Lectio 8
Lecture 8
Christus ut salvificet mundum venit
Christ came to save the world
12:42 Verumtamen et ex principibus multi crediderunt in eum. Sed propter Pharisaeos non confitebantur, ut de synagoga non eiicerentur. [n. 1707]
12:42 However, many of the chief men also believed in him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, that they might not be cast out of the synagogue. [n. 1707]
12:43 Dilexerunt enim gloriam hominum magis quam gloriam Dei. [n. 1709]
12:43 For they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God. [n. 1709]
12:44 Iesus autem clamavit et dixit: qui credit in me, non credit in me, sed in eum qui misit me. [n. 1711]
12:44 But Jesus cried, and said: he who believes in me, does not believe in me, but in him who sent me. [n. 1711]
12:45 Et qui videt me, videt eum qui misit me. [n. 1712]
12:45 And he who sees me, sees him who sent me. [n. 1712]
12:46 Ego lux in mundum veni, ut omnis qui credit in me, in tenebris non maneat. [n. 1713]
12:46 I have come a light into the world; that whosoever believes in me, may not remain in darkness. [n. 1713]
12:47 Et si quis audierit verba mea, et non custodierit, ego non iudico eum. Non enim veni ut iudicem mundum, sed ut salvificem mundum. [n. 1716]
12:47 And if any man hear my words, and does not keep them, I do not judge him: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. [n. 1716]
12:48 Qui spernit me, et non accipit verba mea, habet qui iudicet eum. Sermo quem loquutus sum, ille iudicabit eum in novissimo die. [n. 1718]
12:48 He who despises me, and receive not my words, has one who judges him; the word which I have spoken, the same will judge him in the last day. [n. 1718]
12:49 Quia ego ex meipso non sum loquutus. Sed qui misit me Pater, ipse mihi mandatum dedit quid dicam et quid loquar. [n. 1721]
12:49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father who sent me, he gave me commandment what I should say, and what I should speak. [n. 1721]
12:50 Et scio, quia mandatum eius vita aeterna est. Quae ergo ego loquor, sicut dixit mihi Pater, sic loquor. [n. 1725]
12:50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting. The things therefore that I speak, even as the Father said unto me, so do I speak. [n. 1725]
1706. Supra Evangelista exposuit defectum omnino non credentium; hic exponit defectum credentium in occulto, qui pusillanimes erant, et
1706. Above, the Evangelist described the failing of those who did not believe at all; here he explains the failing of those who believed in secret, because they were timid, faint-hearted.
primo proponit eorum dignitatem;
First, he mentions their dignity;
secundo ostendit eorum defectum, ibi sed propter Pharisaeos non confitebantur;
second, their failing: but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him;
tertio insinuat defectus radicem, ibi dilexerunt enim magis gloriam hominum quam gloriam Dei.
and third, he suggests the root of this failing: for they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God.
1707. Dignitas autem eorum qui in occulto credebant magna est, quia principes; et quantum ad hoc dicit verumtamen et ex principibus multi crediderunt in eum. Quasi dicat: dixi, quod cum tanta signa fecisset coram eis, non credebant in eum; quod quidem verum est pro maiori parte, non tamen quin aliqui in eum crederent, quia ex principibus, scilicet populi, multi crediderunt in eum; quorum unus fuit Nicodemus, qui venit ad Iesum nocte, ut dicitur supra III. Sic impletur quod in Ps. XLVI, 10 dicitur: principes populorum congregati sunt cum Deo Abraham. Sic etiam falsum ostenditur quod Pharisaei dixerunt supra VII, 48: numquid ex principibus aliquis credit in eum, aut ex Pharisaeis?
1707. The dignity of those who believed in secret was great, for they were the authorities, and on this point he says, many of the chief men also believed in him. He is saying in effect: I said that although Jesus had done so many signs, still they did not believe in him; and although this was true for the majority, yet there were some who did believe in him, because many of the chief men also, of the people, believed in him. One of these was Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night, as was said (John 3:1). Thus the words of the Psalm were fulfilled: the princes of the peoples gather as their people of the God of Abraham (Ps 47:9); and the statement of the Pharisees is proved false: has any one of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in him (John 7:48).
