his humanity and a nature unwilling to die that is clinging to this present life. It proves that he was not exempt from human feelings. To have a desire for this present life is not necessarily wrong, though, any more than it is to be hungry or to want to sleep. Christ indeed had a body free from sin, and yet it was not free from the natural wants of the body; otherwise it would not have been a body. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 67.1. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:249**.

JESUS TEACHES BY EXAMPLE WHOSE WILL WE SHOULD PREFER

AUGUSTINE: He also teaches you here on whom to call, in whom to hope, and whose sure and divine will you should prefer over your own will which is human and weak. Do not imagine that he has lost any of his exalted position in wanting you to rise out of the depths of your own ruin. … He assumed human infirmity in order to teach us, when saddened and troubled, to say, “Nevertheless, Father, not as I will but as you will.” [1] For when the will of God is preferred to our own, this is how humanity is turned from the human to the divine. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 52.3. [2]

[1] Mt 26:39.

[2] NPNF 1 7:288**.

12:28 | Father, Glorify Your Name

THE NAME GLORIFIED IN THE CRUCIFIXION AND RESURRECTION

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Whether the Gospel has “glorify your Son” or “glorify your name” makes no difference to the interpretation of its precise meaning. [1] Christ, however, despising death and the shame that comes from suffering, focused only on the achievements resulting from the suffering. And immediately seeing the death of all of us departing from our midst as a result of the death of his own flesh, and the power of decay about to be completely destroyed and human nature already formed anew in anticipation of newness of life, [2] he all but says to God the Father something along the following lines: “The body, O Father, shrinks from suffering and is afraid of a death that violates nature. Indeed, it seems scarcely endurable that he who is enthroned with you and has power over all things should be subjected to such outrageous treatment. But since I have come for this purpose, glorify your Son, that is, do not stop him from going to his death, but give your consent to your offspring for the good of all.” The Evangelist even calls the cross glory elsewhere. [3] … It is clear that in this passage, “glorified” means “crucified.” “Glory” is equivalent to “the cross.” In fact, his acceptance of suffering for the good of others is a sign of extraordinary compassion and the highest kind of glory. The glorification of the Son also took place in another way. Through his victory over death we recognize him to be life and the Son of the living God. The Father is glorified then when he is shown to have such a Son begotten from himself and with the same attributes as himself. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 8. [4]

[1] Cyril is aware that there are two different readings of Jn 12:28. The more authentic reading is “glorify your name.” A number of manuscripts, including the one used by Cyril, read “glorify your Son,” probably through the influence of Jn 17:1. Most modern commentators tend to agree with Cyril that the two readings amount to the same thing, since the Father and Son are one.

[2] Rom 6:4.

[3] See Jn 7:39.

[4] COA 120-21*.

JESUS CHOOSES THE FATHER’S GLORY

CHRYSOSTOM: He teaches us here that if we ever are in agony and dread, we should not shrink back from what is set before us. … He shows us that he is dying for the truth, calling the action “glory to God.” And this is indeed how things happened after the crucifixion. The world was about to be converted and to acknowledge the name of God. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 67.2. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:249**.

THE VOICE CONFIRMS CHRIST’S DIVINITY

APOLLINARIS OF LAODICEA: It was not the utterance in the voice of the Father to the Son, since divinity is beyond all voice, but it was sent from heaven from the face of the Father to the Son as a sound for human beings to hear, in order that those who heard it might contemplate Christ all the more and come to know his divinity beyond his humanity. Glory is not added to the Father, since he has always had it, but it is added in so far as it radiates and is made known so that human beings are aware of it. Likewise, one must not conclude that the Son would be glorified from a state of disgrace, but rather he is glorified in so far as he who had formerly been hidden was made manifest in the flesh to the eyes of people. Moreover, it was not so much the voice that captivated the ears of those present, but rather how it took place that another glorified him. There was an established teaching among them from the fathers that utterances that were heard could not be borne directly from the mouth of God, since also Moses and all the rest who had spoken of the words they had heard from God, wrote down for humanity, while also saying that the manner of the discourse was that of an angel. [1] If then we also posit that it was an angel who emitted the voice, it would be good that the Father’s voice, which was spoken from above to people, be heard through an angel. Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not take place for my sake.” He who knew the Father and the Father’s matters did not need anything. Thus he does not allow us to think little of him at all or to regard him as one would only be regarded as a prophet. Rather, this helps us to know who he was in relation to God. See whether or not “glorify your name” is the same as imposing on the Savior the name of God, since he is the Word of God. So also the “name” is that of the Father, but “name” does not refer to that which is composed of syllables or uttered with human voices, but rather whatever reveals the nature of the Father. One can understand the “name of God” also in the same way as well as the phrase in the psalms: “I will proclaim your name to my brothers.” [2] How else can one understand that the name of God can be told? FRAGMENTS ON JOHN 84. [3]

