1727. Above, the Evangelist set forth some of the events leading to Christ’s passion and death; in this part he shows how Christ prepared his disciples before his passion. 1727. Supra Evangelista posuit quasdam occasiones passionis et mortis Christi; in parte ista ostendit quomodo Christus discipulos suos praeparat ante suam passionem, et First, we see how he formed them by his example; primo ostendit quomodo informavit eos exemplo; second, how he comforted them with his words, let not your hearts be troubled (John 14:1); secundo quomodo confortavit verbo, et hoc infra XIV capit. non turbetur cor vestrum; third, how he strengthened them by the help of his prayers, these things Jesus spoke, and lifting his eyes to heaven, he said (John 17:1). tertio quomodo praemunivit eos orationum suffragio, infra XVII haec locutus est Iesus, et sublevatis oculis in caelum, dixit etc. Concerning the first he does two things: Circa primum duo facit. first, he presents the example Christ gave for his disciples to imitate; Primo ponit exemplum quod Christus praebuit suis discipulis imitandum; and second we see the weakness of the disciples, who were not yet ready to follow him, when Jesus had said these things, he was troubled (John 13:21). secundo discipulorum defectum, qui nondum erant idonei ad sequendum, ibi cum haec dixisset Iesus, turbatus est. Concerning the first he does three things: Circa primum tria facit. first, he sets forth the example; Primo ponit exemplum; second, he shows that the example was useful, he came therefore to Simon Peter (John 13:6); secundo subdit exempli utilitatem, ibi venit ergo ad Simonem Petrum; third, we see Jesus asking them to imitate it, then after he had washed their feet . . . he said to them (John 13:12). tertio ad imitandum inducit, ibi postquam ergo lavit pedes eorum . . . dixit eis. Concerning the first he does two things: Circa primum duo facit. first, he describes the love of Christ, who is giving the example; Primo proponit Christi, exemplum dantis, affectum; second, the action in which he gave the example, and when supper was done. secundo innuit factum in quo dedit exemplum, ibi et coena facta etc. Concerning the first he mentions three things: Circa primum tria tanguntur. first, the feast about to be celebrated; Primo quidem festum praesens; second, the approaching death of Christ; secundo mors Christi imminens; third, Christ’s burning love. tertio Christi dilectio fervens. 1728. The feast at hand was the Passover; so he says, now before the festival day of the Pasch. 1728. Festum praesens, Pascha erat; et hoc est quod dicit ante diem festum Paschae etc. Here we should note that some say the word ‘pascha’ comes from the Greek word for passion, and that this feast is called the Pascha because it is then that we celebrate the passion of our Lord. As a matter of fact, the word ‘pascha’ in Greek means to ‘suffer’. Yet the primary origin of this word is from the Hebrew word, ‘pesah’, which means a ‘passage’: it is the pesah, passage, or a passing over, of the Lord (Exod 12:11). This is the meaning the Evangelist gives it here because of two passings. The first was the passing of the angel striking down the first-born of the Egyptians and sparing the first-born of the Hebrews (Ex 12:12); and the other was the passage of the children of Israel through the Red Sea. So it was reasonable to call this feast the ‘pascha’. We can say that our Passover takes its meaning from both languages, Greek and Hebrew. For the passage of Christ from this world to the Father took place through his passion. He passed about doing good and healing all (Acts 10:38). Again, all of us who follow Christ have our own passage: either by reform and martyrdom, according to the saying, we have passed through fire and water and you have brought us to a place of refreshment (Ps 66:12); or by the desire of our mind aspiring to heavenly things: pass over to me all you who desire me and be filled with my fruits (Sir 24:19). Hic notandum est, quod hoc nomen ‘Pascha’ quidam dicunt esse Graecum, ita quod dicatur