699. Above, our Lord dealt with spiritual rebirth; here he deals with the benefits God gives to those who are spiritually reborn. Now we see that parents give three things to those who are physically born from them: life, nourishment, and instruction or discipline. And those who are spiritually reborn receive these three from Christ: first spiritual life; second spiritual nourishment and third spiritual teaching. 699. Supra Dominus egit de regeneratione spirituali; hic agit consequenter de beneficiis quae regeneratis spiritualiter conferuntur a Deo. Sed his qui carnaliter generantur tria conferuntur a parentibus carnalibus: scilicet vita, nutrimentum et doctrina sive disciplina; et haec tria a Christo etiam regenerati spiritualiter percipiunt. Primo quidem spiritualem vitam; secundo vero spirituale nutrimentum; tertio spiritualem doctrinam. And so these three things are considered here: Secundum hoc ergo de tribus hic agitur. first, the giving of spiritual life; Primo de collatione spiritualis vitae; second, the giving of spiritual food, at after these things, Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is that of Tiberias (John 6:1); and secundo de collatione spiritualis cibi; et hoc infra VI, ibi post haec abiit Iesus etc.; third, spiritual teaching, at after these things, Jesus walked in Galilee (John 7:1). tertio de spirituali doctrina, infra VII post haec ambulabat Iesus. About the first he does three things. Circa primum tria facit. First, he sets forth a visible sign in which he shows Christ’s power to produce and to restore life. This is the usual practice in this Gospel: to always join to the teaching of Christ some appropriate visible action, so that what is invisible can be made known through the visible. Primo proponit signum visibile, in quo manifestatur virtus Christi factiva et reparativa vitae, secundum consuetudinem huius Evangelii, in quo semper doctrinae Christi adiungitur aliquod visibile factum, pertinens ad illud de quo est doctrina, ut sic ex visibilibus invisibilia innotescant. Second, the occasion for this teaching is given, at and it was the Sabbath that day. Secundo ponitur occasio doctrinae proponendae, ibi erat autem Sabbatum etc. Third, the teaching itself is given, at then Jesus answered and said to them: amen, amen I say unto you, the Son cannot do anything of himself (John 5:18–19). Tertio ponitur ipsa doctrina, ibi respondit itaque Iesus: amen, amen dico vobis etc. As to the first he does three things. Circa primum tria facit. First, the place of the miracle is given. Primo describitur locus miraculi perpetrati; Second, the illness involved, at and there was a certain man there, having been under his infirmity thirty-eight years. secundo infirmitas, ibi erat autem ibi homo etc.; Third, the restoration of the sick person to health, at Jesus said to him: arise, take up your bed and walk. tertio restitutio sanitatis, ibi dixit ei Iesus: surge, tolle grabatum tuum, et ambula. 700. The place of this miracle is described in two ways: in general and in particular. 700. Locus autem miraculi describitur dupliciter, scilicet generalis et specialis. The general place is Jerusalem; so he says, after this, i.e., after the miracle performed in Galilee, there was a festival day of the Jews, that is Pentecost, according to Chrysostom. For above, when Christ went to Jerusalem, it was the Passover that was mentioned; and now, on the following festival of Pentecost, Jesus went up to Jerusalem again. For as we read, the Lord commanded that all Jewish males be presented in the temple three times a year: on the festival days of the Passover, Pentecost, and the Dedication (Exod 23:17). Generalis locus est Ierosolyma; et ideo dicit: post haec, idest post miraculum in Galilaea factum, erat dies festus Iudaeorum; scilicet Pentecostes, secundum Chrysostomum: nam supra fit mentio de festo Paschae, quando ierat in Ierusalem. Nunc ergo in sequenti festo Pentecostes, ascendit Iesus Ierosolymam, iterato: nam, sicut legitur Ex. XXIII, 17, mandatum erat a Domino, ut omne masculinum generis Iudaeorum tribus vicibus in anno, scilicet in die festo Paschae, Pentecostes, Scenopegiae, in templo praesentaretur. There were two reasons why our