Again Jesus said to them, "I am departing, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin; where I go, you cannot come. Then the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself," which says, "Where am I going, you cannot come?" He said to them, "You are from the lowest, I am from the highest; you are of this world, I am not of this world. Therefore I have told you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that it is I, you will die in your sins. Why does He say to them so often, "I am departing, and ye shall seek Me"? In order to shake and frighten their souls. For see into what care they immediately fell. They are perplexed and say, "Will He kill Himself?" Although they wanted to get rid of Him, asked Him to depart from them, and even wanted to kill Him, nevertheless, they consider this circumstance to be so important that they were perplexed by it. "I'm going away." He often says this in order to show that He knows His death in advance, and that the Cross is not the work of their power, but of His will. "I," he says, "am departing": it is not you who lead Me, but I am going of my own free will. - "Where I go, there you cannot come." By these words He shows that He will truly rise in glory and sit at the right hand of God, and they will die in their sins. What do they say to this? Rejecting their assumption and showing that suicide is a criminal matter, the Lord says: "You are from below," and cannot conceive of anything divine; therefore it is natural for you to think so; but "I am not of this world," that is, I do not care about anything worldly and earthly, and therefore I can never go to such madness as to kill Myself. For this is the work of demons, and not of God. Here Apollinarius, seizing upon this saying, following the Manichaeans, says: "You see, the body of the Lord was not of this world, but from above, from heaven, just as Paul says that the second man is the Lord from heaven" (1 Corinthians 15:47). What should be said? Or should we ask him how he understands the words of the Lord to the Apostles: "Ye are not of the world" (John 15:19) – is it so that they also had bodies from heaven, and not from this creature? Or did the Lord say this because they did not care about the good things of this world? Thus should we understand these words: "I am not of this world," that is, I am not like you who care about the things of the world. In the same way, Paul says to some: "You are not according to the flesh" (Romans 8:9), not because they are incorporeal, but testifies to their wisdom and freedom from carnal passions. What does the Lord say to them again? "If you do not believe in me, you will die in your sins." If He came to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29), and it is possible to receive the forgiveness of sins only through baptism, and it is impossible to be baptized without first believing, then the unbeliever will inevitably die in his sin, for if he did not receive baptism, he did not put off the old man. For this reason the Lord also says in another place that the unbeliever is already condemned (John 3:18), not only because he did not believe, but also because he dies with his former sins.

Then they said to Him, "Who are You?" Jesus said to them, "From the beginning I am, just as I say to you." I have much to say and judge of you; but He who sent Me is true, and what I have heard from Him, that I also say to the world. They did not understand what He was telling them about the Father. After so much time, after so many miracles had been performed, they still asked Him, "Who art Thou?" The Lord says: I tell you what I told you in the beginning. You, he says, are not worthy to hear My words entirely, nor to know Who I am; for you all speak with the aim of tempting, and do not wish to hearken to any of my teaching. I could have rebuked you for this, and not only rebuked you, but also punished you. For this he alludes to when he says, "I have much to say about you, and to judge." The word "speak" indicates reproof, and the word "judge" indicates condemnation and punishment. But, he says, He who sent Me did not send Me to judge and rebuke. For God did not send His Son to judge the world, but to save the world (John 3:17). And as My Father sent Me to save, and He is true; then I do not judge anyone by this very thing now, but only say what I have heard from My Father, that is, what serves for salvation, and not for reproof. He said this so that they would not think that He did not punish them because of His powerlessness. He shows that He is not powerless, but He does not want to punish them, since He did not come to punish, but to save. When He said this, they were so foolish that they did not understand what He was saying to them about His Father. How often and how much He had already spoken to them about the Father! But truly their foolish heart was darkened (Romans 1:21). - And some understand these words in this way: "He who sent Me is true" - I could judge you even now, but I leave it until the age to come. But you do not believe and do not pay attention to the time of retribution. But if you do not believe, my Father is true, who has appointed a day for your recompense, and has sent me to declare it, and has revealed to the world his righteousness and power.