[1] ESUS IS INFORMED THAT LAZARUS IS SICK | JOHN 11:1-5

[2] Ps 22:23 (21:23 LXX).

[3] JKGK 34-35.

THE MANY INSTANCES OF GLORIFICATION

AUGUSTINE: “I have both glorified it,” before I created the world, “and I will glorify it again,” when he shall rise from the dead and ascend into heaven. It may also be otherwise understood. “I have both glorified it” could be understood to refer to when he was born of the Virgin; when he exercised miraculous powers; when the magi, guided by a star in the heavens, bowed in adoration before him; when he was recognized by saints filled with the Holy Spirit. It could further refer to when he was openly proclaimed by the descent of the Spirit in the form of a dove and pointed out by the voice that sounded from heaven; when he was transfigured on the mount; when he performed many miracles, cured and cleansed multitudes, fed so vast a number with a very few loaves, commanded the winds and the waves, and to when he raised the dead. “And I will glorify it again” could refer to when he would rise from the dead, when death would no longer have dominion over him. It can also refer to when he would be exalted over the heavens as God and to when his glory would extend over all the earth. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 52.4. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 7:288*; CCL 36:447.

12:29 | Thunder or Angels

GOD DOES NOT SPEAK WITH THE VOICE OF THE BODY

AMBROSE: How does God speak? Is it with the voice of the body? Not at all. He utters oracular words with a voice that is far more significant than is the voice of the body. The prophets heard this voice. It is heard by the faithful, but the wicked do not comprehend it. And so, we find the Evangelist in the Gospel listening to the voice of the Father speaking: “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.” But the Jews did not listen, which is why they said, “It has thundered.” … Here is an occasion when he was heard speaking, whereas to some people he did not speak. ON PARADISE 14.69. [1]

[1] FC 42:347.

WHEN ANGELS SPEAK

GREGORY THE GREAT: When God speaks audibly, as he does here, but no visible appearance is seen, he speaks through the medium of a rational creature, that is, by the voice of an angel. MORALS ON THE BOOK OF JOB 28.1.4. [1]

[1] LF 23:264**; CCL 143B:1397.

12:30 | The Voice for the Crowd

GOD IS TO BE WORSHIPED

HILARY OF POITIERS: We remember, indeed, that a voice was sometimes uttered from heaven for us so that the power of the Father’s words might confirm for us the mystery of the Son. … But the divine nature can dispense with the various combinations necessary for human functions, the motion of the tongue, the adjustment of the mouth, the forcing of the breath and the vibration of the air. God is a simple being: we must understand him by devotion and confess him by reverence. He is to be worshiped, not pursued by our senses, for a conditioned and weak nature cannot grasp with the guesses of its imagination the mystery of an infinite and omnipotent nature. ON THE TRINITY 9.72. [1]

[1] NPNF 2 9:180*; CCL 62A:452-53.

12:31 | The Judgment of the Ruler of This World

THE WORLD IS JUDGED IN AND THROUGH CHRIST

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: What happens, [Jesus says,] now takes place on behalf of the world. For the whole world is judged in me now. You see, the first man, having been condemned to death on account of disobedience, became subject to the devil. Likewise all after him, becoming evil, brought on themselves the devil to be an exceedingly heavy tyrant over them, and because of this they were even more impious, making the kingdom of death worse for themselves. Therefore, because no one was able to wage war against it, Christ, being God, able to do everything, gave himself up on behalf of all people, the ones of old and those who are living now.