Lord went up to Jerusalem for these festivals. First, so that he would not seem to oppose the law, for he said himself: I have not come to destroy the law, but to complete it (Matt 5:17); and in order to draw the many people gathered there on the feast days to God by his signs and teaching: I will praise him in the midst of the people (Ps 108:30); and again, I have declared your justice in the great assembly (Ps 39:10). So Christ himself says: I have spoken openly to the world (John 18:20). Et in istis festis Dominus in Ierusalem ascendit propter duo: scilicet ne videretur legi fore contrarius, sicut ipse dixerat, Matth. c. V, 17: non veni legem solvere, sed adimplere: et ut multitudinem populi illuc concurrentis in diebus festis ad Deum per signa et doctrinam trahat, secundum illud Ps. CVIII, v. 30: in medio multorum laudabo eum: et alibi annuntiabo iustitiam tuam in Ecclesia magna. Unde et ipse dicit, infra XVIII, 20: ego palam locutus sum mundo. 701. The specific place of the miracle was the pool called the Sheep Pool; so he says, now there is a pond at Jerusalem, called the Sheep Pool. This is described here in four ways: by its name, its structure, from its occupants, and from its power. 701. Locus autem specialis miraculi fuit probatica piscina; et ideo dicit: est Ierosolymis Probatica Piscina etc., quae quidem describitur ex quatuor, scilicet ex nomine, ex dispositione, ex inhabitatione, et ex virtute. 702. First, it is described from its name when he says, the Sheep Pool, for probaton is Greek for sheep. It was called the Sheep Pool for it was there that the priests washed the sacrificial animals; especially the sheep, who were used more than the other animals. And so in Hebrew it was called Bethsaida, that is, ‘the house of sheep.’ This pool was located near the temple, and formed from collected rain water. 702. Ex nomine quidem cum dicit Probatica Piscina: probaton enim Graece ovis dicitur. Probatica ergo Piscina, quasi oviaria, vel pecuaria dicitur, ex eo quod sacerdotes cadavera bestiarum, et praecipue ovium, quae ut plurimum in sacrificiis offerebantur, ibi abluebant: et ideo Hebraice cognominabatur Bethsaida, idest ‘domus ovium.’ Erat enim prope templum ex aquis pluvialibus collecta. 703. In its mystical sense, this pool, according to Chrysostom, has prefigured Baptism. For the Lord, wishing to prefigure the grace of baptsim in different ways, first of all chose water: for this washes the body from the uncleanness which came from contact with what was legally unclean (Num 19). Second, he gave this pool a power that expresses even more vividly than water the power of Baptism: for it not only cleansed the body from its uncleanness, but also healed it from its illness; for symbols are more expressive, the closer they approach the reality. 703. Mystice autem, secundum Chrysostomum, haec piscina baptismum praefigurabat: nam Dominus volens gratiam baptismalem in diversis praefigurare, primo quidem dedit aquam expurgantem corporis sordes, quae erant ex tactu immundorum secundum legem, de qua habetur Num. XIX. Secundo dedit virtutem huic piscinae quae repraesentat expressius quam aqua illa virtutem baptismi, non solum ab immunditiis carnis sanando, sed etiam ab infirmitatibus corporis salvando: nam quanto figurae fuerunt propinquiores veritati, tanto expressiores erant. Thus it signified the power of Baptism: for as this water when applied to the body had the power, not by its own nature, but from an angel, to heal its illness, so the water of Baptism has the power to heal and cleanse the soul from sins: he loved us, and washed us from our sins (Rev 1:5). This is the reason why the passion of Christ, prefigured by the sacrifices of the old law, is represented in Baptism: all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus, have been baptized into his death (Rom 6:3). Signabat ergo virtutem baptismi: quia sicut aqua illa per hoc quod lavabat corpora, habebat virtutem ex angelo, non natura propria, infirmitatem sanandi, ita aqua baptismi habet virtutem sanandi et abluendi animam a peccatis; Apoc. I, 5: dilexit nos, et lavit nos a peccatis nostris. Et inde est quod passio Christi per sacrificia veteris legis praefigurata, in baptismo