ACC ~ John 3 v13 - 21

OVERVIEW:

The Lord of glory descended from heaven as the Son of man (AMBROSE). How is it possible, then, for the Son of man to have “come down” from heaven when he came from the Virgin’s womb here on earth (AUGUSTINE)? Or perhaps his descent indicates his conception by the Holy Spirit, from whom his body owes its origin (HILARY); or he is using the term “Son of man” to refer to the whole person (CHRYSOSTOM). As the ascended Son of God he is the Lord of glory; as the descended Son of man he is crucified. We ascend to heaven as members of the one who descended by taking the form of a servant (AUGUSTINE). Ultimately, however, Christ’s ascending and descending is a mystery and a paradox that we should not seek to solve (HILARY). It demonstrates the union of the human and the divine in the one person who descends and ascends while still being everywhere (CHRYSOSTOM).

As Jesus had previously mentioned baptism, he now proceeds to the source of baptism, that is, the cross (CHRYSOSTOM). The brazen serpent is a type of the cross (AMBROSE), which was raised up for the entire world to see (ANDREW), and on it we see the whole mystery of the incarnation (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). Moses did not teach us to believe in the serpent, which itself was cursed, but to believe in the one who became a curse for us in order to break the power of the serpent (JUSTIN). Because death was from a serpent, it was represented by the brazen image of a serpent in the account in Numbers (BEDE); in its very brazenness, it could not die (EPHREM). Whoever has been bitten by the snakes of sin needs only to gaze on Christ and there will be healing for the forgiveness of sins (AUGUSTINE) and eternal life because he is the author and cause of life (CHRYSOSTOM).

This text shows the intensity of God’s love (CHRYSOSTOM) who, as the great Physician, stoops to heal our festering wounds (GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS). God’s Son was a priceless gift to the world from the Father who gave not an adopted son but his only begotten Son (HILARY, ISAAC). This is what Abraham had done as well; the symbols of the wood and the lamb continued to testify to that love of a father for his children (EPHREM). In giving his Son to the world, the Father gave life itself— the only gift that can defeat death (AUGUSTINE) and restore what we had lost (BEDE). However, since it is a gift, he will not force salvation on people (AUGUSTINE).

There are those who presume on God’s mercy, forgetting that the first advent of Christ was for our pardon, but the second is for judgment (CHRYSOSTOM). Unbelief has already been judged (HILARY), and those who are impenitent already feel its effects since they are without the light (CHRYSOSTOM). The judgment that is yet to come, therefore, does not concern unbelief so much as those who profess faith but have no works to back up that profession of faith (GREGORY THE GREAT). We sin against God under our own power (CLEMENT). Thus our separation from God is our own doing (IRENAEUS).

The light came to them, but they refused its illumination (Chrysostom), preferring to exercise the power they have to reject such divine illumination (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA) and remain in their wickedness (CHRYSOSTOM) through their free reason, which enslaves them without Christ (APOLLINARIS). They have a love-hate relationship with the truth—they love it when they are not deceived and falsehood is exposed, but hate it when the light exposes them for who and what they really are (AUGUSTINE). Light is the worst enemy for those who choose to remain in wickedness and rebellion (CHRYSOSTOM). The good rejoice in being seen (TERTULLIAN), not because they are proud of their good works but because they want others to see what God has done in them (AUGUSTINE).

3:13 | The One Who Ascended and Descended

BOTH NATURES DESCEND AND ASCEND

AMBROSE: Possessing both natures, that is, the human and the divine, [Christ] endured the passion in his humanity, in order that without distinction he who suffered should be called both Lord of glory and Son of man, even as it is written: “Who descended from heaven.” ON THE CHRISTIAN FAITH 2.7.58. [1]

[1] NPNF 2 10:230-31.

IN HEAVEN AND FROM HEAVEN

AUGUSTINE: Some people, certainly, find very surprising what the Lord said in the Gospel, “Nobody has ascended into heaven, except the one who came down from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven.” How, they ask, can the Son of man be said to have come down from heaven, when it was here that he was taken on in the Virgin’s womb? People who say this are not to be rejected but instructed. I think, you see, that they are raising this question out of piety but are not yet able to understand what they are inquiring about. They do not realize, I mean, that the divinity took on the humanity in such a way as to become one person, God and man; and that the humanity was attached to the divinity in such a way that Word, soul and flesh were the one Christ. And that is why it could be said, “No one has ascended into heaven, except the one who came down from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven.” SERMON 265B.2. [1]

[1] WSA 3 7:249.

