And he said, "For this reason I have told you, that no man can come to me, except it be given to him from my Father." From that time many of His disciples departed from Him and walked no more with Him. Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Will you not also go away?" We have often said that when you hear that the Father gives faith in the Son, do not think that the Father does good to some and not to others, by lot, for this is characteristic of the unrighteous, but understand that the Father does good and gives the gift of faith to those who have a will. For he who has no will will will not benefit from God's help. Let me explain. God gives His gifts to all. Some accept and make good use of what is given, and, preserving it, show the gift of God. And others accept, but lose what is given and find themselves without receiving anything. Thus, when the Evangelist says that whoever is not given from the Father cannot come to the Son, then his words mean that the one to whom the Father gives comes to the Son and who will keep the gift given to him by God. - "Many of the students went back"; that is, having separated themselves from Him, they did not go for the better, but turned back, that is, to unbelief. For truly, whoever separates himself from Christ goes backwards, and whoever, like Paul, cleaves to the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17), he constantly stretches forward (Phil. 3:13). And he, showing that he had no need of anyone, nor of their service or care, said to them, 'Do you also want to depart?' Why, on the contrary, did He not praise the twelve disciples for not departing with the rest? On the one hand, to preserve the dignity of the Teacher, and on the other hand, to show us that in this way it is possible to attract even more. For if He had praised Him, they would perhaps have experienced something human, and would have become proud, thinking that by following Him they were doing Him a favor. And, showing that He did not need them to follow Him, He was more able to restrain them as more beneficent than beneficent, and receiving grace rather than giving. "Notice how prudently He put it. He did not say, "Go away," for that would be to push you away, but asked, "Do you want to go away?" In this way He gives complete freedom to follow or not, showing that He wants to follow Him, not out of shame before Him, but out of the consciousness that they will receive grace for following.

Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord! To whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we have believed and come to know that Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered them, "Have I not chosen you twelve? But one of you is the devil. This He spoke of Judas Iscariot of Simon, for he wanted to betray Him, being one of the twelve. Peter, having a tender love for Him and for his brethren, is responsible for the entire face of the apostles. He did not say, "Lord! To whom will "I" go? And, "I" have known and believed, but to whom shall we go? and so on. He says that the Lord has the words of eternal life, because He heard Him say: "He who believes in Me I will raise up, and he will have eternal life." For they have already accepted the truth of the resurrection and the whole doctrine. Therefore, the cause of the temptation was not the words of Christ, but the inattention, negligence, and ingratitude of the listeners. For these twelve also heard the same thing, and yet they were not offended, but remained faithful. What about Christ? Does He approve of Peter, as He did on another occasion (Matt. 16:17)? Not at all, so as not to appear flattered that he was with Him. What does He say to Peter? I have chosen you twelve, yet not all of you are worthy of this election, but one of you is the devil. This can be understood in two ways: either because the devil even now perverts all that is Mine and does not accept anything of it, or because he slanders Me. For such was indeed Judas, slandering the Lord before the Jews and betraying His mysteries to them, as David also says of him: "Went out, and spoke together," went out and spoke for one thing (Psalm 40:7). The Lord says this to Peter in order to correct him. Peter said, "We have learned all things and have believed." And he said, "Do not think so; you are not all faithful, and not all have come to know me. "See, perhaps, how the Lord prevents the betrayer's malice from afar, and, as if forcibly restraining it, says this, although He knows that it will not do any good, yet He does His work. And he did not discover him and did not leave him completely unknown; he did the first so that he, having lost his shame, would not become more stubborn; another, that he should not perform a courageous deed without fear, and not think that he would hide. From here we also learn that God does not make good by force and force, and that God's election does not constrain our arbitrariness; and when he is angry, he does not force you to become good. And God's election consists in the fact that God predisposes us to good and gives us His grace. To be saved and to act worthy of election - or vice versa - this depends on our thought and will. Be amazed at how much the devil is at enmity. He was able to captivate one of the twelve apostles who raised the dead, performed miracles, and heard the spiritual and life-giving teaching of the Lord. And where, finally, is our hope for salvation, when we have voluntarily enslaved ourselves to evil from our youth? For this reason the Evangelist, as if with surprise, said: "being one of the twelve." Although, he says, he belonged to this holy countenance, nevertheless, through his evil will, he turned out to be unworthy of it. Thus man is inclined to evil! Let the Manichaeans not be mistaken. We are not naturally evil. In this case, malice would constantly act in us. But Judas was not always evil, but was once holy. This means that evil is both born and grows from arbitrariness.