repraesentatur; Rom. VI, 3: quicumque baptizati estis in Christo Iesu, in morte ipsius baptizati estis etc. According to Augustine, the water in this pool signified the condition of the Jewish people, according to: the waters are the peoples (Rev 17:15). The gentiles were not confined within the limits of the divine law, but each of them lived according to the vanity of his heart (Eph 4:17). But the Jews were confined under the worship of the one God: we were kept under the law, confined, until the faith was revealed (Gal 3:23). So this water, confined to the pool, signified the Jewish people. And it was called the Sheep Pool, for the Jews were the special sheep of God: we are his people, his sheep (Ps 94:7). Secundum Augustinum vero, aqua illius piscinae significabat statum populi Iudaeorum, secundum illud Apoc. XVII, 15: aquae multae, populi multi. Nam populus gentium non erat inclusus sub limite divinae legis, sed unusquisque ambulabat secundum vanitatem cordis sui, secundum illud Eph. IV, 17. Populus vero Iudaeorum conclusus erat sub cultu unius Dei, secundum illud Gal. III, 23: conclusi in eam fidem quae revelanda erat. Et ideo iste populus significabatur per aquam in piscina conclusam. Et dicitur Probatica, quia ipsi erant speciales oves Dei, secundum illud Ps. XCIV, 7: nos autem populus eius, et oves pascuae eius. 704. The pool is described in its structure as having five porches, i.e., round about, so that a number of the priests could stand and wash the bodies of the animals without inconvenience. 704. Ex dispositione autem describitur, quia erat quinque porticus habens, scilicet per circuitum, ut multi sacerdotes absque impedimento commode starent ad lavandum cadavera bestiarum. In the mystical sense these five porticoes, according to Chrysostom, signify the five wounds in the body of Christ; about which we read: bring your hand here, and put it in my side, and do not be faithless, but believing (John 20:27). But according to Augustine, these five porticoes signify the five books of Moses. Per hos quinque porticus mystice significantur, secundum Chrysostomum, quinque vulnera corporis Christi, de quibus dicitur infra XX, 27: mitte manum tuam in latus meum, et noli esse incredulus, sed fidelis. Secundum Augustinum vero, quinque libri Moysi. 705. The pool is also described from its occupants, for in these, porticoes, lay a great multitude of the sick, the blind, the lame and the withered, waiting for the motion of the water. The literal explanation of this is that since all the afflicted persons gathered because of the curative power of the water, which did not always cure nor cure many at the same time, it was inevitable that there be many remaining waiting to be cured. 705. Ex inhabitatione autem describitur, quia in his, scilicet porticus, iacebat multitudo magna languentium, caecorum, claudorum, aridorum etc. Cuius litteralis ratio est propter concursum omnium infirmorum ad virtutem aquae: quae quia continue non sanabat, nec multos simul, oportebat quod multi illic expectantes morarentur. The mystical meaning of this, for Augustine, was that the law was incapable of healing sins: it is impossible that sins be taken away by the blood of bulls and goats (Heb 10:4). The law merely shed light on them, for the knowledge of sin comes from the law (Rom 3:20). Per hoc autem mystice significatur, secundum Augustinum, quod lex non poterat peccata sanare, secundum illud Hebr. X, 4: impossibile est per sanguinem hircorum aut taurorum peccata purgari. Sed ostendebat ea tantum, secundum illud Rom. III, 20: per legem enim cognitio peccati. 706. And so, subject to various illnesses, these people lay there, unable to be cured. They are described in four ways. First, by their posture: for there they lay, i.e., clinging to earthly things by their sins; for one who is lying down is in direct contact with the earth: he had compassion on them, for they were suffering, and lying like sheep without a shepherd (Matt 9:36). But the just do not lie down, but stand upright, toward the things of heaven: they, i.e., sinners, are bound, and have fallen down; but we, the just, have stood and are erect (Ps 19:9). 