1708. Defectus horum principum est pusillanimitas, unde dicit sed propter Pharisaeos non confitebantur: ut enim supra IX, v. 22 dictum est, Pharisaei conspiraverunt, ut si quis eum confiteretur Christum, extra synagogam fieret. Licet crederent corde, non tamen confitebantur ore. Sed eorum fides insufficiens erat, quia, ut dicitur Rom. X, 10, corde creditur ad iustitiam, ore confessio fit ad salutem; Lc. IX, 26: qui erubuerit me et meos sermones, hunc Filius hominis erubescet.
1708. The failing of these authorities is timidity, faint-heartedness; thus he says, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him. For as stated above, the Pharisees agreed . . . that if any one should confess him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue (John 9:22). So, although they believed with their hearts, they did not profess him with their lips. Their faith, therefore, was insufficient: for a man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved (Rom 10:10). Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, of him will the Son of man be ashamed (Luke 9:26).
1709. Radix autem defectus istorum est inanis gloria; unde sequitur dilexerunt enim gloriam hominum magis quam gloriam Dei: ex hoc enim quod publice confitebantur, amittebant gloriam hominum; sed ex hoc consequebantur gloriam Dei. Isti autem magis elegerunt privari gloria Dei, volentes publice confiteri, quam gloriam hominum, cupientes in mundanis gloriari. Supra V, 44: quomodo potestis credere qui gloriam ab invicem accipitis, et gloriam quae a solo Deo est, non quaeritis? Galat. I, 10: si adhuc hominibus placerem, servus Christi non essem.
1709. The root of their failing is vanity, vainglory; so he says, for they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God. By confessing Christ publicly they would have lost the glory of men, but won the glory of God. But they chose rather to be deprived of the glory of God than the glory of men: how are you able to believe who receive glory from one another; and the glory which is from God alone you do not seek? (John 5:44). If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ (Gal 1:10).
1710. Hic ostendit quomodo Christus Iudaeorum infidelitatem redarguit, et
1710. Now he shows how Christ rebuked the Jews for their unbelief:
primo ostendit credendi debitum;
first, he shows their duty to believe;
secundo subdit fidei fructum, ibi ego lux in mundum veni etc.;
second, he mentions the fruit of faith: I have come a light into the world;
tertio comminatur infidelibus supplicium ibi et si quis audierit verba mea, et non custodierit, ego non iudico eum etc.
third, he warns the unbelievers about punishment: and if any man hear my words, and does not keep them, I do not judge him (John 11:47).
Quia autem fidei succedit visio, ideo circa primum
But because vision comes after faith,
primo agit de fide;
with regard to the first, he treats of faith;
secundo de visione, ibi qui videt me, videt eum qui misit me.
and second, of vision: and he who sees me, sees him who sent me.
1711. Quantum ad primum dicit Iesus autem clamavit, et propter magnitudinem dicendorum, et propter libertatem animi ad redarguendum peccata: Is. LVIII, 1: clama, ne cesses; quasi tuba exalta vocem tuam, et annuntia populo meo scelera eorum.
1711. As to the first he says, but Jesus cried out, both because of the importance of what he intended to say and because of their free will, to charge them with their sins: cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression (Isa 58:1).
Et dixit: qui credit in me, non credit in me, sed in eum qui misit me, quod quidem videtur contradictionem implicare, dicit enim: qui credit in me, non credit in me. Ad cuius intellectum sciendum est primo, secundum Augustinum, hoc esse dictum a Domino ad distinguendum in se naturam divinam et naturam humanam. Cum enim proprium obiectum fidei sit Deus, possumus quidem credere creaturam esse, sed non debemus credere in creaturam, sed in Deum solum. In Christo autem est natura creata, et natura increata. Requiritur ergo ad fidei veritatem ut fides nostra tendat in Christum, quantum ad naturam increatam; et secundum hoc dicit qui credit in me, scilicet in personam, non credit in me, secundum quod homo, sed in eum qui me misit, idest in me secundum quod sum missus a Patre; supra VII, 16: mea doctrina non est mea, sed eius qui misit me.
And said, he who believes in me, does not believe in me but in him who sent me. This seems to contain a contradiction, for he says, he who believes in me, does not believe in me. To understand this we should note first, according to Augustine, that our Lord said this to distinguish his divine and human nature. For since the proper object of faith is God, we can indeed believe that a creature exists, but we should not believe in a creature but in God alone. Now in Christ there is a created nature and the uncreated nature. Therefore, the truth of faith requires that our faith be in Christ as having an uncreated nature. And so he says, he who believes in me, that is, in my person, does not believe in me, as a human being, but in him who sent me, that is, he believes in me as sent from the Father: my doctrine is not mine, but his who sent me (John 7:16).