a passione, quasi inde festum istud vocetur Pascha, quia tunc celebratur passio Dominica; et quidem concordat cum Graeco, nam ‘pascha’ in Graeco idem est quod ‘pati’ prima autem origo huius vocabuli ex Hebraeo habetur: ‘pascha’ enim dicitur quasi ‘phase’, idest transitus Domini, ut dicitur Ex. c. XII, 1. Interpretatur autem hic isto modo Evangelista propter duplicem transitum. Unum qui praecessit, scilicet angeli percutientis primogenita Aegypti, et salvantis primogenita Hebraeorum; alium, qui sequitur, filiorum Israel transeuntium Mare Rubrum. Et ideo bene factum est ut vocetur ‘pascha’ festum istud. Et sic possumus dicere, quod Pascha nostrum habet significationem utriusque linguae, Hebraeae scilicet, et Graecae, quia in ipsa passione domini fuit transitus Christi ex hoc mundo ad Patrem; Act. X, v. 38: pertransivit benefaciendo et sanando. Item transitus omnium nostrum, sequendo Christum, vel per poenitentiam et martyrium, secundum illud Ps. LX, 12: transivimus per ignem et aquam; et eduxisti nos in refrigerium, vel mentis desiderio ad caelestia anhelando, secundum illud Eccli. XXIV, v. 26: transite ad me, omnes qui concupiscitis me, et a generationibus meis implemini. 1729. This however is called festival day antonomastically. The Jews had three great feasts, when they gathered together in a place chosen by the Lord: the Pesah, when the lamb was sacrificed, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles, that is, the Skenopegia (Exod 23:14). But the greatest feast was that of the Passover. 1729. Hoc autem quod dicit diem festum, antonomastice dicitur. Nam, ut legitur Ex. XXIII, 14 ss., tres dies anni solemnes erant, in quibus Iudaei convenire debebant in locum quem elegerat Dominus: scilicet phase, quando immolabatur Pascha, et Pentecosten, et festum tabernaculorum, scilicet Scenopegiae. Sed dies Paschae inter alios celeberrimus erat. A problem arises as to why he says here, before the festival day of the Pasch, for the feast of the Passover is when the lamb was sacrificed, that is, on the 14th day of the month. So since he says, before the festival day of the Pasch, it seems that this was taking place on the 13th day, the day before the 14th. And indeed, the Greeks accept this, and say that our Lord suffered on the 14th, when the Jews were supposed to celebrate the Passover, and that our Lord, knowing that his passion was near, anticipated the celebration of the Passover and celebrated his own Passover on the day before the Passover feast of the Jews. And because it is commanded in Exodus (12:18) that from the evening of the 14th day to the 21st day the Hebrews should not have any leavened bread, they further say that the Lord celebrated not with unleavened bread, but with leavened bread, for before the festival day of the Pasch, because Hebrews did have leavened bread on the 13th day, that is, before the Passover. Sed dubium hic incidit de hoc quod dicit ante diem festum Paschae: nam dies festus Paschae dicitur ille dies in quo immolabatur agnus, quod erat luna quartadecima. Cum ergo dicat quod hoc fuit ante diem festum Paschae, videtur quod hoc fuerit factum luna tertiadecima, quae praecedebat quartamdecimam lunam. Quod quidem Graeci sequentes, dicunt quod Dominus passus est luna quartadecima quando Iudaei suum Pascha celebrare debebant: et ideo Dominus sciens sibi imminere passionem, praevenit celebrationem Paschae, et in praecedenti die celebravit Pascha suum, ante festum Paschae Iudaeorum. Sed quia Ex. XII, 18 praecipitur ut a decimaquarta die ad vesperam usque ad vigesimam primam diem mensis non inveniretur fermentum apud Hebraeos, dicunt ulterius, quod Dominus confecit non in azymis, sed in fermentato: nam ante diem festum Paschae, idest tertiadecima luna, inveniebatur fermentatum apud Hebraeos. But the other three Evangelists do not agree with this, for they say the time was the first day of unleavened bread, when the lamb was to be sacrificed (Matt 26:17; Mark 14:12; Luke 22:7). It follows from this that our Lord’s supper took place on the very day that the Jews sacrificed the lamb. Huic autem sententiae tres alii Evangelistae contrariantur: nam ipsi dicunt, scilicet Matth. XXVI, 17, Mc. XIV, 12, Lc. XXII, 7, quod fuit prima die azymorum quando debebat immolari Pascha. Ex quo sequitur quod coena Domini eo die facta fuit quo immolabatur Pascha Iudaeorum. 