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

NPNF (V1-14)St. Chrysostom187What He saith, is of this kind; “Ye judge unjustly.” “And if,” saith some one, “we judge unjustly,why dost Thou not rebuke us? why dost Thou not punish us? why dost Thou not condemn us?”“Because,” He saith, “I came not for this.” This is the meaning of, “I judge no man; yet if I judge,My judgment is true.” “For had I been willing to judge, ye would have been among the condemned.And this I say, not judging you. Yet neither do I tell you that I say it, not judging you, as though Iwere not confident that had I judged you, I should have convicted you; since if I had judged you,I must justly have condemned you. But now the time of judgment is not yet.” He alluded also tothe judgment to come, saying,“I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent Me.”Here He hinted, that not He alone condemneth them, but the Father also. Then He concealedthis, by leading them to His own testimony.Ver. 17 . “It is written in your Law, that the testimony of two men is true.”[3.] What would the heretics say here? (They would say,) “How is he better than man, if wetake what he hath said simply? For this rule is laid down in the case of men, because no man byhimself is trustworthy. But in the case of God, how can one endure such a mode of speaking? Howthen is the word ‘two’ used? Is it because they are two, or because being men they are thereforetwo? If it is because they are two, why did he not betake himself to John, and say, I bear witnessof myself, and John beareth witness of me? Wherefore not to the angels? Wherefore not to theprophets? For he might have found ten thousand other testimonies.” But he desireth to show notthis only that there are Two, but also that they are of the same Substance.Ver. 19 . “Then said they unto Him, Who is thy father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know Me,nor My Father.”Because while they knew they spake as though they knew not, and as if trying Him, He dothnot even deem them worthy of an answer. Wherefore henceforth He speaketh all more clearly andmore boldly; drawing His testimony from signs, and from His teaching of them that followed Him,and 1459 by the Cross being near. For, “I know,” He saith, “whence I come.” This would not greatlyaffect them, but the adding, “and whither I go,” would rather terrify them, since He was not toremain in death. But why said He not, “I know that I am God,” instead of, “I know whence I come”?He ever mingleth lowly words with sublime, and even these He veileth. For after saying, “I bearwitness of Myself,” and proving this, He descendeth to a humbler strain. As though He had said,“I know from whom I am sent, and to whom I depart.” For so they could have had nothing to sayagainst it, when they heard that He was sent from Him, and would depart to Him. “I could not havespoken,” He saith, “any falsehood, I who am come from thence, and depart thither, to the true God.But ye know not God, and therefore judge according to the flesh. For if having heard so many suresigns and proofs ye still say, ‘thy witness is not true,’ if ye deem Moses worthy of credit, both asto what he speaketh concerning others and what he speaketh concerning himself, but Christ not so,this is to judge according to the flesh.” “But I judge no man.” He saith indeed also that “the Fatherjudgeth no man.” ( c. v. 22 .) How then doth He here declare, that, “If I judge, My judgment isjust, for I am not alone”? He again speaketh in reply to their thoughts. “The judgment which isMine is the judgment of the Father. The Father, judging, would not judge otherwise than as I do,and I should not judge otherwise than as the Father.” Wherefore did He mention the Father? Becausethey would not have thought that the Son was to be believed unless He received the witness of the1459Ben. omits “ and. ”285