706. Et ideo iacebant in ea infirmi diversis infirmitatibus, curari non valentes. Quae quidem describuntur quantum ad quatuor. Primo quidem quantum ad situm, quia iacebant prostrati, scilicet per peccata inhaerendo terrenis: qui enim iacet, ex toto inhaeret terrae; Matth. IX, 36: misertus est eorum, quia erant vexati et iacentes, quasi oves non habentes pastorem. Iusti autem non iacent, sed recti ad caelestia stant; Ps. XIX, 9: ipsi, scilicet peccatores, obligati sunt, et ceciderunt; nos autem, scilicet iusti surreximus, et erecti sumus. Second, they are described as to their number, for there was a great multitude: the evil are hard to correct, and the number of fools is infinite (Eccl 1:15); and: the road that leads to destruction is wide, and many go this way (Matt 7:13). Secundo quantum ad numerum quia multi, unde dicit: multitudo magna; Eccle. I, 15: perversi difficile corriguntur, et stultorum infinitus est numerus. Et Matth. VII, 13: lata est via quae ducit ad perditionem, et multi incedunt per eam. Third, these sick people are described as to their condition. And he mentions four things which a person brings on himself through sin. First, a person who is ruled by sinful passions is made listless or feeble: and so he says, the sick. So it is that Cicero calls certain passions of the soul, such as anger and concupiscence and the like, illnesses of the soul. And the Psalm says: have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak (Ps 6:3). Second, due to the rule and victory of a man’s passions, his reason is blinded by consent; and he says as to this, the blind, that is, through sins. Their own evil blinded them (Wis 2:21); and: fire, that is the fire of anger and concupiscence, fell on them, and they did not see the sun (Ps 57:9). Third, a person who is feeble and blind is inconstant in his works and is, in a way, the lame. So we read: the work of the wicked is unsteady (Prov 11:18). With respect to this the Evangelist says, the lame. How long will you be lame? (1 Kgs 18:21). Fourth, a man who is thus feeble, blind in understanding, and lame in his exterior actions, becomes dry in his affections, in the sense that all the fatness of devotion withers within him. This devotion is sought by the Psalm: may my soul be filled with fat and marrow (Ps 62:6). With respect to this the Evangelist says, the withered. My strength is dried up like baked clay (Ps 21:16). Tertio quantum ad dispositionem seu habitum infirmorum. Et ponit quatuor quae homo per peccatum incurrit. Primo enim homo ex hoc quod subiicitur passionibus peccatorum ei praedominantibus, efficitur languidus: et quantum ad hoc dicit languentium. Unde et a Tullio passiones animae, puta irae et concupiscentiae, et huiusmodi, quaedam aegritudines animae dicuntur. Unde Ps. VI, 3, dicebat: miserere mei, Domine quoniam infirmus sum. Secundo vero ex dominio passionum et victoria in homine excaecatur ratio per consensum: et quantum ad hoc dicit caecorum, scilicet per peccata, secundum illud Sap. II, v. 21: excaecavit eos malitia eorum; Ps. LVII, v. 9: supercecidit ignis, scilicet irae et concupiscentiae, et non viderunt solem. Tertio, homo languens et caecus efficitur instabilis in suis operibus, et est quasi claudus; unde dicitur Prov. XI, 18: impius facit opus instabile. Et quantum ad hoc dicit claudorum; III Reg. XVIII, 21: usquequo claudicatis in duas partes? Quarto homo sic languidus, caecus intellectu, claudus in effectu, efficitur aridus in affectu, inquantum exsiccatur in eo omnis pinguedo devotionis, quam petebat Psalmus LXII, 6, dicens: sicut adipe et pinguedine repleatur anima mea. Et quantum ad hoc dicit aridorum; Ps. XXI, 16: aruit tamquam testa virtus mea. But there are some so afflicted by the lassitude of sin, who do not wait for the motion of the water, wallowing in their sins: they live in a great strife of ignorance, and they call so many and great evils peace (Wis 14:22). We read of such people: they are glad when they do evil, and rejoice in the worst of things (Prov 2:14). The reason for this is that they do not hate their sins: they do not sin from ignorance or weakness, but from malice. But others, who do not sin from malice, do not wallow in their sins, but wait by desire for the motion of the water. So he