CHAPTER SEVEN

After this, Jesus walked in Galilee, for he did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him. The feast of the Jews was approaching - the setting of tabernacles. And his brethren said unto him, Go out from hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may see the works which thou dost do. For no one does anything in secret, and seeks to be known himself. If You do such things, then manifest Yourself to the world. For even His brethren did not believe in Him. Jesus distances himself from the murderers, the Jews, not because He fears death, for He could walk in their midst and suffer nothing, but because if He had always done so, they would not have believed that He was a man, but would have been considered a ghost. Wherefore now He withdraws, and thus confirms and assures that He is a man, and smites all who say that He was incarnate in a phantom, such as Manes, Marcion, Basilides, and the like. On other occasions, when He is in the midst of murderers plotting against Him, and remains unharmed, He shows that He is God, and puts Paul of Samosata to shame, and assures everyone that He was not only a man, but also God. - Now He is going to Galilee. Since the time had not yet come for Him to suffer, it was in vain and superfluous to address Him among His enemies and thus give occasion for increasing their malice. "There was," he said, "the setting of tabernacles. About the feasts celebrated by the Jews, the following should be noted. There were three of them: one was the feast of the Passover, which they celebrated in memory of the exodus from Egypt, and it was their first (main). Another feast is Pentecost, which they celebrated in memory of deliverance from disasters in the wilderness and entry into the promised land. Then they ate the grain fruit for the first time, so on this feast they brought ears of grain as firstfruits. The third feast is the setting up of tabernacles, which they performed in gratitude for the gathering of fruits, according to the Roman reckoning in the month of September. Then they thanked the Lord that they had gathered all the fruit. Wherefore they built tabernacles or tents, and rejoiced, as if they were living in a field. Some say that some of the Psalms of David (80 and 83), which have the inscription "O winepress," were composed by David for this feast. Then they filled their grape vices by gathering grapes, and, thanking them for it, used these psalms and others that served as an expression of gratitude, such as the eighth psalm. For in it the prophet also mentions the blessings granted to man by God. - These holidays had another meaning. Pascha signified our transition from unbelief to faith, Pentecost meant our entry into the Church, as it were, into another promised land, in which we also partake of bread, partaking of the Divine Mysteries. We do not immediately partake of the Bread as soon as we believe and pass from unbelief, but must first be baptized and vouchsafed to stand in church together with the baptized, and only then partake of the Bread. - The setting up of tabernacles signified the resurrection, when all the fruits of our deeds would be gathered, and our tabernacles (bodies), destroyed by death, would rise again. There are other sublime aspects of these feasts, but this is not the time to express them. For we always choose what is more useful for many. - And so, when the Jewish feast, called the setting up of tabernacles, was approaching, and the brothers of Jesus saw that he was not going to the feast, they said to him with envy, 'Go out from here and go thither, that your works may also be seen by your disciples, that is, the people who follow you; for they do not speak of the twelve, but of His other followers. His brothers, that is, the children of Joseph, accuse Him of two dispositions, fear and love of glory. That is why they say: "no one does anything in secret" - this is a sign of fear, - "and seeks to be known himself" - this is a sign of love of glory. If, they say, Thou dost do such things, then manifest Thyself to the world. By this they seem to say: we do not understand Thy behavior in a good way. For if You do such works as good, then reveal Yourself, but if You hide Yourself, it is evident that You hide Yourself because You do evil. - Why did the Evangelist tell of nothing else from his five-month activity, except the miracle over the loaves and the Lord's conversation with the rich but ungrateful, and, omitting the rest, said: The Jewish feast was approaching, the setting up of tabernacles? And that he kept silent about the deeds committed during the five months, is evident from the following. When Jesus performed the miracle of the loaves, it was the Passover, which was celebrated in the month called March by the Romans, and the first month by the Jews. Now the setting of tabernacles, which is done in September. Why did the evangelist do this? Because it was impossible to talk about everything in order. And in other words, the evangelists tried to talk about what caused some censure or contradiction on the part of the Jews. Their love for the truth is worthy of wonder. They are not ashamed to speak of what seems to bring upon the Master a certain disgrace. In the same way, this Evangelist, omitting many miracles and words of the Lord, tells of the unbelief of the brethren and of their reproach of Him. Where does such unbelief come from in them? From arbitrariness and envy. "Look, though." Before the crucifixion, although they see Him in glory and working miracles, such believe in Him, but after the crucifixion and imaginary disgrace they bear witness for Him, becoming apostles, preachers and bishops. This means that they indisputably saw Him resurrected. For if they had not received a firm assurance of His resurrection, they would not have given themselves up to death for His sake.

