Lecture 5 Lectio 5 The Jews’ presumption Presumptio Judaeorum ^8:39 They answered and said to him: Abraham is our father. Jesus said to them: if you are the sons of Abraham, do the works of Abraham. [n. 1219] ^8:39 Responderunt, et dixerunt ei: pater noster Abraham est. Dicit eis Iesus: si filii Abrahae estis, opera Abrahae facite. [n. 1219] ^8:40 But now you seek to kill me, a man who has spoken the truth to you, which I have heard from God: Abraham did not do this. [n. 1226] ^8:40 Nunc autem quaeritis me interficere, hominem, qui veritatem vobis locutus sum, quam audivi a Deo. Hoc Abraham non fecit. [n. 1226] ^8:41 You do the works of your father. They said therefore to him: we were not born of fornication: we have one God, the Father. [n. 1230] ^8:41 Vos facitis opera patris vestri. Dixerunt itaque ei: nos ex fornicatione non sumus nati. Unum Patrem habemus Deum. [n. 1230] ^8:42 Jesus therefore said to them: if God were your Father, you would indeed love me, for I proceeded and came forth from God; for I came not of myself, but he sent me. [n. 1233] ^8:42 Dixit ergo eis Iesus: si Deus Pater vester esset, diligeretis utique me: Ego enim ex Deo processi, et veni. Neque enim a meipso veni, sed ille me misit. [n. 1233] ^8:43 Why do you not know my speech? Because you are not able to hear my word. [n. 1238] ^8:43 Quare loquelam meam non cognoscitis? Quia non potestis audire sermonem meum. [n. 1238] 1218. After showing that the Jews had a certain spiritual origin, our Lord here rejects certain origins which they had presumptuously attributed to themselves. 1218. Postquam Dominus ostendit Iudaeos aliquam spiritualem originem habere, hic excludit ab eis origines quas sibi praesumptuose attribuebant, et First, he rejects the origin they claimed to have from Abraham; primo excludit originem, quam se traxisse dicebant ab Abraham; second, the origin they thought they had from God, at they said therefore to him: we were not born of fornication. secundo originem, quam se putabant habere a Deo, ibi dixerunt itaque ei: nos ex fornicatione non sumus nati. As to the first he does two things: Circa primum duo facit. first, he gives the opinion of the Jews about their origin; Primo ponit opinionem Iudaeorum de eorum origine; second, he rejects it, at if you are the sons of Abraham, do the works of Abraham. secundo excludit eam, ibi si filii Abrahae estis opera Abrahae facite. 1219. It should be noted with respect to the first, that our Lord had said to them, you do the things that you have seen with your father (John 8:38), and so, glorying in their carnal descent, they aligned themselves with Abraham. Thus they said, Abraham is our father. This is like saying: if we have a spiritual origin we are good, because our father Abraham is good: O offspring of Abraham his servant (Ps 105:6). And as Augustine says, they tried to provoke him to say something against Abraham and so give them an excuse for doing what they had planned, namely, to kill Christ. 1219. Sciendum est autem circa primum, quia Dominus dixerat eis quae vidistis apud patrem vestrum, facitis, ideo gloriantes se de carnali generatione, transferunt se ad Abraham. Unde dicunt pater noster Abraham est, quasi dicant: si spiritualem originem habemus, boni sumus, quia Abraham pater noster bonus est; Ps. CIV, 6: semen Abraham servi eius. Et, ut dicit Augustinus, nitebantur eum provocare, ut aliquid male diceret de Abraham, et esset eis occasio facere quod cogitabant, scilicet occidendi Christum. 1220. Our Lord rejects this opinion of theirs as false, at if you are the sons of Abraham, do the works of Abraham. 1220. Sed Dominus, consequenter cum dicit si filii Abrahae estis, opera Abrahae facite, excludit hanc ipsorum opinionem tamquam falso prolatam, et proponit First, he gives the true sign of being a child of Abraham; primo signum debitum filiationis Abrahae; second, he shows that this sign is not verified in the Jews, at but now you seek to kill me; secundo ostendit, hoc signum in Iudaeis non esse, ibi nunc autem quaeritis me interficere; third, he draws his conclusion, you do the works of your father. tertio concludit propositum, ibi vos facitis opera patris vestri. 