HIS DESCENT IS HIS CONCEPTION BY THE SPIRIT

HILARY OF POITIERS: “Descended from heaven” refers to his origin from the Spirit. For though Mary contributed to his growth in the womb and birth all that is natural to her sex, his body did not owe to her its origin. The “Son of man” refers to the birth of the flesh conceived in the Virgin; “who is in heaven” implies the power of his eternal nature—an infinite nature, which could not restrict itself to the limits of the body—of which it was itself the source and base. By the virtue of the Spirit and the power of God the Word, though he sojourned in the form of a servant, he was ever present as Lord of all within and beyond the circle of heaven and earth. So he descended from heaven and is the Son of man, yet is in heaven. For the Word made flesh did not cease to be the Word. As the Word, he is in heaven, as flesh he is the Son of man. As Word made flesh, he is at once from heaven, and Son of man and in heaven. For the power of the Word, abiding eternally without body, was present still in the heaven he had left. The flesh owed its origin to him and to no one else. So the Word made flesh, though he was flesh, nonetheless never ceased to be the Word. ON THE TRINITY 10.16. [1]

[1] NPNF 2 9:186.

SON OF MAN STANDS FOR THE WHOLE PERSON

CHRYSOSTOM: And in this place he does not refer only to the flesh as “Son of man” but now names, so to speak, his entire self from the inferior substance. Indeed, he often likes to do this, referring to his whole person from either his divinity or his humanity. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 27.1. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:94**.

IN BOTH NATURES

AUGUSTINE: As a human being he was on earth, not in heaven where he now is… although in his nature as Son of God he was in heaven, but as Son of man he was still on earth and had not yet ascended into heaven. In a similar way, although in his nature as Son of God he is the Lord of glory, in his nature as Son of man he was crucified. LETTER 187.9. [1]

[1] FC 30:227-28**. Theodoret makes this same point about the two natures; see Eranistes (FC 106:79).

HE DESCENDED SO THAT WE MIGHT ASCEND

AUGUSTINE: Spiritual birth happens when human beings, being earthly, become heavenly. And this can only happen when they are made members of me. So that he may ascend who descended, since no one ascends who did not descend. Therefore everyone who needs to be changed and raised must meet together in a union with Christ so that the Christ who descended may ascend, considering his body (that is to say, his church) [1] as nothing other than himself. ON THE MERITS AND FORGIVENESS OF SINS AND ON INFANT BAPTISM 1.60. [2]

[1] See also Bede Homilies on the Gospels 2.18.

[2] NPNF 1 5:39*. See also Sermon 362.16 and Gregory Morals on the Book of Job 27.15.30 (LF 23:221).

THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST ASCENDING AND DESCENDING

HILARY OF POITIERS: It is not possible by the laws of bodies for the same object to remain and to descend. The one is the change of downward motion, the other the stillness of being at rest. The infant wails but is in heaven: the boy grows but remains ever the immeasurable God. By what perception of human understanding can we comprehend that he ascended where he was before, and he descended who remained in heaven? The Lord says, “What if you should behold the Son of man ascending to where he was before?” [1] The Son of man ascends where he was before. Can sense apprehend this? The Son of man—who is in heaven—descends from heaven. Can reason cope with this? The Word was made flesh— can words express this? The Word becomes flesh, that is, God becomes man. The man is in heaven: the God is from heaven. He ascends who descended, but he descends and yet does not descend. He is as he ever was, yet he was not ever what he is. We pass in review of the causes, but we cannot explain the manner. We perceive the manner but cannot understand the causes. Yet, if we understand Christ Jesus even in this way, we shall know him. If we seek to understand him further, we shall not know him at all. ON THE TRINITY 10.54. [2]

[1] Jn 6:62.

[2] NPNF 2 9:197.

CHRIST IS EVERYWHERE

CHRYSOSTOM: See how even what appears very exalted is utterly unworthy of his greatness? For he is not in heaven only but everywhere, and he fills all things. But here he still speaks according to the infirmity of his hearer in the hope that he can lead him up little by little. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 27.1. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:94**.