The world, therefore, is judged in me and through me. For, having committed no sin but having accomplished every kind of virtue and in no way found worthy of death, I accept death unjustly, so that in this way I may make my case against the devil, the one who himself killed me and was condemned. Having been freed from the bonds of death, I will rise, but I will also raise with me the common race of humanity by the case I make, and all will be acquitted of the verdict. He, on the other hand, who wickedly controlled the people in this life will be deposed from power. And the bonds of death, with which he surrounded people and was easily controlling them, will be taken away. These are the same bonds that caused them to sin all the more, as the devil attained a greater mastery over them. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, FRAGMENT 109.12.31. [1]

[1] ECS 7:102*.

REMOVING THE ARROGANCE OF THE DEVIL

AMMONIUS: As if in a court of law, it is said to the devil, “Granted, you have killed everyone else in the human race because they were sinners. But why did you kill the Lord?” The time of sojourning on earth is the “judgment of the world,” since Christ is about to justify humanity and to remove the arrogance of the devil. The judgment he speaks of here then is not the condemnation of the human race. Rather, Christ’s death justifies all humanity against the devil, who is the one who is under judgment because he had wronged the world. FRAGMENTS ON JOHN 419. [1]

[1] JKGK 301.

NOT REIGNING FROM WITHIN, LAYING SIEGE WITHOUT

AUGUSTINE: The judgment that is looked for in the end will be the judging of the living and the dead, the awarding of eternal rewards and punishment. But what kind of judgment, then, [takes place] now? … There is a judgment spoken of [now] that is not condemnation but discernment. … This is what he calls judgment here, that is, this righteous separation, this expulsion of the devil from Christ’s own redeemed. … The Lord, therefore, was foretelling what he already knew, that after his own passion and glorification, many nations throughout the whole world, in whose hearts the devil lived as an inmate, would become believers, and the devil when thus renounced by faith would be cast out.

But someone might ask: Wasn’t the devil cast out of the hearts of the patriarchs and prophets and the righteous people of old? Certainly he was. How then can it be said that now he shall be cast out? Then it was done in the case of a few individuals, but now it is foretold that it will take place rapidly and among many people and mighty nations. … But someone might further ask: Since the devil is cast out of the hearts of believers, does he now stop tempting the faithful? No, he has not stopped tempting. But it is one thing to reign within and another to lay siege from without. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 52.6-9. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 7:288-89**; CCL 36:448-49.

12:32 | Lifted Up and Drawing All

THE LIFTING UP IS HIS GLORIFICATION

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: He keeps the mystery invisible to those intent on killing him, for they were not worthy to learn it. Nevertheless, he allowed those who were wiser to understand that he would suffer because of all and on behalf of all. And it is probably even more the case that anyone might take it in this way, and very appropriately, that is, that the death on the cross was an exaltation that is always associated in our thoughts with honor and glory. For on this account too Christ is glorified, because the benefits he procured for humanity thereby are many. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 8. [1]

[1] LF 48:156-57**.

CHRIST SUMS UP ALL THINGS IN HIMSELF

IRENAEUS: He took up humanity into himself, the invisible becoming visible, the incomprehensible being made comprehensible, the impassible becoming capable of suffering and the Word being made human, thus summing up all things in himself: so that as in supercelestial, spiritual and invisible things, the Word of God is supreme, so also in things visible and corporeal he might possess the supremacy, and, taking to himself the preeminence, as well as constituting himself head of the church, he might draw all things to himself at the proper time. [1] AGAINST HERESIES 3.16.6. [2]

[1] Christ as the “summing up” of all things was an important contribution by Irenaeus to subsequent theology on the meaning of the incarnation.

[2] SC 34:292; ANF 1:443*. See also Against Heresies 4.2.7.

ONLY ON A CROSS DOES ONE DIE WITH HANDS SPREAD OUT

ATHANASIUS: For it is only on the cross that a man dies with his hands spread out. And so it was fitting for the Lord to bear this also and to spread out his hands, that with the one he might draw the ancient people and with the other those from the Gentiles and unite both in himself. For this is what he himself has said, signifying by what manner of death he was to ransom all: “I, when I am lifted up,” he says, “shall draw all unto me.” ON THE INCARNATION 25.3-4. [1]

[1] NPNF 2 4:49-50*.