And Jesus said to them, My time has not yet come, but there is always time for you. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me, because I bear witness of him that his deeds are evil. Ye shall go to this feast; but I will not yet go to this feast, because My time has not yet come. The brothers, envious of the Lord, accuse Him of fear and vanity. What does He say to them? Does he not answer them severely? No, but meekly. He did not say, "Who are you to give Me such counsel and to teach?" But what does he say? My time has not yet come, that is, the time of suffering and death. And there is always time for you. You, he says, although you will always be with the Jews, they will not kill you, as having the same aspirations with them, but Me, as soon as they see that I have come to the feast, they will immediately decide to kill Me, - or this can be understood in another way. He who blesses those who mourn in the present age (Matt. 5:4), even now says the same, which can happen to all the saints. For Me, he says, the time of the feast has not yet come, for I see that all malice dwells in the Jews. For the time of weeping and sorrow is when the truth is banished and the will of God does not prevail. For this reason it is not yet a time of festivity for Me. But for you, who live in harmony with the Jews and are attached to the world, it is proper to celebrate with those like you. And the world, that is, those who care about the things of the world, cannot hate you as the same with themselves. But he hates me, because I rebuke his deeds. For reproof, which is very bold, always breeds hatred, - So He sends the brethren to the feast, showing that He does not compel them to remain with Him, if they do not want to. Look. To the twofold accusation made against Him, in fear and love of glory, he also makes a twofold justification. Against the accusation of fear, he says that I denounce the works of the world, that is, those who care about the things of the world. But I would not rebuke if I were fearful, as you think. Contrary to the accusation of love of glory, He does not force them to remain with Him. And if He had been guilty of love of glory, He would not have sent them away. For the lovers of glory and the proud try, on the contrary, to have many followers. Two faults were ascribed to Him; naturally He contrasted the two justifications, showing that their opinion was weak. The words "My time has not yet come" mean that it is not yet time to be crucified and die. I still need to live in the flesh and perform more miracles, and express more teaching, in order to prepare more people for the faith and to strengthen the disciples more through the manifestation of great miracles and through teaching. And so, he says, the time of death has not yet come, that I should give Myself over to those who are enemies against Me; therefore I will not go to the feast.

Having said these things to them, he remained in Galilee. But when His brothers came, then He also came to the feast, not openly, but as if secretly. Why did He say to the brethren that I would not go to the feast, and then he went? He didn't just say I wouldn't go, but "I won't go now," that is, with you. At first He refused to go, because the Jews were burning with rage, and then He departed, at the end of the feast, when, naturally, their wrath had weakened. And it is different. He did not act contrary to His words. For He did not ascend to celebrate, but to teach, and not with pomp, as panegyrists usually do, but secretly. He takes refuge in order to confirm His humanity. For if He appeared, they would be furious with Him with the intention of killing Him. But He would not have allowed them to do this, since the time of suffering had not yet come, but, being among them, He would have escaped suffering and would have appeared to the incarnate illusory. Therefore, as a man, He avoids and withdraws, arranging His own.