3:14 | Lifting Up the Serpent, Lifting Up the Son of Man

THE CROSS AS SOURCE OF BAPTISM

CHRYSOSTOM: Having made mention of the gift of baptism, he proceeds to the source [1] of it, that is, the cross…. These two things, more than anything else, declare his unspeakable love: that he both suffered for his enemies and, having died for his enemies, he freely gave them by baptism the entire forgiveness of all of their sins. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 27.1. [2]

[1] Or“cause.”

[2] NPNF 1 14:94**.

JESUS TEACHES NICODEMUS THE SPIRITUAL SENSE OF THE LAW

BEDE: With the wonderful skill of heavenly teaching, the Lord directs our attention to the teacher of the Mosaic law and to the spiritual meaning of his law, by recalling some of the ancient history and explaining that it happened as a figure of his own passion and of human salvation. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 2.18. [1]

[1] CS 111:184.

THE BRAZEN SERPENT IS A TYPE OF CHRIST’S HUMANITY

AMBROSE: It was good that the Lord ordained that, by the lifting up of the brazen serpent, the wounds of those who were bitten should be healed; for the brazen serpent is a type of the cross…. In the same way, the world was crucified in its allurements. Therefore not a real but a brazen serpent was hung. This is so because the Lord took on himself the likeness of a sinner in his body but, in actuality, was without sin. In this way, he imitated a serpent through the deceitful appearance of human weakness, so that when he laid aside the slough of the flesh, he might destroy the cunning of the true serpent. ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 3.8.50. [1]

[1] NPNF 2 10:142*.

THE CROSS RAISED FOR ALL THE WORLD TO SEE

ANDREW OF CRETE: The cross is raised and appears above the earth, which until recently malice had kept hidden. It is raised, not to receive glory (for with Christ nailed to it what greater glory could it have?) but to give glory to God who is worshiped on it and proclaimed by it…. It is not surprising that the church rejoices in the cross of Christ and robes herself in festal clothes, revealing her bridal beauty as she honors this day. Nor is it surprising that this great throng of people has gathered together today to see the cross exposed aloft and to worship Christ whom they see raised upon it. For the cross is exposed in order to be raised and is raised to be exposed. What cross? The cross, which a little while ago was hidden in a place called The Skull but now is everywhere adored. This is what we rejoice over today; this is what we celebrate; this is the point of the present feast; this is the manifestation of the mystery…. For this hidden and life-giving cross had to be exposed, set on high like a city on a hill or a lamp on a stand, for all the world to see. HOMILY 11 ON THE EXALTATION OF THE VENERABLE CROSS. [1]

[1] JFA 156; PG 97:1036-40.

THE STORY OF MOSES AND THE BRASS SERPENT

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: This story is a type of the whole mystery of the incarnation. For the serpent signifies bitter and deadly sin, which was devouring the whole race on the earth… biting the Soul of man and infusing it with the venom of wickedness. And there is no way that we could have escaped being conquered by it, except by the relief that comes only from heaven. The Word of God then was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, “that he might condemn sin in the flesh,” [1] as it is written. In this way, he becomes the Giver of unending salvation to those who comprehend the divine doctrines and gaze on him with steadfast faith. But the serpent, being fixed upon a lofty base, signifies that Christ was clearly manifested by his passion on the cross, so that none could fail to see him. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 2.1. [2]

[1] Rom 8:3.

[2] LF 43:173**.

THE CRUCIFIED BRINGS DEATH TO THE SERPENT

JUSTIN MARTYR: It seems that the type and sign that was erected to counteract the serpents that bit Israel was intended for the salvation of those who believe that death was declared to come thereafter on the serpent through him who would be crucified. But salvation was to come to those who had been bitten by him and had committed themselves to him who sent his Son into the world to be crucified. For the Spirit of prophecy by Moses did not teach us to believe in the serpent, since it shows us that he was cursed by God from the beginning. And in Isaiah he tells us that he shall be put to death as an enemy by the mighty sword, which is Christ. DIALOGUE WITH TRYPHO 91. [1]

[1] ANF 1:245.