12:34 | The Son of Man Lifted Up?

THEY UNDERSTAND “LIFTED UP

” CHRYSOSTOM: And so we see that they understood many of the things that he spoke in parables. … As he had talked about death earlier, they saw now what was meant by his being lifted up. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 68.1. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:251**.

A DISTURBED CONSCIENCE ASKS

AUGUSTINE: Or they interpreted the word by their own intended act. It was not wisdom imparted but conscience disturbed that disclosed its meaning to them. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 52.12. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 7:290**; CCL 36:451.

12:35 | While You Have the Light

LIVING ENSLAVED TO THE BODY

GREGORY OF NYSSA: The one who is stupid looks downward and hands his soul over to pleasures of the body, as cattle to pasture, living only for the stomach and the organs nearby, being alienated from the life of God. He is a stranger to the promise of the covenants, considering nothing else to be good than pleasing the body. This one, and everyone like him, is the one making his way “in darkness,” as the Scripture says. ON VIRGINITY 4. [1]

[1] FC 58:24-25.

CHRIST IS THE LIGHT THE DARKNESS CANNOT OVERCOME

AMBROSE: [In the] form of a servant the fullness of true light was there. And when the form emptied itself, there was the light. Then he said, “Walk while you have the light.” Even when he was in death, he was not in the shadow. … The true light of wisdom shone there as well. It illumined hell but was not shut up in hell. ON THE SACRAMENT OF THE INCARNATION OF OUR LORD 5.41. [1]

[1] CSEL 79:244; FC 44:234*.

WE WILL SEE THE LIGHT AGAIN

CHRYSOSTOM: He signifies that his death is a transition, [1] for the light of the sun is not destroyed, but having withdrawn for a while appears again. Then he says, “While you have the light,” but he does not say of what time he is talking about here. Is he speaking of the whole present life or of the time before the cross? I think both, for because of his ineffable love of humankind many even after the cross believed. He speaks these things to press them on to the faith. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 68.1. [2]

[1] Gk metastasis.

[2] NPNF 1 14:251**.

12:36a | Believe in the Light and Become Sons of Light

THE SON’S RADIANCE ILLUMINES US

ORIGEN: Let us see what idea we are to form from the language of Paul regarding Christ where he says that he is the “brightness of the glory of God and the representation of his being.” [1] According to John, “God is light.” The only-begotten Son, therefore, is the glory of this light, proceeding inseparably from God himself, just as brightness proceeds from light and illuminates the whole creation. … Through this brightness, human beings understand and experience what light itself is. And this splendor presents itself gently and softly to the frail and weak eyes of mortals and gradually trains and accustoms them, as it were, to bear the brightness of the light. It removes from them every hindrance and obstruction to their vision, according to the Lord’s own command to cast out the beam from your own eye. [2] In this way, it renders them capable of enduring the splendor of the light and becomes, in this respect, also a kind of mediator between human beings and the light. ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 1.2.7. [3]

[1] Heb 1:3.

[2] Lk 6:42.

[3] ANF 4:248*.

JESUS BEGETS CHILDREN TOO

CHRYSOSTOM: He tells them to become sons of light, that is, become my children. Yet in the beginning the Evangelist says these “were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God,” [1] that is, of the Father, while here Christ himself is said to beget them so that you may understand that the operation of the Father and the Son is One. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 68.1. [2]

[1] Jn 1:13.

[2] NPNF 1 14:251*.

12:36b | Jesus Withdraws and Hides

STEER CLEAR OF RAGE

CHRYSOSTOM: Why does he now “hide himself”? They did not take up stones against him, nor did they blaspheme him in any way as before. Why then did he hide himself? Walking in people’s hearts, he knew that their wrath was fierce, although they said nothing. He knew their wrath was boiling and murderous and did not wait until it broke into action, but rather he hid himself to mitigate their ill will. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 68.1. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:251*.

CHRIST WITHDRAWS

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Jesus withdraws with a set purpose, his passion being close at hand, showing that it was not his will to be put to death by the Jews. Nevertheless, he willingly yielded himself up to suffer, giving himself as a ransom for our life and accepting death, which is cause for sadness. But he ends up changing sorrow into gladness. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 8. [1]

[1] LF 48:159**.