Verse 14... The glory of the Only-begotten of the Father...,3 not such a glory as that of the glorified saints or angels, but the glory of the truly Only-begotten. For here it means the same thing that is true. The Only-begotten of the Father, i.e. by nature of the Son of God. The name "Only-begotten of the Mother" indicates in Him by nature the son of the Virgin, and the expression "Only-begotten of the Father" denotes in Him by nature the Son of God.

Verse 14... Be full of grace and truth.4 Asserting then that the Word made flesh was not diminished in the least through this, the Evangelist says that He was the Fulfillment of the grace of God and of truth, grace in the performance of miracles, and truth in doctrine, grace in omnipotence, and truth in the fact that He had nothing illusory.

Verse 15. John testifies of Him, and called... 5 If, says the Evangelist, it may seem to some that I am not fully trustworthy, then John testifies before me of the Divinity of the Word, that John, whose name was great and glorious among all the Jews; and not only testifies, but also calls, that is, boldly shouts, preaches freely and without any fear. Listen, then, to what he testifies and preaches:

Verse 15... Saying: This is His rekh, Who is coming after me, was before me... 6 And he said other things like unto the Jews concerning Christ, before he appeared as a prophet, to warn them by a discourse concerning Christ, and when he appeared, that it might be more easily received of the testimony of him. And Matthew (3:11) wrote: "And he who is coming for me is strong, Who is worthy to bear the boots... What does this mean: He who is coming is before me after me? He who is soon to come to you, but who has not yet appeared to you as a man, surpasses me in glory and majesty, because He must be greatly glorified and magnified. He spoke of the future as having already been accomplished, according to the laws of prophecy. Then he sets forth the reason for such superiority.

Verse 15... For he was before me,1 because He was before me, as God.

Verse 16. And from His fulfillment we all received... 2 Having said that the Word was full of grace and truth, and having also shown that He is the eternal and inexhaustible source of all good, the Evangelist says that all of us disciples will receive from this fullness Him through participation.

Verse 16... And grace to grace...,3 The New Testament instead of the Old. What he says of these Covenants is clear from what follows, but now he has for the time being called both graces, because both of them have been granted by grace to those who have received them, since God has given them to men by His mercy, and has not rewarded them for their former virtues. Just as covenant and covenant are said, law and law, and many other things have a common name, so are the names grace and grace used. These are homonyms, not synonyms: the grace of the Old Testament is only the original instruction, and the grace of the New Testament is the consummation, the former is appropriate for infants, and for perfect people, or: this for perfect people, and this even for angels. Further, he points out the difference between the Covenants and the difference between their founders.

Verse 17. As the law was given by Moses, grace and truth were given by Jesus Christ.4 The law, or Old Testament, was given to the Jews through Moses, and grace, or the New Testament, was given by Jesus Christ without any intermediary. Moses was a servant and gave what he himself received from God, and Jesus Christ was the Master, and He Himself established the New Covenant as God. So, as much as there is a difference between Moses and Jesus Christ, so is the difference between the Testaments. Above the Evangelist said: grace and grace for the reason indicated there, but here only the New Testament called grace as true grace, because only it grants the remission of sins, regeneration, adoption, the Kingdom of Heaven, and those blessings which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor ascended into the heart of man (1 Corinthians 2:9).5 Having said grace, the Evangelist added: and truth, thus testifying to the non-falsehood or perfection of the New Testament. The Old Testament was an imperfect grace: for the law did nothing,6 says the Apostle (Heb. 7:19), but the New Testament is perfect grace, because it makes perfect. Thus, the greater grace we have been vouchsafed, the greater virtue we bind ourselves to, so that, living unworthy of so great a blessing, we may not suffer a punishment worthy of so great sloth.