THE CRUCIFIED SAVES THOSE LIVING UNDER A CURSE

JUSTIN MARTYR: By this [lifting up of the serpent], he proclaimed the mystery where he declared that he would break the power of the serpent, which occasioned the transgression of Adam. He [would bring] salvation to those who believe on him because of this sign (i.e., his crucifixion)—salvation from the fangs of the serpent, which are wicked deeds, idolatries and other unrighteous acts…. Just as God commanded the sign to be made by the brazen serpent—and yet he is blameless—even so, though a curse lies in the law against persons who are crucified, yet no curse lies on the Christ of God, by whom all that have committed things worthy of a curse are saved. [1] DIALOGUE WITH TRYPHO 94. [2]

[1] Gal 3:13.

[2] ANF 1:246-47**.

RESTORED TO LIFE EVERLASTING

BEDE: The sins that drag down soul and body to destruction at the same time are appropriately represented by the serpents, not only because they were fiery and poisonous [and] artful at bringing about death, but also because our first parents were led into sin by a serpent. And from being immortal they became mortal by sinning. The Lord is aptly made known by the bronze serpent, since he came in the likeness of sinful flesh. Just as the bronze serpent had the likeness of a fiery serpent but had absolutely none of the strength of harmful poison in its members— rather by being lifted up it cured those who had been stricken by the [live] serpents—so the Redeemer of the human race did not clothe himself in sinful flesh but in the likeness of sinful flesh, in order that by suffering death on the cross in [this likeness] he might free those who believed in him from all sin and even from death itself.

Just as those who looked at the bronze serpent that had been lifted up as a sign were cured at that time from temporal death and the wounds that the serpents’ bites had caused, so too those who look at the mystery of the Lord’s passion by believing, confessing [and] sincerely imitating it are saved forever from every death they have incurred by sinning in mind and body. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 2.18. [1]

[1] CS 111:184-85.

THE NATURE OF THE BRAZEN SERPENT LIKE THAT OF CHRIST

EPHREM THE SYRIAN: It was shown by the brazen [serpent], which by its nature cannot suffer, that he would suffer on the cross, who by his nature cannot die. COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 14.15. [1]

[1] CB709:176.

THE SYMBOLISM EXPLAINED

AUGUSTINE: Let me try to explain, as far as the Lord enables me to, what these signs mean. The rod stands for the kingdom, the snake for mortality. It was by the snake that humanity was given death to drink. The Lord was prepared to take this death on himself. So when the rod came down to earth it had the form of a snake because the kingdom of God, which is Jesus Christ, came down to earth. He put on mortality, which he also nailed to the cross…. In his mercy God provided a remedy, a remedy that restored health at the time but also foretold the wisdom that was to come in the future…. Whoever has been bitten by the snakes of sin need only gaze on Christ and will have healing for the forgiveness of sins. And so, brothers, it is the mortality that the Lord took on himself that the church must go on experiencing as his body, of which he is the head, as man, in heaven. So the church experiences mortality, which was inflicted through the seduction of the serpent. We owe death to the sin of the first persons, but afterward we shall reach eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. But when does the church arrive at life and return to the kingdom? At the end of the world. That is why he took it by the tail, which is the end, in order to restore his rod to its original condition. SERMON 6.7. [1]

[1] WSA 3 1:229-30.

3:15-16 | God’s Gift of His Son for Life

THE LIFE-GIVING PASSION

CHRYSOSTOM: He says that the one who was given was “the Son of God,” and he is the cause of life—of everlasting life. He who procured life for others by death would not himself be continually in death. For if those who believed on the crucified did not perish, much less does the one perish who is crucified. He who takes away the destitution of others is that much freer from it. He who gives life to others brings forth even more life to himself. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 27.2. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:95.

THE INTENSITY OF GOD’S LOVE AND OUR RESPONSE

CHRYSOSTOM: The text, “God so loved the world,” shows such an intensity of love. For great indeed and infinite is the distance between the two. The immortal, the infinite majesty without beginning or end loved those who were but dust and ashes, who were loaded with ten thousand sins but remained ungrateful even as they constantly offended him. This is who he “loved.” For God did not give a servant, or an angel or even an archangel “but his only begotten Son.” And yet no one would show such anxiety even for his own child as God did for his ungrateful servants….

He laid down his life for us and poured forth his precious blood for our sakes—even though there is nothing good in us—while we do not even pour out our money for our own sake and neglect him who died for us when he is naked and a stranger…. We put gold necklaces on ourselves and even on our pets but neglect our Lord who goes about naked and passes from door to door. … He gladly goes hungry so that you may be fed; naked so that he may provide you with the materials for a garment of incorruption, yet we will not even give up any of our own food or clothing for him…. These things I say continually, and I will not cease to say them, not so much because I care for the poor but because I care for your souls. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 27.2-3. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:95-96**.