Therefore Jesus said to them, "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that it is I, and that I do nothing of myself, but as my Father has taught me, so I say." He who sent Me is with Me; The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do what pleases Him. Jesus performed many miracles, and yet He did not draw the Jews to Himself. Now he tells them about the Cross. You, he says, think that when you crucify Me, you will be free from all care, and you will be delivered from Me. But I say that you will know that it is I, that is, Christ, the Son of God, who bears and holds all things (Heb. 1:3), and that I am not an adversary of the Father, nor do I act or speak of myself, for I have no will of my own, which is different from the will of the Father. How would they recognize Him on the cross? From the signs of that time, from His resurrection and their captivity. For all these things could reveal His power. Therefore, when you crucify Me, you will know both these things, and My power, and My oneness of mind with the Father. For the Father would not have delivered up your city to the Romans in vengeance for me, nor would he have performed signs on the cross, if I had not been his Son, and of one mind, and not contrary to God. Then you will know that whatever I teach and whatever I say, it is from Him, undoubtedly divine, and not Mine, but Him who sent Me. Then, lest it should be thought that the epistle and the embassy signify subjection, He saith that My Father is with Me. Though He sent Me as a Man, yet I am inseparable from Him, and He is with Me as God is with God. After this he again descends to humiliated speech and says: "And He did not leave Me alone," because I do what is pleasing to Him. Thus He humbly speaks to the Jews. They said that He was not of God, because He did not keep the Sabbath. And He says, "I do what is pleasing to Him," so that if I break the Sabbath, I do what is pleasing to Him. However, by such humiliating speech He does not in the least harm His glory, but He benefited His listeners, and strengthened His glory through this. For the hearers, hearing that He attributed everything to the Father, were more willing to be attached to Him and believed in Him, so that humility exalted Him more. Do you see the dignity of blessed humility? And what is so, listen further.

When He said this, many believed in Him. Then Jesus said to the Jews who believed in Him, "If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." I said that the listeners were more carried away by humble speeches. The Evangelist also hints at this. When He said this, he remarks, many believed; he said "this," that is, humble speeches and as if unworthy of His glory. Therefore, when you hear Him say something small and imperfect about Himself, do not be dismayed in any way, for He says this for listeners who cannot understand anything higher and are immediately enraged. What would not have happened to them, unable to comprehend the depths of the theological mystery, when the height of His glory remained incomprehensible even to Christians who knew His power and were saved by Him? When you hear that many have believed, understand that they believed simply and as it happened, and not as it should have been, they believed because they liked humility in speech. And that they were not believers in the exact sense is obvious. For He said to the Jews who believed, "If ye continue in My word." This shows that, although they believed, it was superficial, and therefore they would not remain in the faith. By rebuking them of this, He shows that He knows their hearts and is God. And since some of His former pretended disciples departed, therefore He now says to those who believe: "Though they have departed, yet if ye abide in My word and faith, ye shall know the truth," that is, Me, for I am the Truth" (John 14:6). But now you do not know the truth, because the law, of which you consider yourselves to be the guardians, is not the truth, but an image and a shadow. If you know Me, who is true, then "the truth will set you free," that is, I will free you from your sins. For whoever believes in the world who takes away the sin of the world is undoubtedly free from sins. As unbelievers, He said, "You will die in your sins." (John 8:21), so to those who continue in the faith, he promises freedom from sins. For lawful sacrifices and sprinklings, as images, did not free us from sins, but spiritual and true sacrifice through faith and knowledge frees us, who no longer remain slaves, but are made sons of God.

They answered him, "We are the seed of Abraham, and have never been slaves to anyone; how then sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, "Verily, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin." But the slave does not dwell in the house forever; The Son abides eternally. Therefore, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. The proud Jews are again attached to vain nobility and say with fury: "We are the seed of Abraham." If they needed to be indignant, it was something else. He said to them, "You will know the truth." Therefore they ought to say, "Well, do we not now know the truth? Are all the precepts of the law and our knowledge false? But they cared about nothing of the kind: they worry about the affairs of the world, thinking that He reproaches them with slavery and low birth. "We're Abraham's seed." Nowhere do they mention their own merits, but turn to the fathers. For this reason John also says to them, "Do not begin to say that our father is Abraham" (Matt. 3:9). When they said that they were slaves to no one, they were clearly lying. For every time they were taken captive, they were enslaved by the Egyptians, the Babylonians, and many other nations. The Lord does not convict them of lying. His purpose is not to prove that they are slaves of men, but that they are slaves of sin. And this slavery is the most grievous, and only God can deliver from it. For to forgive sins is the work of God alone. Therefore He says, "Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin," and therefore you also, since you are sinners, are also slaves. To this they could say that although we are subject to such slavery, we have sacrifices, there are priests who cleanse us from sins. He says that they also are slaves, because all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). However, your priests, being themselves slaves, do not have the power to forgive the sins of others. The Apostle Paul speaks more clearly about this, namely: that the priest must offer sacrifice also for himself, as for the people, because he himself is burdened with infirmities (Heb. 5:2, 3). "The servant," he says, "does not dwell in the house," that is, he has no power to give anything, since he is not the lord of the house, but the son-lord of the house, and dwells in the house. Authority calls home, just as in another place it calls rulers home, saying that "in My Father's house are many mansions" (John 14:2). Therefore those your priests, being slaves, had no power to forgive sins. But I, the Son who dwells in the house, that is, having authority and independent rulership, the Lord of the house, will give you freedom, because all things are mine, and I am of one power and one power with the Father. When I set you free, then you will be honored with true freedom. Now you arrogate to yourselves a false freedom, and by Me you will be freed essentially and truly.