Secundum Chrysostomum vero notandum est, quod Dominus dicit hoc ad insinuandum eius originem tantum. Et est similis modus loquendi, sicut si aliquis hauriens de aqua fluminis dicat: ista aqua non est fluminis, sed est fontis: non est quidem fluminis originalis etc. Sic ergo Dominus dicit qui credit in me, non credit in me, sed in eum qui misit me; quasi dicat: non sum principium mei ipsius, sed divinitas est mihi ab alio, idest a Patre: unde qui credit in me, non credit in me, nisi in quantum sum a Patre.
According to Chrysostom, however, our Lord says this to suggest his origin. It is a way of speaking similar to a person drawing water from a stream and saying that this water is not from the stream but from the spring: for it does not originate from the stream. So our Lord says, he who believes in me, does not believe in me, but in him who sent me, as though to say: I am not the source of myself, but my divinity is from another, that is, from my Father. So, he who believes in me, does not believe in me, except insofar as I am from the Father.
1712. Consequenter cum dicit et qui videt me, videt eum qui misit me, agit de visione.
1712. Then when he says, and he who sees me, sees him who sent me, he treats of vision.
Circa quod sciendum est, quod sicut Pater misit Filium ad convertendum Iudaeos, ita et Christus misit discipulos suos: infra XX, v. 21: sicut misit me Pater, et ego mitto vos. Nullus autem discipulorum ausus fuit dicere, nec debuit, quod crederetur in eum; quamvis dicere potuisset quod crederetur ei. Quia hoc non potuisset esse sine hoc quod derogaret mittenti, quia si crederent in discipulum desinerent credere in magistrum. Possent ergo Iudaei dicere, quod eodem modo, cum sis missus a Patre, qui credit in te, desinit credere in Patrem. Et ideo Dominus contra hoc ostendit quod qui non credit in eum, non credit in Patrem: et hoc est quod dicit qui videt me, videt eum qui misit me.
In regard to this we should note that just as the Father sent the Son to convert the Jews, so Christ also sent his disciples: as the Father has sent me, I also send you (John 20:21). But no one of the disciples dared to say, nor should he, that one should believe in him, although he could say that one should believe him. For this could not take place without detracting from the One who sent him, because if someone believed in the disciple, they would cease to believe in the master. So the Jews could say on the same basis that since you have been sent from the Father, anyone who believes in you ceases to believe in the Father. Therefore, our Lord shows against this that one who does not believe in him, does not believe in the Father. This is his meaning when he says, he who sees me, sees him who sent me.
Visio hic dicitur non corporalis intuitus, sed veri consideratio, quae est per intellectum. Ideo autem qui videt Filium, videt et Patrem, quia est in eo per essentiae unitatem. Dicitur enim aliquid videri in aliquo, vel quia sunt idem, vel omnino conformes. Pater autem et Filius sunt idem in natura, et omnino conformes: quia Filius est imago Patris in nullo dissimilis; Col. I, 15: qui est imago invisibilis Dei; Hebr. I, 3: qui cum sit splendor gloriae, et figura substantiae eius. Et ideo, sicut credit in Patrem, ita et in me; infra c. XIV, 9: Philippe, qui videt me, videt et Patrem. Non credis quia ego in Patre, et Pater in me est? Quasi dicat: ista est ratio quare qui videt me videt et Patrem, quia Pater in me est, et ego in eo.
The seeing which is referred to here is not a physical vision, but a consideration of the truth by the mind. And the reason why one who sees the Son also sees the Father is that the Father is in the Son by a unity of essence. For one thing is said to be seen in another either because they are the same, or they are entirely conformed. But the Father and the Son are the same in nature and entirely conformed: because the Son is the image of the Father and unlike in nothing, for he is the image of the invisible God (Col 1:15); he reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature (Heb 1:3). And so, just as one believes in the Father, so also he believes in me: Philip, he who sees me sees the Father . . . do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? (John 14:9–10). Which was like saying: the reason wherby he who sees me see also the Father, is bceause the Father is in me, and I am in him.
Sic ergo apparet fidei debitum, ut scilicet fides tendat in Christum inquantum Deus, sicut in Patrem.