Verse 18. God is nowhere to be seen: the Only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, that confession.7 See with what consistency the Evangelist proceeded to this. Having shown the difference between law and grace, he adds a reasonable reason for this difference: the law was brought by Moses, a man who did not see God, since God is nowhere to be seen, and therefore the law is inferior, as brought by man; but grace, or the Gospel, the Only-begotten Son, who dwells in the bosom of the Father and always sees God as God, confessed, established, taught, and therefore grace is higher than that which proceeded from God, who sees God and knows all things of God. But how did the Evangelist say: "God is nowhere to be seen?" And Isaiah (6:1) saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and exalted; Ezekiel (10:18) saw Him sitting on the cherubim; Daniel (7:8) saw the Ancient of Days sitting, and others also saw. But they all saw not as He was in His being, but as He appeared in one likeness or another. If they had seen His very essence, they would not have seen Him in various images, because He is something simple, having no image, not sitting, not standing, not walking, – everything that is proper to bodies. That is why God said: "I have multiplied visions, and in the hands of the prophets they have been likened to them" (Hosea 12:10),1 thus pointing to various visions and likenesses. The Son is called the Only-begotten, first of all, because one is begotten of the Father, because He is born of the Father alone, and His Father is only the Father, and not any one's son, like other fathers, – further, because only the Son is born, and not someone else's father, like other sons – and, finally, because He is born of a single or special generation, surpassing all reason and word, and not like bodies. He is called the Son, because He is of one and the same being with the Father, and not only of the same being, but also of the same being. The bosom of the Father is said, not because God has a bosom – since the bosom is in bodies – but by this expression: "He who is in the bosom of the Father" signifies the kinship, consubstantiality, and indivisibility of the Son. It can also be said in another way: the following saying serves as a confirmation of God's words: "The Only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, confessed, i.e. He taught that God is nowhere to be seen; and Jesus Christ spoke about this in various ways, as we will see later. Thus, no creature, not only corporeal, but also incorporeal, has seen God, since He is essentially invisible even to bodiless powers, although they see Him as far as they can.

Verse 19. And this is the testimony of John...,2 of which I am now going to speak.

Verse 19... When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem, let them ask him, "Who art thou?"3 That is, this testimony was given when the Jews sent, etc. The chief priests and priests of the Jews, who knew the extraordinary events that took place at the birth of Jesus Christ, then received the proof of His wisdom, when, as a twelve-year-old boy, He came together with the teachers, listened and asked them, as Luke said (2:2 46), were amazed and began to envy Him. Hearing afterwards that John also said many and great things about Jesus Christ to those who came to be baptized (and they understood that John was saying all this about Him), they were even more troubled and sent priests and Levites, i.e. ministers, from Jerusalem to ask him: Who art thou? They did not do this because they did not know it, since everyone knew what happened at his birth, circumcision, and naming, when everyone said, "For this child shall be" (Luke 1:66)?4 But they deceitfully pretend to be ignorant, and do not say, "Who are you?" Who are you? Thou to whom we have all striven, of whom we have formed a lofty conception for ourselves, and before whom we have so much reverence. They foolishly assumed that, though John had despised glory in all other respects, yet he, as a man, would experience that which is proper to man, and out of love of glory would say that he was the Christ, and thus the fame of Jesus Christ, against which all measures had been taken, would be diminished. Therefore they sent not just anyone, but priests and Levites, and moreover from Jerusalem, as more hostile and treacherous than from any other city.

Verse 20. And confess, and do not deny it... 5 Of course, he confessed the truth, because he was truthful and unyielding.

Verse 20... And confession, as I am Christ.6 The Evangelist repeats the same thing, proving the virtue of John, since he not only did not show any love of glory and did not appropriate to himself the glory of the Lord, but also neglected that which was given to him by many. And pay attention to his prudence: he did not say who he was, what he did afterwards, but, referring to their thoughts and knowing their desires, he first directly destroyed what they thought he should have answered. He said, "I am Christ."

Verse 21. And she asked him, "What is it? Are you Elijah? and the verb: "Bear... 1 Being deceived in this design, they turn to another, and, wishing to conceal their purpose, say, What is this? Are you Elijah, so that it would seem that they are asking innocently and without malice, since they were waiting for the coming of Elijah on the basis of the words of the prophet Malachi (4, 5, 6): "I will send you Elijah the Tishbite..., who will arrange the heart of the father to the son."2 Therefore again the question is asked, in order to remain beyond all suspicion.