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

NPNF (V1-14)St. Chrysostom1446which is by works, that so we may obtain the good things to come, through the grace andlovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom and with whom, to the Father and the HolyGhost be glory, now and ever and world without end. Amen.Homily LII.John vii. 45, 46“Then came the officers to the Chief Priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have yenot brought him? The officers answered, Never man spake like this Man.”185[1.] There is nothing clearer, nothing simpler than the truth, if we deal not perversely; just as(on the other hand) if we deal perversely, nothing is more difficult. For behold, the Scribes andPharisees, who seemed forsooth to be wiser than other men, being ever with Christ for the sake ofplotting against Him, and beholding His miracles, and reading the Scriptures, were nothing profited,but were even harmed; while the officers, who could not claim one of these privileges, were subduedby one single sermon, and they who had gone forth to bind Him, came back bound themselves bywonder. We must not only marvel at their understanding, that they needed not signs, but were takenby the teaching alone; (for they said not, “Never man wrought miracles thus,” but, “Never manspake thus”;) we must not, I say, merely marvel at their understanding, but also at their boldness,that they spake thus to those that had sent them, to the Pharisees, to His enemies, to men who weredoing all with a view to gratify their enmity. “The officers,” saith the Evangelist, “came, and thePharisees said unto them, Why have ye not brought him?” To “come” was a far greater deed thanto have remained, for in the latter case they would have been rid of the annoyance of these men,but now they become heralds of the wisdom of Christ, and manifested their boldness in greaterdegree. And they say not, “We could not become of the multitude, for they gave heed unto Him asunto a prophet”; but what? “Never man spake as this Man.” Yet they might have alleged that, butthey show their right feeling. For theirs was the saying not only of men admiring Him, but blamingtheir masters, because they had sent them to bind Him whom it behooved rather to hear. Yet theyhad not heard a sermon either, but a short one; for when the long mind is impartial, there is no needof long arguments. Such a thing is truth. What then say the Pharisees? When they ought to havebeen pricked at the heart, they, on the contrary, retort a charge on the officers, saying,Ver. 47 . “Are ye also deceived?”They still speak them fair, and do not express themselves harshly, dreading lest the others shouldentirely separate themselves, yet nevertheless they give signs of anger, and speak sparingly. Forwhen they ought to have asked what He spake, and to have marveled at the words, they do not so,(knowing that they might have been captivated,) but reason with them from a very foolish argument;1446or, “ display. ”282