Homilies on the Gospel of St. John and the Epistle to the Hebrews

NPNF (V1-14)St. Chrysostom133rest also follows by the same consequence; for as to call God His Father, to break the Sabbath,and to be persecuted by the Jews for the former and more especially for the latter reason, belongednot to a false imagination, but to actual fact, so to make Himself equal to God was a declaration ofthe same meaning. 1017And this one may see more clearly from what He had before said, for “My Father worketh, andI work,” is the expression of One declaring Himself equal to God. For in these words He has marked1018no difference. He said not, “He worketh, and I minister,” but, “As He worketh, so work I”; andhath declared absolute Equality. But if He had not wished to establish this, and the Jews had supposedso without reason, He would not have allowed their minds to be deceived, but would have correctedthis. Besides, the Evangelist would not have been silent on the subject, but would have plainly saidthat the Jews supposed so, but that Jesus did not make Himself equal to God. As in another placehe doth this very thing, when he perceiveth that something was said in one way, and understoodin another; as, “Destroy this Temple,” said Christ, “and in three days I will raise It up” ( c. ii. 19); speaking of His Flesh. But the Jews, not understanding this, and supposing that the words werespoken of the Jewish Temple, said, “Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt Thourear it up in three days?” Since then He said one thing, and they imagined another, (for He spakeof His Flesh, and they thought that the words were spoken of their Temple,) the Evangelist remarkingon this, or rather correcting their imagination, goes on to say, “But He spake of the Temple of HisBody.” So that here also, if Christ had not made Himself equal with God, had not wished to establishthis, and yet the Jews had imagined that He did, the writer would here also have corrected theirsupposition, and would have said, “The Jews thought that He made Himself equal to God, butindeed He spake not of equality.” And this is done not in this place only, nor by this Evangelistonly, but again elsewhere another Evangelist is seen to do the same. For when Christ warned Hisdisciples, saying, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” ( Matt. xvi. 6 ), and theyreasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have taken no bread,” and He spake of onething, calling their doctrine “leaven,” but the disciples imagined another, supposing that the wordswere said of bread; it is not now the Evangelist who setteth them right, but Christ Himself, speakingthus, “How is it that ye do not understand, that I spake not to you concerning bread?” But herethere is nothing of the kind.“But,” saith some one, “to remove this very thought Christ has added,Ver. 19 . “‘The Son can do nothing of Himself.’”Man! He doth the contrary. He saith this not to take away, but to confirm, 1019 His Equality. Butattend carefully, for this is no common question. The expression “of Himself” is found in manyplaces of Scripture, with reference both to Christ and to the Holy Ghost, and we must learn theforce of the expression, that we may not fall into the greatest errors; for if one take it separately byitself in the way in which it is obvious to take it, consider how great an absurdity will follow. Hesaid not that He could do some things of Himself and that others He could not, but universally,[4.] “The Son can do nothing of Himself.” I ask then my opponent, “Can the Son do nothingof Himself, tell me?” If he reply, “that He can do nothing,” we will say, that He hath done of Himself1017τῆς αὐτῆς γνώμης ἀπόφασίς , i.e. in saying that He was making Himself “ equal to the Father, ” the Evangelist assertsa truth which had before been signified by His breaking the Sabbath, and saying that God was His Father.1018al. “ given. ”1019lit. “ to clench. ”204