1221. The sign of anyone being a child is that he is like the one whose child he is; for just as children according to the flesh resemble their parents according to the flesh, so spiritual children (if they are truly children) should imitate their spiritual parents: be imitators of God, as beloved children (Eph 5:1). And as to this he says, if you are the sons of Abraham, do the works of Abraham. This is like saying: if you imitated Abraham, that would be a sign that you are his children: look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you (Isa 51:2). 1221. Signum quidem filiationis alicuius est quod assimiliter ei cuius filius est: sicut enim filii carnales ut plurimum parentibus carnalibus assimilantur, ita et filii spirituales (si sint vere filii) debent spirituales parentes imitari; Eph. V, 1: estote imitatores Dei, sicut filii carissimi. Et quantum ad hoc dicit si filii Abrahae estis, opera Abrahae facite; quasi dicat: hoc signum esset quod essetis filii Abrahae, si eum imitaremini; Is. LI, 2: attendite ad Abraham patrem vestrum, et ad Saram quae peperit vos. 1222. Here a question arises, for when he says, if you are the sons of Abraham, he seems to be denying that they are the children of Abraham, whereas just previously he had said, I know that you are the sons of Abraham (John 8:37). 1222. Sed dubitatur hic, quod videtur quidem eos negare esse filios Abrahae, dubitative loquens si filii Abrahae estis, quod tamen affirmavit superius, dicens: scio quod filii Abrahae estis. There are two ways of answering this. The first, according to Augustine, is that before he said that they were children of Abraham according to the flesh, but here he is denying that they are children in the sense of imitating his works, especially his faith. Therefore, they took their flesh from him, but not their life: it is men of faith who are the sons of Abraham (Gal 3:7). Ad quod dupliciter respondetur. Uno modo, secundum Augustinum, quod supra affirmavit eos esse filios Abrahae secundum carnem; hic autem negat eos filios secundum imitationem operum, et praecipue fidei. Caro ergo illorum ex ipso erat, sed vita non erat; Gal. III: qui ex fide sunt, hi reputantur in semine. For Origin, who has another explanation, both statements refer to their spiritual origin. Where our text reads, I know that you are the sons of Abraham, the Greek has, I know that you are the seed of Abraham (John 8:37). But Christ says here, if you are the sons of Abraham, do the works of Abraham, because the Jews, spiritually speaking, were the seed of Abraham, but were not his children. There is a difference between a seed and a child: for a seed is unformed, although it has in it the characteristics of that of which it is a seed. A child, however, has a likeness to the parent after the seed has been modified by the informing power infused by the agent acting upon the matter which has been furnished by the female. In the same way, the Jews were indeed the seed of Abraham, insofar as they had some of the characteristics which God had infused into Abraham; but because they had not reached the perfection of Abraham, they were not his children. This is why he said to them, if you are the sons of Abraham, do the works of Abraham, i.e., strive for a perfect imitation of his works. Alio modo, secundum Origenem, quod utrumque referatur ad spiritualem originem. Sed ubi nos habemus: scio quod filii Abrahae estis, in Graeco habetur: scio quod semen Abrahae estis; hic vero dicit si filii Abrahae estis, opera Abrahae facite; quia Iudaei quidem, spiritualiter loquendo, semen Abrahae erant, sed non eius filii. Differentia est inter semen et filium: nam semen est quid informe, et tamen habet in seipso rationes eius cuius est semen; filius autem, transmutato semine per virtutem informativam ab agente in appositam sibi materiam a muliere, superinducto nutrimento, similitudinem generantis habet. Eodem modo et Iudaei semen quidem Abrahae erant inquantum in eis aliqua ratio eorum quae Deus in Abraham infuderat apparebat; sed quia non ad perfectionem Abrahae pervenerant, ideo filii eius non erant: et propter hoc dicit eis si filii Abrahae estis, opera Abrahae facite; idest, ad perfectam imitationem operum eius satagite. 