1730. The Greeks respond to this that the other Evangelists did not report this truly; and so John, who wrote the last of the Gospels, corrected them. But it is heresy to say that there is anything false not only in the Gospels but anywhere in the canonical Scriptures. Consequently, we have to say that all the Evangelists state the same thing and do not disagree. 1730. Ad quod quidem Graeci respondent dicentes, alios Evangelistas non vere narrasse hoc factum, et ideo Ioannes, qui ultimum Evangelium scripsit, eos correxit. Sed haereticum est dicere, quod aliquid falsum, non solum in Evangeliis, sed etiam in quacumque canonica Scriptura inveniatur: et ideo necessarium est dicere, quod omnes Evangelistae dicunt idem, et in nullo discordant. To elucidate this it should be noted that, the feasts of the Jews began on the evening of the preceding day (Lev 23:5). The reason for this was that they reckoned their days according to the moon, which first appears in the evening; so, they counted their days from one sunset to the next. Thus for them, the Passover began on the evening of the preceding day and ended on the evening of the day of the Passover. We celebrate feasts in the same way; so something that takes place with us on the vigil of Christmas is said to have happened on Christmas. And so the other Evangelists, using this way of speaking, said that the supper took place on the first day of unleavened bread, meaning it took place on the evening before the first full day of the feast of unleavened bread. But here, John the Evangelist regards the Passover as that entire daytime which was celebrated, but not as the evening before, which was also celebrated. Thus he says, before the festival day of the Pasch. Ad huius igitur evidentiam sciendum est, quod, sicut habetur Lev. XXIII, 5, solemnitates Iudaeorum incipiebant a vespera praecedentis diei. Cuius ratio est, quia numerabant dies secundum lunam, quae de sero primo apparet, unde et diem computabant de uno sero in alium. Et sic apud eos solemnitas Paschae incipiebat a vespera praecedentis diei, et terminabatur in vespere diei Paschae; sicut et apud nos festa celebrantur. Sic ergo aliquid factum apud nos in vigilia natalis Domini, potest dici factum esse in festo natalis. Quem quidem modum servantes, alii Evangelistae dixerunt coenam esse factam primo die azymorum, quia facta fuit die praecedenti ad vesperam, qui iam pertinebat ad primum diem azymorum. Ioannes autem Evangelista hic diem festum Paschae accipit pro illo die qui totus celebris erat, non autem pro illo cuius vespere solum erat celebre, qui erat dies praecedens Pascha: et ideo dicit ante diem festum Paschae. Consequently, it is clear that our Lord’s supper took place on the 14th day in the evening. Patet ergo quod coena Domini facta est luna quartadecima ad vesperam. 1731. The death of Christ, which was approaching, was his passage from this world by his passion. And as to this he says, Jesus knowing that his hour had come: for this feast was a symbol of the passion of Christ: all these things happened to them as symbols (1 Cor 10:11). So he at once mentions the reality, that is, the passion of Christ. And as a way of showing that the word ‘pascha’ came from ‘pesah’, meaning a passage, he mentions his passage, that he should pass out of this world to the Father. 1731. Mors autem Christi imminens, erat transitus eius ex hoc mundo per passionem; et quantum ad hoc dicit sciens Iesus quia venit hora eius: nam illa solemnitas Iudaeorum, figura erat passionis Christi, omnia enim in figura contingebant illis: I Cor. c. X, 11, et ideo statim ponit veritatem, scilicet passionem Christi. Et quasi exponens quod ‘pascha’ dicatur a ‘phase’, idest transitu, mentionem facit de transitu ut transeat, inquit, ex hoc mundo ad Patrem. 