says, waiting. Every day of my service I wait for my relief to come (Job 14:14). This is the way those in the Old Testament waited for Christ: I will wait for your salvation, O Lord (Gen 49:18). Sed sunt aliqui sic affecti languore peccati, qui non expectant aquae motum, in peccatis suis requiescentes, secundum illud Sap. XIV, 22: in magno viventes inscientiae bello, tot et tanta mala pacem appellant. De quibus dicitur Prov. II, 14: laetantur cum male fecerint, et exultant in rebus pessimis. Cuius ratio est, quia non abhorrent peccata; nec peccant ex ignorantia, seu infirmitate, sed ex certa malitia. Isti autem, utpote non ex malitia peccantes, non quiescebant in peccatis sed per desiderium expectabant aquae motum. Unde dicit et expectantium; Iob XIV, 14: cunctis diebus quibus nunc milito, expecto donec veniat immutatio mea. Sic et illi qui erant in Veteri Testamento expectabant Christum, secundum illud Gen., penult., 18: salutare tuum expectabo, Domine. 707. Finally, the power of the pool is described, for it healed all physical illnesses in virtue of an angel who came to it; so he says, and an angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond. 707. Ex virtute vero describitur piscina, quia sanat ab omni infirmitate corporali, virtute angeli descendentis; et ideo dicit angelus autem Domini secundum tempus descendebat in piscinam. In certain ways, the power of this pool is like that of Baptism, and in other ways it differs. Et quidem virtus piscinae in aliquo concordat cum baptismo, et in aliquo differt. It is like it, first, in the fact that its power was unperceived: for the power of the water in this pool did not come from its very nature, otherwise it would have healed at all times; its power was unseen, being from an angel. So he says, and an angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond. The water of Baptism is like this in that precisely as water it does not have the power to cleanse souls, but this comes from the unseen power of the Holy Spirit, according to: unless a man is born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5). It is like it, in a second way, in its effect: for as the water of Baptism heals, so also the water of that pool healed. So he says, and whoever descended first into the pond after the motion of the water was made well. Further, God gave to that water the power to heal so that men by washing might learn through their bodily health to seek their spiritual health. Concordat quidem in duobus. Primo quidem in occultatione virtutis: nam virtus aquae huius piscinae non erat ex natura sua, alias semper sanasset, sed ex aliqua virtute occulta, scilicet ex angelo; unde dicitur, quod angelus Domini secundum tempus descendebat in piscinam. Et similiter aqua baptismi, ex eo quod aqua non habet virtutem purgativam animarum, sed ex occulta virtute Spiritus Sancti, secundum illud supra III, 5: nisi quis renatus fuerit ex aqua et Spiritu Sancto, non potest introire in regnum Dei. Secundo concordat in effectu, quia sicut aqua baptismi sanat, ita et ista piscina sanabat: et ideo dicit, quod qui prior descendisset, sanus fiebat. Ideo autem virtutem sanandi corpora aquae istius piscinae Deus contulit, ut homines abluendo, per salutem corporalem assuescerent quaerere spiritualem. Yet the water of this pool differs from the water of Baptism in three ways. First, in the source of its power: for the water in the pool produced health because of an angel, but the water of Baptism produces its effect by the uncreated power not only of the Holy Spirit, but of the entire Trinity. Thus the entire Trinity was present at the baptism of Christ: the Father in the voice, the Son in person, and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. This is why we invoke the Trinity in our baptism. Second, this water differs in its power: for the water in the pool did not have a continuous power to cure, but only at certain times; while the water of Baptism has a permanent power to cleanse, according to: on that day a fountain will be open to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse the sinner and the unclean (Zech 13:1). Third, this water differs as regards the number of people healed: for only one person was