THE GREAT PHYSICIAN STOOPS TO HEAL MY FESTERING WOUNDS

GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS: Let us praise the Son first of all, venerating the blood that expiated our sins. He lost nothing of his divinity when he saved me, when like a good physician he stooped to my festering wounds. He was a mortal man, but he was also God. He was of the race of David but Adam’s creator. He who has no body clothed himself with flesh. He had a mother who, nonetheless, was a virgin. He who is without bounds bound himself with the cords of our humanity. He was victim and high priest—yet he was God. He offered up his blood and cleansed the whole world. He was lifted up on the cross, but it was sin that was nailed to it. He became as one among the dead, but he rose from the dead, raising to life also many who had died before him. On the one hand, there was the poverty of his humanity; on the other, the riches of his divinity. Do not let what is human in the Son permit you wrongfully to detract from what is divine. For the sake of the divine, hold in the greatest honor the humanity, which the immortal Son took on himself for love of you. POEM 2. [1]

[1] JFA:74-75; PG 37:401, 406-8.

GIFTS OF PRICE ARE EVIDENCE OF AFFECTION

HILARY OF POITIERS: God, who loved the world, gave his only begotten Son as a manifest token of his love. If the evidence of his love is this, that he bestowed a creature on creatures, gave a worldly being on the world’s behalf, granted one raised up from nothing for the redemption of objects equally raised up from nothing, such a cheap and petty sacrifice is a poor assurance of his favor toward us. Gifts of price are the evidence of affection: the greatness of the surrender is evidence of the greatness of the love. God, who loved the world, gave no adopted son but his own, his only begotten [Son]. Here is personal interest, true sonship, sincerity; not creation, or adoption, or pretence. Here is the proof of his love and affection, that he gave his own, his only begotten Son. ON THE TRINITY 6.40. [1]

[1] NPNF 2 9:113.

HE GAVE WHAT WAS MOST PRECIOUS TO SHOW HIS ABUNDANT LOVE

ISAAC OF NINEVEH: The sum of all is God, the Lord of all, who from love of his creatures has delivered his Son to death on the cross. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son for it. Not that he was unable to save us in another way, but in this way it was possible to show us his abundant love abundantly, namely, by bringing us near to him by the death of his Son. If he had anything more dear to him, he would have given it to us, in order that by it our race might be his. And out of his great love he did not even choose to urge our freedom by compulsion, though he was able to do so. But his aim was that we should come near to him by the love of our mind. And our Lord obeyed his Father out of love for us. ASCETICAL HOMILY 74. [1]

[1] MTIN 442-43.

THE PRECEDENT OF LOVE WITH ABRAHAM AND ISAAC

EPHREM THE SYRIAN: Abraham had many servants. Why did he [God] not tell him to offer up one of them as a sacrifice? It was only because his love would not be shown in a servant. His son was thus needed, so that through him Abraham’s love would be revealed. [1] God had servants like this, but he did not show his love through any of them for his creatures, but rather through his Son, so that through him his love toward us might be proclaimed….

From [the time of] Abraham, the symbols of the wood and of the lamb began to take shape. Isaac was a symbol of the lamb [caught] in the tree, [2] and Jacob showed the wood that was life-giving for water. [3] Thus wood was esteemed as worthy for him to hang upon it, because not a bone in him was broken. [4] As for the earth, its fruits are stimulated by wood, and for the sea, its treasures are taken by means of wood. This is also the case for the body and the soul. [5] Thus it [the wood of the cross] was carved by the fury of the savage crowd. It was like a mute person in its silence, but in its use it bore fruit exalting the status of human beings. COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 21.7, 9. [6]

[1] See Gen 22:1-18.

[2] See Gen 22:1-13.

[3] See Gen 30:37-42.

[4] See Jn 19:33-36.

[5] This enigmatic phrase is explained in McCarthy’s text by Sebastian Brock,“So too, body and soul need the wood of the cross.”

[6] CB709:212.