1732. Here the Evangelist mentions three things about the passion of Christ: first, that it was foreseen; second, that it was fitting; third, it was a source of benefits and exaltation. 1732. Ubi tria ponit circa passionem Christi. Primo, quod fuit praevisa; secundo, quod fuit congrua, tertio, quod fuit promotiva et exaltativa. It was foreseen and not fortuitous; so he says, Jesus knowing. He is saying in effect; Jesus suffered knowingly and willingly, not unexpectedly and unwillingly. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him (John 18:4). The opposite is said of us: there is great affliction for man because he is ignorant of things past, and things to come he cannot know in any way (Eccl 8:7). Praevisa quidem fuit, non casualis, et quantum ad hoc dicit sciens Iesus; quasi dicat: non invitus, non inscius, sed sciens et voluntarius passus est etc.; infra XVIII, 4: sciens Jesus omnia quae ventura erant. E converso dicitur de nobis, Eccle. VIII, 6: multa hominis afflictio: quia nescit praeterita, et quae ventura sunt nullo modo scire potest. 1733. The passion of Christ was fitting, first as to its time; and as to this he says, that his hour had come, which was the time of the Passover, when his passage would be by the cross: there is a time and opportunity for every business (Eccl 8:6). This is the hour of which he said, my hour has not yet come (John 2:4). Yet this hour was not a matter of fate, as though governed by the course and arrangement of the stars; it was determined by the disposition and providence of God. I say, therefore, it was determined for the Jewish Passover because it was fitting to this Jewish feast that the reality follow the symbol, that is, that when the lamb, which was a symbol of Christ, was sacrificed, Christ, who was truly the Lamb of God, should be immolated. You know that you were ransomed . . . not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot (1 Pet 1:18–19). 1733. Congrua autem fuit quantum ad tempus, et quantum ad hoc dicit quia venit hora eius, idest ipse dies Paschae, quo transiret per crucem; Eccle. VIII, 6: omni negotio tempus est et opportunitas. Haec est hora illa de qua dicitur supra II, 4: nondum venit hora mea. Nec est intelligenda hora ista fatalis, quasi subiecta cursui et dispositioni stellarum, sed determinata dispositione et providentia divina. Ideo, inquam, determinata in Pascha Iudaeorum, quia congruebat solemnitati Iudaeorum ut veritas sequeretur figuram, dum quando agnus, qui figurabat Christum, immolaretur Christus, qui est vere Agnus Dei; I Petr. I, 18: non corruptibilibus auro vel argento redempti estis de vana vestra conversatione paternae traditionis; sed pretioso sanguine Agni immaculati Christi, et incontaminati. It was also fitting to the situation, for Christ was now glorified: now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him (John 13:31). He had already revealed the Father to the world: I have manifested your name to the men whom you have given me out of the world (John 17:6). What remained, therefore, was to accomplish his passion and the work of human redemption, about which we read: it is consummated, followed by, and bowing his head, he gave up his spirit (John 19:30). Congruebat etiam negotiis. Iam enim Christus clarificatus erat; infra eodem: nunc clarificatus est Filius hominis, et Deus clarificatus est in eo. Iam Patrem manifestaverat mundo; infra XVII, 6: Pater, manifestavi nomen tuum hominibus, quos dedisti mihi de mundo. Restabat ergo ut consummaret opus passionis et humanae redemptionis, de quo dicitur infra XIX, 30: consummatum est, et sequitur: inclinato capite, emisit spiritum. 