And the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, Where is He? And there was much talk about him among the people: some said that he was good, and others said, "No, but deceives the people." However, no one spoke about Him openly, fearing the Jews. The Jews, out of great hatred, do not mention His name. They do not say, "Where is Jesus," but, "Where is He?" So they hated His name alone. Notice, perhaps, their propensity to kill. They do not respect the time of the feast, but they want to catch Him in it. That is why they are looking for it. In this way they preserved reverence and respect for the holidays! So right were their deeds! There was a dispute among the people about Him, because opinions about Him were different. The rulers said that He deceived the people, and the people said that He was good. Those who called Him good were from among the people. The justice of this is evident from the words of the Evangelist: no one dared to speak of Him openly, fearing the Jews. Obviously, those who did not dare to speak about Him were from the people and were silent, fearing the leaders of the Jews. The words "deceives the people" show that those who slander Him are of the rulers. For if they were of the people, they would say that He deceives us. But those who say that He deceives the people show that they are not of the people, but of the rulers. Look, perhaps. The superiors are everywhere unfrank, and the subordinates remain upright, but not having a firm will and being still imperfect, they are not brave.

But in the middle of the feast, Jesus entered the temple and taught. And the Jews were amazed, saying, How does he know the Scriptures without studying? And Jesus answered them, saying, My teaching is not mine, but that of Him who sent me. Why did He come in the middle of the feast? In order to weaken their anger and so that they would listen to His words with great diligence and attention, when the feast did not block their ears. For at the beginning of the feast it was natural for them to be amused by the festive atmosphere. When He appeared suddenly, everyone listened to Him in general, both those who called Him good and those who called Him a deceiver; some in order to receive some benefit and marvel; others to become attached to Him and seize Him as a deceiver. What He taught, the Evangelist did not say, but that He taught something miraculous, by which He occupied them, this the Evangelist showed by saying that they were amazed that He knew the Scriptures without studying. However, although they were amazed, their evil intent did not change. For they did not marvel at the teaching, nor did they receive speech, but marveled at how He knew the Scriptures, that is, they were perplexed, amazed, what usually happens to those who are envious. For example, someone has a poor neighbor. Then, it will happen that he will repeatedly pass in expensive clothes. The envious neighbor, seeing him, said, "How did he, being very poor, dress so richly?" Where did he get such clothes? He says this not because he is surprised at the deed, but because he is consumed by envy. And he uses these words to blacken his neighbor: "Without a doubt, he says, he stole these clothes." So it is with the Jews. How, they say, does he know the Scriptures? "By the power of Beelzebub, no doubt. Though they should have better conclude from this that there was nothing human in Him; but since they did not want to admit this, He Himself answered them and taught them that His teaching was from the Father and God. Mine, he says, there is nothing. On My own behalf, contrary to God, I say nothing, but what belongs to the Father, of that I speak.

Whoever wants to do His will will know about this teaching, whether it is from God, or whether I speak from Myself. He who speaks of himself seeks glory for himself; but he who seeks glory to him who sent him is true, and there is no unrighteousness in him. Having said that My teaching is not Mine, that is, not contrary to God, but the teaching of My Father, He says that whoever does the will of God, that is, who becomes accustomed to virtue, and is not a slave to envy and is not darkened by vain hatred against Me, he will know the power of My words, whether I speak from the Father, or something alien and contrary to Him. - The will of God is done by the Goth, who delves into the Scriptures and the prophets. Such a person can learn about the teaching of the Lord, that it is from God. For the prophets do not portray the Lord as an adversary of God and speaking for Himself, but as saying and doing all things that are pleasing to God. Then he adds another argument, which is that whoever speaks of himself, that is, wants to introduce his own teaching, does it for no other reason than in order to gain glory for himself. But I do not desire to gain glory for myself, but seek the glory of Him who sent me. Why then shall I teach that which is foreign to Him? Therefore, I am true, and there is no unrighteousness in Me, that is, I will not appropriate to Myself the glory that belongs to another, which would be unjust. Therefore My teaching has both truth and righteousness. It does not arise from ambition in order to be false and unjust. For the ambitious man both lies, saying things about himself that is beyond his dignity, and does unrighteousness, arrogating to himself the glory that is not his own, and which does not belong to him in the least. But the Lord seeks glory to the Father and attributes nothing to Himself. Obviously, He is true and righteous.