1223. Again, because he said, do the works of Abraham, it would seem that whatever he did, we should do. Consequently, we should have a number of wives and approach a maidservant, as Abraham did. 1223. Ex hoc autem quod dicit opera Abrahae facite, videtur quod quaecumque ipse fecit, et nos facere debemus. Ergo debemus plures uxores accipere, et ad ancillam accedere, sicut Abraham fecit. I answer that the chief work of Abraham was faith, by which he was justified before God: he believed the Lord; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness (Gen 15:6). Thus, the meaning is, do the works of Abraham i.e., believe according to the example of Abraham. Respondeo. Dicendum quod praecipuum opus Abrahae est fides, per quam iustificatus est apud Deum; Gen. XV, 6: credidit Abraham Deo, et reputatum est illi ad iustitiam. Et ideo intelligendum est opera Abrahae facite, idest, ad similitudinem Abrahae credite. 1224. One might say against this interpretation that faith should not be called a work, since it is distinguished from works: faith apart from works is dead (Jas 2:26). 1224. Sed contra hoc est, quia fides non videtur posse dici opus, cum contra opera distinguatur; Iac. II, 26: fides sine operibus mortua est. I answer that faith can be called a work according to what was said above: this is the work of God: that you believe in him whom he has sent (John 6:29). An interior work is not obvious to man, but only to God, according to, the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart (1 Sam 16:7). This is the reason we are more accustomed to call exterior action works. Thus, faith is not distinguished from all works, but only from external works. Respondeo. Dicendum, quod fides opus dici potest, secundum illud supra VI, 29: hoc est opus Dei, ut credatis in eum quem misit ille. Verum opus interius non est manifestum hominibus, sed soli Deo, secundum illud I Reg. c. XVI, 7: homines vident ea quae apparent; Deus autem intuetur cor. Inde est quod communius ea quae exterius sunt, consuevimus opera nominare. Fides ergo distinguitur non ab omnibus operibus, sed ab exterioribus tantum. 1225. But should we do all the works of Abraham? 1225. Sed numquid omnia opera Abrahae debemus facere? I answer that works can be considered in two ways. Either according to the kind of works they are, in which sense we should not imitate all his works; or, according to their root, and in this sense we should imitate the works of Abraham, because whatever he did, he did out of charity. Thus Augustine says that the celibacy of John was not esteemed above the marriage of Abraham, since the root of each was the same. Or, it might be said that all of Abraham’s works should be imitated as to their symbolism, because all these things happen to them in figure (1 Cor 10:11). Ad hoc dicendum, quod opus potest considerari dupliciter: vel secundum speciem operis eius, et sic omnia opera eius non sunt imitanda; vel secundum radicem eorum, et sic opera Abrahae imitanda sunt: quia quidquid fecit, ex caritate fecit. Unde dicit Augustinus, quod caelibatus Ioannis non praefertur coniugio Abrahae, cum eadem fuerit radix utriusque. Vel dicendum, quod omnia opera Abrahae imitanda sunt quantum ad signationem, quia omnia in figura contingebant illis, ut dicitur I Cor. X, 11. 1226. Then, at but now you seek to kill me, he shows that they do not have the above mentioned sign of being children. 1226. Consequenter cum dicit nunc autem quaeritis me interficere, ostendit, praedictum filiationis signum in eis non esse, et First, the conduct of the Jews is given; primo ponuntur Iudaeorum opera; second, he shows that it does not resemble the conduct of Abraham, at Abraham did not do this. secundo ostendit ea esse Abrahae operibus dissimilia, ibi hoc Abraham non fecit. 1227. The conduct of the Jews is shown to be wicked and perverse, because they were murderers; so he says, now you seek to kill me: how the faithful city has become a harlot, she that was full of justice! Righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers (Isa 1:21). This murder was an unfathomable sin against the person of the Son of God. But because it is said, if they had understood, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Cor 2:8), our Lord does not say that they sought to kill the Son of God, but a man. For although the Son of God is said to have suffered and died by reason of the oneness of his person, this suffering and death was not insofar as he was the Son of God, but because of his human weakness, as it says: for he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God (2 Cor 13:4). 