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

NPNF (V1-14)St. Chrysostomfather Abraham?” so that this (which He had said) maketh Him to be greater than Abraham. “Whentherefore ye have seen Him lifted up, 1493 ye shall confess that He is greater.” On this account Hesaid, “When ye have lifted Me 1494 up, ye shall know that I Am.” ( Ver. 28 .) And observe Hiswisdom. Having first rent them away from Abraham’s kindred, He showeth that He is greater thanAbraham, that so He may be seen to be very exceedingly greater than the Prophets also. Indeed itwas because they continually called Him a prophet that He said, “My word hath no place in you.”( Ver. 37 .) In that other place 1495 He declared that He raiseth the dead, but here He saith, “He thatbelieveth shall never see death,” which was a much greater thing than not to allow believers to beholden, by death. Wherefore the Jews were the more enraged. What then say they?“Whom makest thou thyself?”And this too in an insulting manner. “Thou art taking somewhat upon thyself,” saith one ofthem. To this then Christ replieth;Ver. 54 . “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.”[2.] What say the heretics here? That He heard the question, “Art thou greater than our fatherAbraham?” and dared not to say to them, “Yea, I am greater,” but did so in a covert manner. Whatthen? Is His honor “nothing”? With respect to them 1496 it is nothing. And as He said, “My witnessis not true” ( c. v. 31 ), with reference to the opinion they would form of it, so also doth He speakhere.“There is One 1497 that honoreth Me.”And wherefore said He not, “The Father that sent Me,” as He did before, but,“Of whom ye say that He is your God.”Ver. 55 . “Yet ye have not known Him.” Because He desired to show that they not only knewnot His Father, but that they knew not God.“But I know Him.”“So that to say, ‘I know Him,’ is not a boast, while to say, ‘I know Him not,’ would be afalsehood; but ye when ye say that ye know Him, lie; as then ye, when ye say that ye know Him,lie, so also should I, were I to say that I know Him not.”“If I honor Myself.” Since they said, “Whom makest thou thyself?” He replieth, “If I make(Myself anything,) My honor is nothing. As then I know Him exactly, so ye know Him not.” Andas in the case of Abraham, He did not take away their whole assertion, but said, “I know that yeare Abraham’s seed,” so as to make the charge against them heavier; thus here He doth not removethe whole, but what? “Whom ye say.” 1498 By granting to them their boast of words, He increaseththe force of the accusation against them. How then do ye “not know Him”? “Because ye insult Onewho saith and doeth everything that He 1499 may be glorified, even when that One is sent from Him.”This assertion is unsupported by testimony, but what follows serves to establish it.“And I keep His saying.”1493al. “ gone forth. ”1494“ The Son of Man, ” N.T.1495 c. vi. 39, 401496i.e. the Jews.1497“ It is My Father, ” N.T.1498“ that He is your God, ” N.T.1499i.e. the Father.299