Admirans enim Nathanael virtutem Dei in occultorum manifestatione, quia hoc solius Dei est: Ier. XVII, 9, pravum est cor hominis, et inscrutabile, et quis cognoscet illud? Ego Dominus scrutans cor et probans renes; et I Reg. XVI, 7, homines vident ea quae parent, Deus autem intuetur cor, ideo quaerit unde me nosti? In quo commendatur Nathanaelis humilitas: quia licet laudaretur, non est elatus; sed laudem propriam suspectam habuit: contra quod dicitur Is. III, 12: popule meus, qui beatum te dicunt, ipsi te decipiunt.
For Nathanael, in wonder at the divine power in this revelation of what is hidden, because this can only be from God—the heart is depraved and inscrutable, and who is able to know it? I the Lord search the heart and probe the loins (Jer 17:9); man sees the appearances, but the Lord sees the heart (1 Sam 16:7)—asks, how do you know me? Here we can recognize Nathanael’s humility, because, although he had been praised, he did not become elated, but held this praise of himself suspect. My people, who call you blessed, they are deceiving you (Isa 3:12).
325. Praeterita vero absentia insinuat, cum dicit priusquam te Philippus vocaret, cum esses sub ficu, vidi te, ubi
325. Then he touches on matters in the past, saying, before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.
primo ponitur denuntiatio Christi;
First we have the statement of Christ;
secundo confessio Nathanaelis, ibi respondit et Nathanael, et ait: Rabbi, tu es Filius Dei.
second, the confession of Nathanael: Nathanael answered him and said: Rabbi, you are the Son of God.
326. Circa primum sciendum est, quod Nathanael posset habere duplicem suspicionem de Christo: unam quod dixisset Christus praemissa, volens ei blandiri et ad amicitiam suam trahere; aliam quod ea quae dixit supra, ab alio cognovisset. Ut ergo suspicionem auferat, et ad altiora erigat, illa occulta manifestat quae nullus nisi divinitus scire potuisset, ea videlicet quae statim circa ipsum Nathanaelem contigerant: et hoc est quod dicit priusquam te Philippus vocaret, cum esses sub ficu, vidi te. Ad litteram enim, sub arbore fici fuerat Nathanael, cum a Philippo vocaretur: quod Christus virtute divinitatis coniecerat, quia, ut dicitur Eccli. XXIII, v. 28, oculi Domini multo lucidiores super solem.
326. As to the first, we should note that Nathanael might have had two misgivings about Christ. One, that Christ said this in order to win his friendship by flattery; the other, that Christ had learned what he knew from others. So, to remove Nathanael’s suspicions and raise him to higher things, Christ reveals certain hidden matters that no one could know except in a divine way, that is, things that related only to Nathanael. He refers to these when he says, before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. In the literal sense, this means that Nathanael was under a fig tree when he was called by Philip—which Christ knew by divine power, for the eyes of the Lord are far brighter than the sun (Sir 23:28).
Mystice autem per ficum designatur peccatum: tum quia invenimus arborem fici maledictam folia sola habentem, et non fructum, Matth. XXI, 19 quod factum est in figuram peccati; tum quia Adam et Eva cum peccassent, de foliis ficus perizomata fecerunt. Dicit ergo cum esses sub ficu, idest, sub umbra peccati antequam ad gratiam vocatus esses, ego vidi te, scilicet oculo misericordiae: nam ipsa Dei praedestinatio oculo pietatis respicit praedestinatos sub peccatis viventes; Eph. I, 4: elegit nos ante mundi constitutionem etc. Et de isto oculo loquitur hic. Vidi te, praedestinando scilicet ab aeterno.
In the mystical sense, the fig tree signifies sin: both because we find a fig tree, bearing only leaves but no fruit, being cursed, as a symbol of sin (Matt 11:19); and because Adam and Eve, after they had sinned, made clothes from fig leaves. So he says here, when you were under the fig tree, i.e., under the shadow of sin, before you were called to grace, I saw you, with the eye of mercy; for God’s predestination looks upon the predestined, who are living under sin, with an eye of pity, for he chose us before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4). And he speaks of this eye here: I saw you, by predestining you from eternity.