When the Lord speaks loftily of His glory, then we must believe that He speaks of Himself so exalted in the greatness of His nature, because He is equal in Essence to the Father.

Did not Moses give you the law? And none of you is acting according to the law. Why do you seek to kill Me? The people answered and said, "Is not the demon in you? Who seeks to kill You? Apparently, the present words of the Lord have no connection with those previously spoken; But when we look closer, they are closely connected. He is accused of breaking the Sabbath and transgressing the law. He contrasts this with the fact that rather, "they are transgressors of the law." The law says: "Thou shalt not kill" (Exodus 20:13), and you seek to kill Me. Therefore you are transgressors of the law, and not I. Therefore you allow yourselves to do wrong, and you accuse me of transgressing the law, because I healed a man on the Sabbath. - The Lord said: "None of you walks according to the law, because all with whom He spoke sought to kill Him." - See with what meekness He speaks to them, and they, on the contrary, with offensive insolence say: the demon is in You. They are so impudent because they thought to strike Him down and frighten Him. Although Christ Himself is the Lord of Moses and the author of the law, yet, yielding to the weakness and insensitivity of the Jews, He says that the law was given by Moses. For they could not calmly hear that the law was given to them not by Moses, but by Him, the Lord of Moses and the Lord.

Jesus, continuing his speech, said to them, "I have done one thing, and you are all amazed." Moses gave you circumcision (though it is not from Moses, but from the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man. If a man is circumcised on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you indignant at me, because I healed the whole man on the Sabbath? Do not judge by appearances, but judge with righteous judgment. That the Jews rebel against the Lord in vain, He proves this by the following conclusion. I did one thing on the Sabbath, I healed a paralytic, and because of this you are all amazed, that is, you are confused, you raise the alarm. Meanwhile, Moses himself, this lawgiver, broke the Sabbath when he commanded that every soul (man) should be circumcised on the eighth day (Lev. 12:3). For it often happened that the eighth day, on which it was necessary to be circumcised, fell on the Sabbath. Wherefore the Sabbath was broken for circumcision by Moses himself, and the Sabbath day in no way forbids a man to be circumcised; even if the eighth day is on the Sabbath, the law of Sabbath rest is left out, so that the law of circumcision may not be broken. If this is so, why are you indignant with Me and angry because I healed the whole man on the Sabbath? Though the circumcision was not from Moses, but from the fathers, yet it, which was not from Moses, violated the Sabbath law given by Moses. And on the Sabbath circumcision is not forbidden, which causes pain; but you reproach Me because I have freed man from sickness and made him healthy. "Judge not according to outward appearances," that is, judge righteously and impartially. Moses, who breaks the Sabbath by circumcision, you release from reproach; but I, who broke the Sabbath by doing good to man, you condemn. To exempt Moses from reproach, out of respect for his dignity, and to condemn Me, who is apparently inglorious, is manifest partiality.