CHRIST THE LIFE OF THE WORLD

AUGUSTINE: Unless the Father, you see, had handed over life, we would not have had life. And unless life itself had died, death would not have been slain. It is the Lord Christ himself, of course, that is life, about whom John the Evangelist says, “This is the true God and eternal life.” [1] It was he himself that through the prophet had also threatened death with death, saying, “I will be your death, O death; I will be your sting.” [2] This was as though he had said, “I will slay you by dying. I will swallow you up. I will take all your power away from you. I will rescue the captives you have held. You wanted to hold me, though innocent. It is right that you should lose those you had the power to hold.” SERMON 265B.4. [3]

[1] 1 Jn 5:20.

[2] Hos 13:14.

[3] WSA 3 7:250.

RESTORATION TO WHAT WE WERE CREATED TO BE

BEDE: Our Redeemer and Maker, who was Son of God before the ages, became Son of man at the end of ages. Thus the one who, through the power of his divinity, had created us to enjoy the happiness of everlasting life, might himself restore us, through the weakness of our humanity, to recover the life we had lost. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 2.18. [1]

[1] CS 111:186.

3:17 | God Sent His Son Not to Condemn but to Save

RESISTING THE PHYSICIAN’S HELP

AUGUSTINE: As far as it lies in the power of the physician, he has come to heal the sick. Whoever does not observe his orders destroys himself…. Why would he be called the Savior of the world unless he saves the world? TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 12.12. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 7:85**.

TWO ADVENTS:

PARDON AND JUDGMENT

CHRYSOSTOM: Many of the more careless sort, using the loving kindness of God to increase the magnitude of their sins and the excess of their disregard, speak in this way, saying: There is no hell, no future punishment. God forgives all our sins….

But let us remember that there are two advents of Christ, one past, the other to come. The first was not to judge but to pardon us. The second will be not to pardon but to judge us. It is of the first that he says, “I have not come to judge the world but to save the world.” But of the second he says, “When the Son shall come in the glory of his Father, he will set the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.” [1] And the sheep will go into life and the goats into eternal punishment…. But because he is merciful, for a time he pardons instead of judging. For if he had judged immediately, everyone would have been rushed into perdition, for “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” [2] Don’t you see the unspeakable surplus of his loving kindness? HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 28.1. [3]

[1] Mt 25:31, 33.

[2] Rom 3:23.

[3] NPNF 1 14:96-97**.

3:18 | Those Who Do Not Believe Are Condemned Already

THERE IS NO NEED TO JUDGE BELIEVERS

HILARY OF POITIERS: “He who believes,” says Christ, “is not judged.” And is there any need to judge a believer? Judgment arises out of ambiguity, and where ambiguity ceases, there is no call for trial and judgment. And so, not even unbelievers need to be judged, because there is no doubt about their being unbelievers. But after exempting believers and unbelievers alike from judgment, the Lord added a case for judgment of the human agents on whom it must be exercised. For there are some who stand midway between the godly and the ungodly, having affinities to both but strictly belonging to neither class, because they have come to be what they are by a combination of the two…. For many are kept within the pale of the church by the fear of God, yet they are tempted all the while to worldly faults by the allurements of the world. They pray, because they are afraid; they sin, because it is their will…. These, then, are they whom the judgment awaits that unbelievers have already had passed on them and believers do not need. HOMILY ON PSALM 1.21-22. [1]

[1] NPNF 2 9:241-42**.

DISBELIEF ITSELF IS THE PUNISHMENT

CHRYSOSTOM: He either means that disbelief itself is the punishment of the impenitent, insofar as being impenitent is to be without light, and to be without light is of itself the greatest punishment. Or he is announcing beforehand what is to be. Even if a murderer is not yet sentenced by the judge, still his crime has already condemned him. In the same way, he who does not believe is dead, even as Adam, on the day that he ate of the tree, died. [1] HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 28.1. [2]

[1] Gen 2:17 LXX.

[2] NPNF 1 14:97**.

THE DAY OF JUDGMENT

GREGORY THE GREAT: In the last judgment some perish without being judged. It says here of those… “He who does not believe is condemned already.”… Therefore, even all unbelievers rise again, but they rise to torment, not to judgment. For the day of judgment does not try those who are already banished from the sight of a discerning judge because of their unbelief. Rather, it tries those who, retaining the profession of faith, have no works to show that back up that profession. For those who have not kept even the sacraments of faith do not even hear the curse of the Judge at the last trial. They have already, in the darkness of their unbelief, received their sentence and are not thought worthy of being convicted by the rebuke of him whom they had despised again…. For an earthly sovereign, in the government of his state, has a different rule of punishment in the case of the disaffected subject and the foreign rebel. In the former case he consults the civil law, but against the enemy he proceeds at once to war and repays his malice with the punishment it deserves without referencing the law, inasmuch as he who never submitted to law has no claim to suffer by the law. MORALS ON THE BOOK OF JOB 26.27.50. [1]

[1] LF 23:171-72**.