Vel, secundum Gregorium, cum esses sub ficu, idest sub umbra legis, vidi te. Hebr. X, v. 1: umbram habens lex futurorum bonorum etc.
Or, the meaning is, according to Gregory: when you were under the fig tree, i.e., under the shadow of the law, I saw you. The law has only a shadow of the good things to come (Heb 10:1).
327. Statim autem Nathanael ad hoc conversus, et virtutem divinitatis in Christo cognoscens, in vocem confessionis et laudem prorumpit, dicens Rabbi, tu es Filius Dei. Ubi tria considerat de Christo, scilicet plenitudinem scientiae, cum dicit Rabbi, quod interpretatur Magister; ac si dicat, perfectus es in scientia. Iam praesentiebat quod dicitur Matth. XXIII, 10: magister vester unus est, Christus.
327. Hearing this, Nathanael is immediately converted, and, seeing the power of the divinity in Christ, breaks out in words of conversion and praise, saying, Rabbi, you are the Son of God. Here he considers three things about Christ. First, the fullness of his knowledge, when he says, Rabbi, which is translated as Teacher. As if to say: you are perfect in knowledge. For he had already realized what is said: you have one teacher, the Christ (Matt 23:10).
Secundo excellentiam singularis gratiae, cum dicit tu es Filius Dei. Nam quod homo sit filius Dei per adoptionem, non est nisi gratiae; et etiam esse filium Dei per unionem, quod est proprium homini Christo, per gratiam est: quia non ex aliquibus praecedentibus meritis, sed per gratiam unionis homo ille est Filius Dei.
Second, the excellence of his singular grace, when he says, you are the Son of God. For it is due to grace alone that one becomes a son of God by adoption. And it is also through grace that one is a son of God through union; and this is exclusive to the man Christ, because that man is the Son of God not due to any preceding merit, but through the grace of union.
Tertio vero immensitatem potentiae, cum dicit tu es Rex Israel, idest expectatus ab Israel in regem et defensorem; Dan. VII, 14: potestas eius, potestas aeterna etc.
Third, he considers the greatness of his power when he says, you are the King of Israel, i.e., awaited by Israel as its king and defender: his power is everlasting (Dan 7:14).
328. Sed circa hoc insurgit quaestio, secundum Chrysostomum. Cum Petrus, qui post multa miracula, post magnam doctrinam confessus fuit quod hic confitetur Nathanael de Christo, tu es Filius Dei, meruit beatificari, dicente Domino: beatus es, Simon Bariona etc., cur et Nathanael, qui simile dixerat ante visa miracula et perceptam doctrinam, beatificatus non fuit?
328. A question comes up at this point, according to Chrysostom. For since Peter, who after many miracles and much teaching, confessed what Nathanael confesses here about Christ, that is, you are the Son of God, merited a blessing, as the Lord said: blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona (Matt 16:17), why not the same for Nathanael, who said the same thing before seeing any miracles or receiving any teaching?
Et ad hoc respondet Chrysostomus, quod huius causa est, quia licet eadem verba Nathanael et Petrus protulerint, non tamen fuit eadem intentio utriusque. Petrus quidem confessus fuit, Christum esse Filium Dei verum per naturam, ut scilicet sic esset homo quod tamen esset verus Deus; hic autem confessus est esse Filium Dei per adoptionem, secundum illud Ps. LXXXI, 6: ego dixi: dii estis, et Filii Excelsi omnes. Et hoc patet per verba sequentia. Si enim intellexisset eum esse Filium Dei per naturam, non dixisset, tu es Rex Israel solum, sed totius mundi. Hoc etiam patet, quia ad fidem Petri Christus nihil addidit, quasi perfectam existentem, sed Ecclesiam dixit se fabricaturum esse in confessione illius. Sed Nathanaelem, quasi maiori parte suae confessionis deficiente, elevat ad maiora, scilicet ad cognitionem divinitatis suae.