Thus it is clear what faith should be: faith should be in Christ, as God, just as it is in the Father.
1713. Fructum autem fidei consequenter ostendit: et primo ostendit suam dignitatem et virtutem, cum dicit ego lux in mundum veni. Quomodo Christus sit lux, expositum est supra I, 9: erat lux vera, quae illuminat omnem hominem: et VIII, 12: ego sum lux mundi.
1713. Next he shows the fruit of faith. First, he shows his own worth and power when he says, I have come a light into the world. It has already been explained how Christ is a light: he was the true light, which enlightens every man coming into this world (John 1:9), and I am the light of the world (John 8:12).
In hoc etiam ostendit se habere divinam naturam. Esse enim lucem est proprium Dei, alia vero sunt lucentia, idest participantia lucem; sed Deus lux est per essentiam; I Io. I, 5: Deus lux est, et tenebrae non sunt in eo ullae. Sed quia, I ad Tim. VI, 16 dicitur, quod lucem habitat inaccessibilem, quam nemo hominum videt, non poteramus accedere ad eum: et ideo oportuit quod ipse ad nos veniret. Et hoc est quod subdit in mundum veni; scilicet, ego sum lux inaccessibilis, qui ab errore eripio, et intellectuales tenebras solvo. Infra XVI, 28: exivi a Patre et veni in mundum; supra I, 11: in propria venit etc. Licet apostoli dicantur lux, Matth. V, v. 14: vos estis lux mundi, non tamen ea ratione qua Christus: ipsi enim sunt lux illuminata; quamvis aliquo modo, scilicet ministerio, illuminantes essent. Nec alicui apostolorum convenit dicere ego lux in mundum veni: quia, quando in mundum venerunt, adhuc tenebrae erant, et non lux: quia, ut dicitur Iob XXXVII, 19, omnes involvimur tenebris.
He also shows by this that he has the divine nature. For to be light is proper to God; others may give off light, that is participate in light, but God is light by essence: God is light and in him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). But because he dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen (1 Tim 6:16), we were unable to approach him. And so it was necessary that he come to us. This is what he says, I have come a light into the world, that is, I am the unapproachable light which rescues from error and disperses intellectual darkness: I came forth from the Father and have come into the world (John 16:28); he came unto his own (John 1:11). And although the apostles are called light, you are the light of the world (Matt 5:14), they are not light in the same way as Christ. For they are a light whose light has been given to them, even though in some way they also give light, that is, in their ministry. Furthermore, none of the apostles could truly say, I have come a light into the world, because when they came into the world they were still darkness and not light: we are wrapped in darkness (Job 37:19).
1714. Secundo subdit dicens ut omnis qui credit in me, in tenebris non maneat. Illuminatio ergo est effectus fidei; supra VIII, 12: ut omnis qui credit in me, non ambulet in tenebris. In tenebris non maneat, scilicet ignorantiae, infidelitatis, et damnationis perpetuae: per quod patet quod omnes nascuntur in tenebris culpae; Eph. V, v. 8: eratis aliquando tenebrae, nunc autem lux in Domino. Item in tenebris ignorantiae; Iob III, 23: viro cui abscondita est via, et circumdedit eum Deus tenebris. Et tandem nisi convertantur ad Christum, deducentur ad tenebras damnationis perpetuae. Qui ergo non credit in me, in tenebris manet; supra c. III, 36: qui incredulus est Filio, non videbit vitam, sed ira Dei manet super eum.
1714. Second, he continues, that whoever believes in me, may not remain in darkness. To become enlightened, therefore, is an effect of faith: he who follows me does not walk in darkness (John 8:12). May not remain in darkness: that is, the darkness of ignorance, of unbelief and eternal damnation. This shows that all are born in the darkness of sin: for once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord (Eph 5:8). And in the darkness of ignorance: a man whose way is hidden and God has surrounded him with darkness (Job 3:23). And in the end, unless they turn to Christ, they will be brought to the darkness of eternal damnation. And so, he who does not believe in me remains in darkness: but he who does not believe in the Son will not see life; but the wrath of God rests on him (John 3:36).
1715. Supplicium autem infidelium insinuat dicens et si quis audierit verba mea, et non custodierit; ego non iudico eum: quod incurrent per iudicii condemnationem. Et
1715. Then he discloses the punishment of unbelievers, and if any man hear my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him, which they will incur through their condemnation at the judgment.