SINS AND TRANSGRESSIONS IN OUR OWN POWER

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: The prophet says with justification, “The ungodly are not so, but as the chaff that the wind drives away from the face of the earth. And so, the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment” [1] because they are already condemned since “those who do not believe are condemned already.” “Nor do sinners sit in the counsel of the righteous,” inasmuch as they too are already condemned and are not united to those who have lived without stumbling. “For the Lord knows the way of the righteous; and the way of the ungodly shall perish.” [2] Again, the Lord clearly shows sins and transgression to be in our own power. STROMATEIS 2.15. [3]

[1] Ps 1:4-5.

[2] Ps 1:5-6.

[3] ANF 2:363*.

SEPARATION FROM GOD IS SELF-INFLICTED

IRENAEUS: Separation from God is death, and separation from light is darkness. Separation from God consists in the loss of all the benefits that he has in store…. This is the same thing that happens in the case of a flood of light: those who have blinded themselves or have been blinded by others are forever deprived of the enjoyment of light. It is not that the light has inflicted on them the penalty of blindness, but it is that the blindness itself has brought calamity on them. Therefore the Lord declared, “He who believes in me is not condemned,” that is, he is not separated from God, for he is united to God through faith. On the other hand, he says, “He who believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God,” that is, he has separated himself from God by his own doing. AGAINST HERESIES 5.27.2. [1]

[1] SC 153:342-46; ANF 1:556**.

3:19 | Condemnation of Those Who Love Darkness

THE LIGHT COMES TO THEM, BUT THEY REFUSE

CHRYSOSTOM: They are punished because they would not leave the darkness and hurry to the light…. Had I come to demand an accounting of their deeds, they might have been able to say that was the reason they stayed away. But now I have come to free them from the darkness and to bring them to the light. Who can pity the person who does not choose to approach the light when it comes to him but would rather remain in the darkness? HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 28.2. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:97**.

THE POWER TO DETERMINE OUR OWN PUNISHMENT

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Jesus says that unbelievers had the opportunity to be illuminated but preferred to remain in darkness. Such people, in fact, by failing to choose enlightenment, determine their own punishment against themselves and provoke their own suffering, which was in their power to escape. God preserved human freedom so that people might justly receive praise for good things and punishment for the contrary. As indeed he shows in another place, saying, “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword.” [1] COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 2.1. [2]

[1] Is 1:19-20.

[2] LF 43:177**.

CHOOSING TO REMAIN IN WICKEDNESS

CHRYSOSTOM: Then, because it seemed incredible that someone should prefer the light to darkness, he gives the reason for the infatuation, that is, that their deeds were evil…. Indeed, if he had come for judgment, there would have at least been a reason for not receiving him because one who is conscious of his crimes naturally avoids the judge. But criminals practically run to meet one who brings them pardon. Therefore, it might have been expected that those who are conscious of their sins would have gone to meet Christ, as many indeed did. Publicans and sinners came and sat down with Jesus…. But the majority was too cowardly to undergo the work of virtue for righteousness’ sake, and they persisted in their wickedness to the end…. They are always doing evil and looking for ways to roll around in the mire of sin, with no desire to subject themselves to my laws. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 28.2. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:97-98**.

THE ENSLAVING POWER OF FREE REASON

APOLLINARIS OF LAODICEA: Those who love darkness instead of the light have no excuse. They did not fail to believe Christ because of their ignorance but because they wanted to do what is evil, which Christ’s teaching would not permit. Then, whenever we hear “they could not believe,” let us understand this as not referring to the ability of their nature or to their subjugation to someone else but to their own free reason, which enslaved them to dishonorable passions, not wanting to let them revolt from their very base habits. For these know “the light,” but do not come to it, in case they might be convicted for their hypocrisy for saying that they know God while denying him by their actions. FRAGMENTS ON JOHN 14. [1]

[1] JKGK 9.