Chrysostom answers that the reason for this is that even though Nathanael and Peter spoke the same words, the meaning of the two was not the same. For Peter acknowledged that Christ was the true Son of God by nature, i.e., he was man, and yet truly God; but Nathanael acknowledged that Christ was the Son of God by means of adoption, in the sense of, I said: you are gods, and all of you the sons of the Most High (Ps 81:6). This is clear from what Nathanael said next, for if he had understood that Christ was the Son of God by nature, he would not have said, you are the King of Israel, but of the whole world. It is also clear from the fact that Christ added nothing to the faith of Peter, since it was perfect, but stated that he would build the Church on that profession. But he raises Nathanael to greater things, since the greater part of his profession was deficient; to greater things, i.e., to a knowledge of his divinity.
329. Unde dixit maius his videbis.
329. And so he said, you will see greater things than these.
Ubi notatur tertium, scilicet insinuatio futurorum, quasi dicat: quia dixi tibi praeterita, credis me esse Filium Dei per adoptionem et Regem Israel tantum, sed ducam te ad maiorem cognitionem, ut scilicet credas me Filium Dei naturalem et Regem omnium saeculorum. Et ideo sequitur amen, amen dico vobis, videbitis caelum apertum, et angelos Dei ascendentes et descendentes super Filium hominis, ubi, secundum Chrysostomum, vult probare Dominus quod sit verus Dei Filius, et Deus. angelorum enim est proprium ministrare, et subiici, Ps. CII: benedicite Domino, omnes angeli eius, ministri eius, qui facitis voluntatem eius. Cum ergo videbitis quod angeli administrabunt mihi, certum erit vobis quod sum verus Filius Dei. Hebr. c. I, 6: cum introducit primogenitum in orbem terrae, dicit: et adorent eum omnes angeli Dei.
Here we have, third, an allusion to the future. As if to say: Because I have revealed the past to you, you believe that I am the Son of God only by adoption, and the King of Israel; but I will bring you to greater knowledge, so that you may believe that I am the natural Son of God, and the King of all ages. And accordingly he says, amen, amen, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man. By this, according to Chrysostom, the Lord wishes to prove that he is the true Son of God, and God. For the peculiar task of angels is to minister and be subject: bless the Lord, all of you, his angels, his ministers, who do his will (Ps 102:20). So when you see angels minister to me, you will be certain that I am the true Son of God. When he leads his first-begotten into the world, he says: let all the angels of God adore him (Heb 1:6).
330. Sed quando viderunt hoc apostoli?
330. When did the apostles see this?
Viderunt, inquam, in passione, quando angelus affuit illi, confortans eum, Lc. XXII, 43. Item in resurrectione, quando apostoli invenerunt duos angelos stantes supra sepulcrum. Similiter in ascensione, quando dixerunt apostolis, Act. I, 11: viri Galilaei, quid admiramini aspicientes in caelum? Hic Iesus qui assumptus est a vobis in caelum, sic veniet quemadmodum vidistis eum euntem in caelum.
They saw it, I say, during the passion, when an angel stood by to comfort Christ (Luke 22:43); again, at the resurrection, when the apostles found two angels who were standing over the tomb. Again, at the ascension, when the angels said to the apostles: men of Galilee, why are you standing here looking up to heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven (Acts 1:11).
331. Et quia de praeteritis ei vera iam dixerat, magis ei credibile fuit quod praenuntiat de futuro, cum dicit videbitis. Evidens enim argumentum est vera dicere de futuris qui de occultis praeteritis manifestaverat veritatem. Dicit autem super Filium hominis angelos ascendentes et descendentes, quia secundum carnem mortalem paulo minoratus est ab angelis: et intantum angeli ascendunt et descendunt super eum; sed secundum quod est Filius Dei, ipse super angelos est, ut dictum est.