1227. Ostenduntur autem Iudaeorum prava opera esse et perversa, quia homicidae erant; unde dicit nunc autem quaeritis me interficere; Is. I, 21: quomodo facta est meretrix civitas fidelis, plena iudicii? Iustitia habitavit in ea, nunc autem homicidae. Sed hoc homicidium inaestimabile peccatum erat contra personam Filii Dei. Unde quia, ut dicitur I Cor. II, 8, si cognovissent, numquam Dominum gloriae crucifixissent, ideo Dominus non dicit eos Filium Dei quaerere interficere, sed hominem: quia etsi Filius Dei dicatur passus et mortuus propter unitatem suppositi, hoc non est inquantum Filius Dei, sed propter infirmitatem humanam, quia, ut dicitur II Cor. ult., 4, si crucifixus est ex infirmitate nostra, sed vivit ex virtute Dei. 1228. In order to further elucidate this murder, he shows that they have no reason to put him to death; thus he adds, a man who has spoken the truth to you, which I have heard from God. This truth is that he said that he is equal to God: therefore, the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he did not only break the Sabbath, but also said that God was his Father, making himself equal to God (John 5:18). He heard this truth from God inasmuch as from eternity he received from the Father, through an eternal generation, the same nature that the Father has: for as the Father has life in himself, so he has also given to the Son to have life in himself (John 5:26). 1228. Et ut magis eorum homicidium exaggeret, ostendit, eos nullam mortis causam adversus eum habere; unde subdit qui veritatem locutus sum vobis, quam audivi a Deo. Ista veritas est quod dicebat se aequalem Deo; supra V, 18: quaerebant eum Iudaei interficere, quia non solum Sabbatum solvebat, sed Patrem suum dicebat Deum, aequalem se faciens Deo. Hanc veritatem audivit a Deo inquantum ab aeterno per generationem aeternam accepit a Patre eamdem naturam quam ipse habet; supra V, 26: sicut Pater habet vitam in semetipso, sic dedit et Filio habere vitam in semetipso. Furthermore, he excludes the two reasons for which the law commanded that prophets were to be killed. First of all, for lying, for Deuteronomy commands that a prophet should be killed for speaking a lie or feigning dreams (Deut 13:5). Our Lord excludes this from himself, saying, a man who has spoken the truth to you: my mouth will utter truth (Prov 8:7). Second, a prophet ought to be killed if he speaks in the name of false gods, or says in the name of God things that God did not command (Deut 13:5). Our Lord excludes this from himself when he says, which I have heard from God. Excludit autem duas causas propter quas prophetae mandabantur occidi in lege. Primo quidem propter mendacium, Deut. XIII, 5 ubi praecipitur, quod si aliquis propheta surrexerit loquens mendacium, aut fictor somniorum, interficiatur: et hoc a se Dominus excludit, dicens qui veritatem locutus sum vobis; Prov. c. VIII, 7: veritatem meditabitur guttur meum. Secundo vero si aliquis propheta locutus fuerit ex nomine falsorum deorum, vel ex nomine Dei quod ipse non praecepit, occidi debebat, ut habetur Deut. XIII, 5. Et hoc Dominus excludit a se, cum dicit quam audivi a Deo. 1229. Then when he says, Abraham did not do this, he shows that their works are not like those of Abraham. He is saying in effect: because you act contrary to Abraham, you show that you are not his children, for it is written about him: he kept the law of the Most High, and was taken into covenant with him (Sir 44:20). 1229. Consequenter cum dicit hoc Abraham non fecit, ostendit eorum opera dissimilia esse operibus Abrahae, quasi dicat: in hoc probatis vos non esse filios Abrahae, quia facitis opera contraria operibus eius: nam de eo legitur Eccli. XLIV, 20, quod servavit legem Altissimi, et fuit in testimonio cum illo. Some frivolously object that Christ did not exist before Abraham and therefore that Abraham did not do this, since one who did not exist could not be killed. Sed aliqui superflue obiiciunt, quod Christus ante Abraham nondum erat, et ideo Abraham hoc non fecit: non enim occidi potuisset qui non erat.