3:20 | Evildoers Hate the Light

LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TRUTH

AUGUSTINE: People love truth when it shines on them and hate it when it rebukes them. For, because they are not willing to be deceived but definitely want to practice the art of deception, they love truth when it reveals itself and hate it when it reveals them. Because of this, truth shall requite them in such a way that those who were unwilling to be discovered by it are not only discovered by it against their will but also without revealing itself to them. This is the way the human mind, so blind and sick, so base and unseemly, desires to lie concealed but still not wanting anything to be concealed from it. Instead, it receives quite the opposite—not only is it not concealed from the truth, but the truth is concealed from it. Yet, even while it is as wretched as that, it still ultimately prefers to rejoice in truth rather than in falsehood. It looks forward to the day when, without any further trouble intervening, it will rejoice in that one truth by whom everything else is true. CONFESSIONS 10.23.34. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 1:152**.

THOSE INFATUATED WITH WICKEDNESS HATE THE LIGHT

CHRYSOSTOM: He said this about those who choose to remain in wickedness all the time. He indeed came so that he might forgive our former sins and secure them against those sins to come. But since there are some so relaxed, so powerless when it comes to virtue that they remain infatuated with wickedness until their dying breath, he reflects here on these kinds of people. For since, he says, the profession of Christianity requires a sound way of life besides right doctrine, they are afraid to come over to us because they would rather not have to live a righteous life. On the other hand, no one can blame a heathen because, with the kinds of gods he has and the foul and ridiculous rites that go along with those gods, his actions suit his doctrines. But those who belong to the true God, if they live a careless life, everyone will call them to account and accuse them. Even its enemies admire its truth. Observe, then, how exactly Jesus lays out what he is saying. His expression is not “the one who has done evil does not come to the light” but “the one who does it all the time, who desires always to roll himself in the mire of sin—this is the one who will not subject himself to my laws but chooses to stay outside and commit fornication without fear and do all kinds of other forbidden things. For if he comes to me, the light exposes him as a thief, which is why he avoids my dominion.” HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 28.2. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 14:98**.

3:21 | That Their Deeds May Be Known

THE GOOD REJOICES IN BEING SEEN

TERTULLIAN: The things that make us luminaries of the world are these—our good works. What is good, moreover (provided it is true and full), does not love darkness: it rejoices in being seen and exults over the very recognition it receives. To Christian modesty it is not enough to be so but to also appear so. For its fullness should be so great that it flows out from the mind to the clothing and bursts out from the conscience to the outward appearance. ON THE DRESS OF WOMEN 2.13. [1]

[1] CCL 1:369; ANF 4:25*.

NOT ONE’S OWN MERITS

AUGUSTINE: He declares that the works of the one who comes to the light are wrought in God, because he is quite aware that his justification results from no merits of his own but from the grace of God. ON THE MERITS AND FORGIVENESS OF SINS AND ON INFANT BAPTISM 1.62. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 5:40**.

HATE YOUR OWN WORK; LOVE THE WORK OF GOD IN YOU

AUGUSTINE: But if God has discovered everyone’s works to be evil, how is it that any have done the truth and come to the light?… Now what [Jesus] said is that they “loved darkness rather than light.” He lays the emphasis on that. Many have loved their sins. Many also have confessed them…. God accuses your sins, and if you accuse them too, you are joined to God…. You must hate your own work and love the work of God in you. And when your own deeds begin to displease you, that is when your good works begin as you begin to find fault with your evil works. The beginning of good works is the confession of evil works, and then you do the truth and come to the light. How do you do the truth? You do not soothe or flatter yourself or say, “I am righteous,” while in actuality you are unrighteous. This is how you begin to do the truth. You come to the light so that your works may be shown to originate in God. And you have come to the light because this very sin in you, which displeases you, would not displease you if God did not shine on you and his truth show it to you. But the one who loves his sin, even after being admonished, hates the light admonishing him and flees from it so that his works that he loves may not be proved to be evil…. For little sins, if allowed to accumulate, lead to death. Little drops swell the river. Little grains of sand become a heap that presses and weighs down. The sea coming in little by little, unless it is pumped out, sinks the ship. And what does it mean “to pump out,” except that you do good works, mourn, fast, give and forgive so that sins do not overwhelm you? TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 12.13-14. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 7:85-86**.