331. Because Christ spoke the truth about the past, it was easier for Nathanael to believe what he foretells about the future, saying, you will see. For one who has revealed the truth about things hidden in the past, has an evident argument that what he is saying about the future is true. He says, the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man, because, in his mortal flesh, he was a little less than the angels; and from this point of view, angels ascend and descend upon him. But insofar as he is the Son of God, he is above the angels, as was said.
332. Secundum Augustinum autem, pulchre in verbis praedictis suam divinitatem manifestat. Legitur enim Gen. XXVIII, 12 quod Iacob vidit scalam, et angelos ascendentes et descendentes. Et Iacob intelligens quid vidit, surgens unxit lapidem oleo, et deinde dixit: vere Dominus est in loco isto. Lapis iste Christus est, quem reprobaverunt aedificantes; et est unctus oleo invisibili Spiritus Sancti; sed erigitur in titulum, quia futurus erat Ecclesiae fundamentum, ut dicitur I ad Cor. c. III, 11: fundamentum aliud nemo potest ponere praeter id quod positum est. angeli autem ascendunt et descendunt, inquantum ei adsunt obsequendo et ministrando. Dixit ergo: amen, amen dico vobis, videbitis caelum apertum etc., quasi dicat: quia vere Israelita es, attende ad id quod Israel vidit, ut scilicet credas me illum esse qui est significatus per unctum lapidem a Iacob: nam tu etiam videbis super ipsum angelos ascendentes et descendentes.
332. According to Augustine, Christ is here revealing his divinity in a beautiful way. For it is recorded that Jacob dreamed of a ladder, standing on the ground, with the angels of God ascending and descending on it (Gen 28:16). Then Jacob arose and poured oil on a stone and said, truly, the Lord is in this place (Gen 28:16). Now that stone is Christ, whom the builders rejected; and the invisible oil of the Holy Spirit was poured on him. He is set up as a pillar, because he was to be the foundation of the Church: no one can lay another foundation except that which has been laid (1 Cor 3:11). The angels are ascending and descending inasmuch as they are ministering and serving before him. So he said, amen, amen, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened, as if to say: because you are truly an Israelite, give heed to what Israel saw, so that you many believe that I am the one signified by the stone anointed by Jacob, for you also will see angels ascending and descending upon him.
333. Vel angeli sunt praedicatores, secundum Augustinum, praedicantes Christum; Is. XVIII, 2: ite veloces angeli ad gentem convulsam et dilaceratam; qui quidem ascendunt per contemplationem, sicut Paulus ascenderat usque ad tertium caelum, ut dicitur II Cor. c. XII, 2, et descendunt per proximorum eruditionem super Filium hominis, idest ad honorem Christi: quia, ut dicitur II Cor. IV, v. 5: non enim praedicamus nos ipsos, sed Iesum Christum dominum nostrum. Sed ut ascendant et descendant, apertum est caelum, quia oportet quod gratia caelestis detur praedicatoribus, ut ascendant et descendant. Ps. LXVII, 9: caeli distillaverunt etc.; Apoc. IV, v. 1: postea vidi caelum apertum etc.
333. Or, the angels are preachers, proclaiming Christ according to Augustine: go, swift angels, to a nation rent and torn to pieces (Isa 18:2). They ascend through contemplation, just as Paul had ascended even to the third heaven (2 Cor 12:2); and they descend by instructing their neighbor, on the Son of man, i.e., for the honor of Christ, because what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ our Lord (2 Cor 4:5). In order that they might ascend and descend, the heavens were opened, because heavenly graces must be given to preachers if they are to ascend and descend. The heavens broke at the presence of God (Ps 67:9); I saw the heavens open (Rev 4:1).