1734. The passion of Christ was a source of benefits and glory, not of defeat, because it was in order that he could that he should pass out of this world to the Father, by making his human nature a partaker in the glory of the Father: I ascend to my Father and to your Father, to my God and your God (John 20:17). This does not mean that he would pass from one place to another, since God the Father is not contained by any place: do I not fill heaven and earth? (Jer 23:24). Rather, just as Christ is said to have come from the Father, not by leaving him, but by assuming an inferior nature like our own, so he is said to have returned to the Father insofar as, even in his human nature, he became a sharer in the Father’s glory. The life he lives he lives to God (Rom 6:10); every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father (Phil 2:11). 1734. Promotiva fuit passio Christi et exaltativa, et non oppressiva: quia ut transeat ex hoc mundo ad Patrem, idest, faciendo humanam naturam participem Paternae gloriae; infra XX, 17: ascendo ad Patrem vestrum, Deum meum, et Deum vestrum. Non autem intelligendum est quod transeat de loco ad locum, cum Deus Pater non comprehendatur loco; Ier. XXIII, 24: caelum et terram ego impleo. Sed, sicut Christus dicitur venisse a Patre non eum deserendo sed assumendo naturam inferiorem similem nobis, ita et intantum dicitur ad eum rediisse inquantum etiam secundum humanitatem factum est consors Paternae gloriae; Rom. VI, 10: quod autem vivit, vivit Deo; Phil. II, 11: omnis lingua confiteatur, quia Dominus Iesus Christus in gloria est Dei Patris. 1735. Then when he says, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end, he commends the intense love of Christ; and this on four points. 1735. Consequenter cum dicit cum dilexisset suos, qui erant in mundo, in finem dilexit eos, commendatur fervens Christi dilectio, et hoc quantum ad quatuor. First, because his love was first, according to not that we have loved God, but that he has first loved us (1 John 4:10). And as to this he says, having loved his own, suggesting that this was in advance of our love. I say he loved us before he created us: for you love all things that exist, and have loathing for none of the things which you have made (Wis 11:24). He loved us before he called us: I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have drawn you, taking pity on you (Jer 31:3). And he loved us before he redeemed us: greater love than this no man has, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). Primo quantum ad hoc quod fuit praeveniens, secundum illud I Io. IV, 10: non quasi nos dilexerimus Deum, sed quoniam ipse prior dilexit nos. Et quantum ad hoc dicit cum dilexisset suos, quasi antea: dilexit, inquam, antequam crearet; Sap. XI, 25: diligis omnia quae sunt, et nihil odisti eorum quae fecisti. Dilexit antequam vocaret; Ier. XXXI, 3: in caritate perpetua dilexi te, ideo attraxi te miserans. Dilexit antequam redimeret; infra XV, 13: maiorem caritatem nemo habet, ut animam suam ponat quis pro amicis suis. 1736. Second, his love is commended as fitting, because he loved them. 1736. Secundo commendatur eius dilectio quantum ad hoc quod fuit congrua, quia dilexit suos. Here we should note that God loves persons in various ways, depending on the various ways they are Christ’s. Now, one can be his in three ways. First, by creation; and God loves these by conserving their goods of nature: he came unto his own, and his own, by creation, received him not (John 1:11). Others are his by dedication, that is, those given to him by God the Father through faith: yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word (John 17:6); and he loves these by preserving their goods of grace. Finally, some are his by a special devotion: behold, we are your bone and flesh (1 Chr 11:1); he loves these by consoling them in a special way. Ubi sciendum est quod secundum quod aliqui diversimode sunt sui, secundum hoc a Deo diversimode diliguntur. Sunt autem aliqui sui tripliciter. Primo creatione; et hos diligit conservando eis bona naturae; supra I, v. 11: in propria venit, et sui, per creationem, eum non receperunt. Aliqui vero sunt sui dedicatione, qui scilicet dati sunt a Deo Patre per fidem; infra XVII, 6: tui erant, et mihi eos dedisti, et sermonem tuum servaverunt. Et hos diligit conservando in bonis gratiae. Aliqui vero sunt sui speciali devotione; I Paral. XI, 1: tui sumus, O David, et caro tua. Hos diligit specialiter consolando.