cured when the water of this pool was moved; but all are healed when the water of Baptism is moved. And no wonder: for the power of the water in the pool, since it is created, is finite and has a finite effect; but in the water of Baptism there is an infinite power capable of cleansing an infinite number of souls, if there were such: I will pour clean water upon you, and you will be cleansed from all your uncleanness (Ezek 36:25). Differt autem quantum ad tria. Primo quantum ad id cuius virtute hoc fiebat: quia aqua piscinae conferebat sanitatem virtute angeli; aqua vero baptismi virtute increata, non solum Spiritus Sancti, sed etiam Trinitatis. Unde etiam Matth. III, 16 s. super dominum baptizatum tota Trinitas affuit: Pater in voce, Filius in persona, Spiritus Sanctus in columbae specie. Et inde est quod in nostro baptismo fit invocatio Trinitatis. Secundo differt quantum ad efficaciam: quia aqua piscinae non habuit virtutem sanativam continue, sed secundum tempus, idest determinato tempore; aqua vero baptismi continuam abluendi virtutem habet, secundum illud Zach. XIII, 1: erit fons patens domui Iacob, et habitantibus Ierusalem, in ablutionem peccatoris et menstruatae. Tertio quantum ad multitudinem sanandorum: quia ad motum aquae illius piscinae, sanabatur tantum unus; sed ad motum aquae baptismi sanantur omnes. Nec mirum, quia virtus illius aquae, cum sit creata, finita est, et finitum habet effectum; in hac vero aqua virtus est infinita ad infinitas animas, si essent, abluendas; Ez. XXXVI, 25: effundam super vos aquam mundam, et mundabimini ab omnibus inquinamentis vestris. 708. According to Augustine, however, the angel signifies Christ, according to this reading: he will be called the angel of great counsel (Isa 9:6). Just as the angel descended at certain times into the pool, so Christ descended into the world at a time fixed by the Father: her time is near at hand, and her days shall not be prolonged (Isa 14:1); when the fullness of time had come God sent his Son, made from a woman, made under the law (Gal 4:4). 708. Secundum vero Augustinum, per angelum istum intelligitur Christus, secundum illud Is. IX, 6, secundum aliam litteram: vocabitur magni consilii angelus. Sicut ille angelus secundum tempus descendebat in piscinam, ita et Christus secundum determinatum tempus a Patre descendit in mundum; Is. XIV, v. 1: prope est ut veniat tempus eius, et dies eius non elongabuntur; Gal. IV, 4: at ubi venit plenitudo temporis, misit Deus Filium suum, factum ex muliere, factum sub lege. Again, just as the angel was not seen except by the motion of the water, so Christ was not known as to his divinity, for if they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Cor 2:8). For it is said: truly, you are a hidden God (Isa 45:15). And so the motion of the water was seen, but not the one who set it in motion, because, seeing the weakness of Christ, the people did not know of his divinity. And just as the one who went into the pool was healed, so a person who humbly believes in God is healed by his passion: justified by faith, through the redemption which is in Christ, whom God put forward as an expiation (Rom 3:24). Item sicut ille angelus non videbatur nisi motu aquae, ita etiam Christus secundum divinitatem non cognoscebatur: quia si cognovissent, numquam Dominum gloriae crucifixissent: I Cor. II, 8. Nam Is. XLV, 15, dicitur: vere tu es Deus absconditus. Et ideo videbatur aqua turbata sed a quo turbaretur non videbatur, quia infirmitatem Christi videntes, divinitatem eius non cognoscebant. Et sicut ille qui descendebat in piscinam sanus fiebat; ita et qui humiliter credit in Deum, eius passione sanatur; Rom. III, 24: iustificati per fidem per redemptionem quae est in Christo, quem proposuit Deus propitiatorem per fidem in sanguine ipsius. Only one was healed, because no one can be healed except in the oneness or unity of the Church: one Lord, one faith, one baptism (Eph 4:5). Therefore, woe to those who hate unity, and divide men into sects. Sanabatur autem unus tantum, quia nullus sanari potest nisi in Ecclesiastica unitate; Eph. IV, 5: unus Deus, una fides, unum baptisma. Vae ergo illis qui oderunt unitatem, et partes sibi faciunt in hominibus.