334. Ratio autem quare Nathanael non eligitur in apostolum post tantam fidei confessionem, ista est, quia Christus noluit quod mundi conversio ad fidem ascriberetur humanae sapientiae, sed solum potentiae Dei. Et ideo non voluit Nathanaelem in lege peritissimum, in apostolum eligere; sed simplices et indoctos elegit; ut dicitur I Cor. I, 26: non multi sapientes . . . sed quae stulta sunt mundi elegit Deus.
334. Now the reason why Nathanael was not chosen to be an apostle after such a profession of faith is that Christ did not want the conversion of the world to the faith to be attributed to human wisdom, but solely to the power of God. And so he did not choose Nathanael as an apostle, since he was very learned in the law; he rather chose simple and uneducated men. Not many of you are learned, and God chose the simple of the world (1 Cor 1:26).
Caput 2
Chapter 2
Initio Missionis Christi
Beginning of Christ’s Mission
Lectio 1
Lecture 1
Nuptiae in Cana
The wedding at Cana
2:1 Et die tertia nuptiae factae sunt in Cana Galilaeae. Et erat mater Iesu ibi. [n. 336]
2:1 And on the third day, there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. [n. 336]
2:2 Vocatus est autem Iesus, et discipuli eius ad nuptias. [n. 341]
2:2 And Jesus also was invited, and his disciples, to the marriage. [n. 341]
2:3 Et deficiente vino, dixit mater Iesu ad eum: vinum non habent. [n. 344]
2:3 And when the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him: they have no wine. [n. 344]
2:4 Dixit ei Iesus: quid mihi et tibi est, mulier? Nondum venit hora mea. [n. 348]
2:4 And Jesus said to her: woman, what is that to me and to you? My hour has not yet come. [n. 348]
2:5 Dixit mater eius ministris: quodcumque dixerit vobis, facite. [n. 354]
2:5 His mother said to the waiters: do whatever he tells you. [n. 354]
2:6 Erant autem ibi lapideae hydriae sex positae secundum purificationem Iudaeorum, capientes singulae metretas binas, vel ternas. [n. 356]
2:6 Now there were six stone waterpots nearby, according to the purification of the Jews, containing two or three measures apiece. [n. 356]
2:7 Dixit eis Iesus: implete hydrias aqua. Et impleverunt eas usque ad summum. [n. 358]
2:7 Jesus said to them: fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them all the way to the brim. [n. 358]
2:8 Et dixit eis Iesus: haurite nunc, et ferte architriclino. Et tulerunt. [n. 360]
2:8 And Jesus said to them: draw out now, and carry to the head waiter. And they carried it. [n. 360]
2:9 Ut autem gustavit architriclinus aquam vinum factam, et non sciebat unde esset (ministri autem sciebant, qui hauserant aquam), vocat sponsum architriclinus; [n. 362]
2:9 And when the head waiter had tasted the water made wine and did not know where it was from (but the waiters, who had drawn the water, knew), the head waiter called the bridegroom, [n. 362]
2:10 et dicit ei: omnis homo primum bonum vinum ponit, et cum inebriati fuerint, tunc id quod deterius est; tu autem servasti bonum vinum usque adhuc. [n. 362]
2:10 and he said to him: every man at first sets forth the good wine, and when men have drunk well, then that which is worse. But you have kept the good wine until now. [n. 362]
2:11 Hoc fecit initium signorum Iesus in Cana Galilaeae; et manifestavit gloriam suam; et crediderunt in eum discipuli eius. [n. 364]
2:11 Jesus did this beginning of miracles in Cana of Galilee and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him. [n. 364]
335. Supra Evangelista ostendit dignitatem Verbi incarnati, et evidentiam eius multipliciter; hic consequenter incipit determinare de effectibus et operibus quibus manifestata est mundo divinitas Verbi incarnati, et
335. Above, the Evangelist showed the dignity of the incarnate Word and gave various evidence for it. Now he begins to relate the effects and actions by which the divinity of the incarnate Word was made known to the world.