Then some of the people of Jerusalem said, "Is this not the one whom they seek to kill?" Behold, He speaks openly, and they say nothing to Him: Have not the rulers been convinced that He is truly the Christ? But we know Him whence He comes; But Christ, when He comes, no one will know where He comes from. It is not simply and not in vain that it is added: "some of the people of Jerusalem," but in order to show that all those who have been vouchsafed great miracles above all others are more worthy of pity. For how pitiful are they not when they have seen the great sign of His Divinity, and yet still allow falsehood in the judgment of Him? If they had wished, they would have seen a great sign in the fact that He spoke boldly in the midst of His enemies, and yet suffered nothing from them; but they would not know in this sign His power. - They wonder if the rulers have not made sure that He is truly the Christ. And they do not stop at this thought, but draw the following conclusion: from whence Christ will come, no one knows. But whence He comes, we know. This means that this is not Christ. "But see how malice contradicts itself. Their leaders, when Herod asked them, said that Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea (Matt. 2:4, 5); and they say that no one knows where Christ comes from. Do you see the contradiction? - And again in another place they say: "We know that God spoke to Moses, but whence He comes, we do not know" (John 9:29). Do you see how fierce are those who speak? We know and we don't know. Is there anything like this frenzy? But they had one thing in mind, not to believe. Therefore, when it was profitable for them, they said, "We know," and when it was not profitable, they asserted that we did not know. Thus, the contradiction arises from their malice. - Some will ask: on what basis do they say that no one will know about Christ, where He comes from? For if they did not have any testimony in the Scriptures or a firm tradition, they would speak so clearly in spite of the scribes, who clearly told Herod that Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea, and those who in another place say that Christ would come from the village of Bethlehem (John 7:42). What should I answer? Both spoke thus on the basis of the prophets. Those who said that Christ was born in Bethlehem and that He was from the village of David, evidently, as Matthew also notes, had as their basis the testimony of the prophet Micah, who says: "And thou, Bethlehem, the land of Judah, is in no way less than the governors of Judah; for from thee shall come forth a Leader, who shall shepherd my people Israel" (Micah 5:2; Matt. 2:4-6). And those who said that no one knew where Christ would come from also based their thought on the testimony of the prophets. Micah himself (5:2) says that "His departures are from the beginning, from the days of the world," which clearly means the uncertainty of His departure or birth. For Him Who has proceeds from the beginning and from the days of the world, no man can know. Men are in time, and He is from the days of the world and from the beginning. How then does the temporal know the eternal? Isaiah also says: "Who can explain His generation" (53:8)? Based on this, they said that no one knew about Christ where He came from. For they did not understand that the Lord Jesus had two natures, and that whence He came from by bodily birth from a Virgin, namely from Bethlehem, this was known, and of His incorporeal and ineffable birth from the Father before all ages it is said that His birth is beyond all explanation. Therefore these Jerusalemites speak of bodily birth, and say that they know whence He comes; but they do not speak of the pre-eternal Birth, by which no one knows Christ, whence He comes. Therefore, not knowing that He is of two natures, and is known by the one and not by the other, they say that He is not the Christ.

Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, "And you know me, and you know where I come from; and I have not come of myself, but he who sent me is true, whom you do not know. I know Him because I am of Him, and He sent Me. Since they said that they knew Him whence He was, not for any other purpose, but to show that He was of the earth and the son of a woodworker, therefore He leads them up to heaven, saying, "You also know Me, and you know whence I am," that is, although you hide it in your malice, yet you know that I am from heaven. For if My Father is from there, it is evident that I Myself am from there, and that I am sent from Him who is true. For the True One would not want to send a deceiver and a liar. But you do not know Him who sent Me, you do not acknowledge Him by your works. For even in knowledge there is ignorance, as the Apostle Paul says: they say that they know God. But by works they deny (Titus 1:16). And you, Jews, do not know My Father, because of your evil deeds and very evil intention. And I know Him. For neither evil intent nor works contrary to Him hinder Me from knowing Him. - I am from Him, that is, from Him, not from another essence, not alien to Him. - And He sent Me. Here two natures in Christ are clearly indicated: with the words: "I am of Him" - the Divine Being, and with the words: "And He sent Me" - human. For the Son of God is called the Messenger, as well as the Servant of God, according to humanity.