I know that you are the seed of Abraham: yet you seek to kill me, because my word cannot be contained in you. I say what I saw in my father; but you do what you have seen in your father. You, he says, consider yourselves to be the seed of Abraham. I agree that you preserve a carnal kinship with this saint, but you have no kinship with him in spirit, He is righteous, philanthropic and hospitable, and you (I am silent about other aspects of your life, but I will expose the most obvious thing that you are doing now) breathe murder and hatred for people. For you seek to kill me, and plot against me. How are you his true children, when you are so far from the qualities of your father? If you boast of affinity, then you must imitate his virtue. Lest it be said that we rightly seek to kill You, He gives a reason. You, he says, are mad against Me for no other reason than because My word is beyond your understanding and does not fit into you. Yet for this it would be necessary not to kill, but to respect and revere, and to desire more strongly that I would teach the loftiness of dogmas. Lest it be said to Him again that we hate Thee justly because of Thy word, because Thou speakest to us not from God, but from Thyself, and therefore we cannot accept Thy teaching, He adds: I do not speak of Myself, but I speak what I have seen in My Father; but you do what you have seen in your father. I, he says, declare the divine and the heavenly things, and thereby manifest My Father, and by your works you manifest your father, that is, the devil. When you hear these words, "I say what I have seen," do not think of bodily vision, but understand natural, true, and most certain knowledge. As the eyes that see the matter and the truth see truly, and are not deceived, so do I truly say what I have learned from the Father.

And they answered and said unto him, Our father is Abraham. Jesus said to them, "If you were the children of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham." And now seek to kill Me, the Man who told you the truth which I heard from God, that Abraham did not do it. You do the works of your father. And they said to him, We are not born of fornication; we have one Father, God. He makes the devil their father, because in their deeds he sees them like him; and they constantly put Abraham out. The Lord often reminds them of their criminal intent and denies their kinship with the righteous in order to stop their excessive boastfulness and convince them that hope should be placed not in vain pride in carnal kinship, but in the similarity of will. Verily, as the Physician of souls, He calms in them the inflammation arising from the dream of kinship with Abraham and preventing them from coming to Christ, for they considered this affinity sufficient for their salvation. Therefore you who breathe murder and seek to kill Me are not the children of Abraham. Then, lest any one should say that it is justly sought to kill Thee, He says: I am a man, not rebelling against God, not seeking My own glory, but speaking what I have heard from My Father, and telling the truth. What was this truth? That He is equal to the Father and not a slave, like one of the prophets, but the Son, who does not do or say anything of Himself, but everything is from the Father. For for this they sought to kill Him. And again they say: "We are not born of fornication; we have one Father, God." "Look, how arrogant! The Lord denies their kinship with Abraham, and they are so vain that in their madness they call themselves children of God Himself. They boast in the sonship of God, probably because they have heard the words: "My son is the firstborn Israel" (Exodus 4:22). But they should have known that God also said in another place: "He begat sons and exalted them, but they rejected Me" (Isaiah 1:2). The Lord could have rebuked them for the fact that many of them were born of fornication, since Jewish wives had relations with Gentiles contrary to the law, and pagan wives with Jews; yet He does not do so. For He did not care to prove their bodily ignorance, but mainly wanted to prove that they were low in soul.

Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, because I came from God and came; for I did not come of myself, but he sent me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you cannot hear My words. Since He excluded them from their kinship with Abraham, they rose even higher, calling God their father. He rebuked them as murderers, and they, defending themselves, say that they avenge God and therefore form a council against Him. For this reason the Lord, showing that they do not intercede for God, but by their very plan they want to kill Him, and are not the children of God, as they thought, but even opponents of God, says: "If God were your Father, you would love Me." For I came down from God into the world, that is, I appeared in the flesh. I am not an opponent of God. I come from Him. Wherefore, when ye rise up against me, ye are enemies of God. Why do you not know My speech, and understand and understand what I say? Without a doubt, not in any other way, than because you cannot hear My words, that is, you do not want to. For "not to be able" is used instead of "not to want". As long as envy and murderous design dwell in you, how can you listen to what I say?

Your father is the devil; and you want to fulfill the lusts of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and did not stand in the truth, for there is no truth in him; when he speaketh a lie, he speaketh his own, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. He said, "You cannot hear My words instead of, You will not." Then he gives the reason why they did not want to listen, that they have their own father, namely the devil. Though you are mad and ascribe yourselves as children to God as your father, yet your deeds testify that the devil is a father more dear to you. You want to fulfill his lusts. He did not say "works," but "lusts," showing that they are very prone to lying and murder, two kinds of evil that are very characteristic of the devil. "He was a murderer from the beginning." Wherefore ye also, seeking to kill me, are like unto him that slew Adam. "He is not tired of the truth," but is the father of lies. And you, when you lie against Me and say that I am not of God, do not stand in the truth, do not abide in My word, you are the children of Him, who begat the lie. For he also slandered God against men, when he told Eve that he had forbidden them the tree of the knowledge of good and evil out of envy. Likewise, he slandered God against people, for example, against Job, saying that Job does not honor God for nothing. "When he tells a lie, he says his own." When people lie, they use someone else's lie, as it were. And the devil uses lies as property, for they are his offspring; and the liar in the proper sense and the father of lies is himself. He said to Eve, "In the day ye shall eat, ye shall be as gods" (Gen. 3:5). And they (Adam and Eve) received death. - And you do not believe Me, because I speak the truth. "Not having to accuse Me of anything else but the truth, for this very reason you rise up against Me, as sons of the father of lies."

Which of you will convict Me of unrighteousness? but if I speak the truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears the words of God; you do not listen because you are not of God. To this the Jews answered and said to Him, "Is it not true that we say that You are a Samaritan, and that a demon is in You? Jesus answered, "There is no demon in Me, but I honor My Father; but you dishonor me. However, I do not seek My glory: there is the Seeker and the Judge. They called themselves the sons of God. He says, if you are sons of God, surely you must hate the sinner. If you can also convict Me, whom you hate, of sin, you obviously hate Me justly. But if no one can convict openly, you hate Me for the truth. For what truth? Without a doubt, because He called Himself the Son of God, which is absolutely true. - "He who is of God hears the words of God." Therefore, if you were also sons of God, you would not turn away from Me, the Son of God, who came down from heaven and exalted the word of God. "Thus the Lord speaks to them meekly, and they allow themselves to be impudent." They say, "Have we not truly said that you are a Samaritan, and have a demon in you?" They called Him a Samaritan as a violator of Jewish customs, for example, Sabbath rest, since the Samaritans did not strictly observe the Jewish law. And they call Him possessed, perhaps, just as they said that He cast out demons by the power of the prince of demons (Luke 11:15). For all those who slandered that He cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub, said that He had Beelzebub's demon in Him, by which He performed miracles. And since He revealed their thoughts and desires, perhaps they considered Him to be possessed by demons, because they thought that the secrets of their hearts were revealed to Him by demons. - When was He called the Samaritan? The evangelist did not mention this anywhere. From this it is evident that the Evangelists did not write down everything, but omitted much, as we have noted in another place. In this way they offend Him, and He accepts offenses from them without malice. However, when they call themselves sons of God, He strongly rebukes them, interceding for the truth; and when He is wronged, He does not defend Himself. By this He teaches us also to stand up for the glory of God and to meekly endure offenses that concern us, just as He meekly says: "There is no demon in Me, but I honor My Father." How does He honor the Father? Interceding for Him and not allowing murderers and liars to be called sons of the Savior and the Truth. You, he says, dishonor Me because I honor My Father, whom you reproach, because you slander that He is your father. But if I do not avenge Myself, but endure offenses, do not think that this offense will remain unavenged. There is a Father who will punish such an offense to Me because I intercede for Him and do not allow you to call yourselves His sons. There is One who seeks My glory, and not only He Who seeks, but He who is able to judge and punish those who offend Me without reason. Often someone seeks punishment for an offense, but cannot judge for himself. And the Father both seeks the glory of the Son and is able to judge. For this reason He said: "There is a Seeker and a Judge."

Verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever keepeth my word shall never see death. The Jews said to Him, "Now we have known that the devil is in You; Abraham died, and the prophets, and Thou sayest, Whosoever keepeth My word shall never taste death. What philanthropy! He is offended, and leaving the search for His glory and vengeance to the Father, He turns to exhortation and teaching, and thus does good to those who offend Him. So we must pay our enemies. What did he say to them? "Whoever keeps My word," that is, unites a pure life with faith (for he only truly observes the teaching of the Lord, who also has a pure life), will not see the death by which sinners die, who are given over to endless torment in the age to come, and fall away from true life. At the same time, He lets them know that if he who keeps My word does not die, how much more do I. Why then do you want to kill Me, over Whom death has so little power that I even give true life to others? For though believers die bodily, yet they are alive in God. What do the Jews say to this? They consider Him to be a madman, as if He were saying some strange things because of the damage to His mind. Abraham and the prophets, who heard the words of God, are dead, how can Your hearers not die? Now, they say, we have truly, that is, fully and firmly, learned that You, when you say this, are possessed.

Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died, and the prophets died? What do You make Yourself to be? Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing; My Father glorifies me, of whom you say that he is your God. And ye have not known him, but I know him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you; but I know him, and keep his word. Fools, not understanding what kind of death the Lord spoke of that it would not affect those who believe in Him, tell Him something foolish and insane. See how they answer. "Are you greater than our father Abraham?" they should have said, "Are you greater than God?" Those who heard the word of God are dead, but those who hear Thee will not die. But they are not. Wishing to show that He is less than Abraham, they say, "Are You greater than our father Abraham?" The Lord Himself does not reveal to them what kind of death He spoke about. And that He is higher than Abraham, He convinces of this a little later. "What do You make Yourself do?" You, unworthy of a single word, Son of a carpenter, Galilean, what do You make Yourself? Neither works, nor truth, nor Scriptures, but with what do You make Yourself? For Thou art Thyself appropriating glory to Thyself. To this the Lord says, If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing, as you also think. But now he who glorifies Me is another, namely My Father. The Father glorified Him in every way, now with prophecies about Him, now with testimony from heaven, now with countless and immeasurable miracles. Of this Father you say that He is your God. But you do not acknowledge Him as My Father or your God. If you had recognized Him as the Father, you would have honored His Son. But now you do not honor His Son. Obviously, you do not recognize Him as My Father. But you don't recognize Him as just God. Otherwise you would fear His words as God. Now you decisively despise Him. He decreed by law: "Thou shalt not kill." You seek to kill Me, and moreover, when you cannot convict Me of sin. It is clear that you do not know Him at all. And I know Him by nature, have perfect knowledge of Him. For as I am, so is the Father. And as I know Myself, I know Him also. And if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you. For you lie, boasting that you know Him; but I will deny the truth, if, knowing Him, I say that I do not know. How will You prove that You know Him? By saying that I keep His word, that is, His commandments. For I am not an adversary of Him, otherwise I would boast as an adversary of God, nor do I violate His commandments. But you, transgressors of His commandments, are in captivity, giving way to evil lusts, thirsting for murder, and doing many other things forbidden by the law, with passion, and thereby clearly manifest that you do not know Him. For if you knew Him, you would keep His word, that is, the commandments. - Other words "I keep His word" are understood in this way: because I know Him because in Myself I have the unchanging image of His Being, that is, of His being, and as the image of His Essence is with the Father, so is Me. For the Father and the Son have one and the same Nature and one and the same way of being. Therefore I know the Father, for I keep the unchanging image of His Being. Such a turn of phrase is customary in Scripture. For example, in Slavonic it is said: "Give us help from sorrow, and the salvation of man is vain" (Psalm 59:13). Here the particle "and" is used instead of "for," and the speech has the following meaning: give us help, for salvation from man is uncertain. So also in these words: I know Him, and I keep His word – the particle "and" is placed in place of "for." For, he says, I keep his word.

Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day, and saw it, and rejoiced. And the Jews said to him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, "Verily, verily, I say to you, before Abraham was, I was seven." Then they took stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple, passing through the midst of them and going on. Here he claims that He is greater than Abraham. Above they said to Him, "Are You greater than our father Abraham? Here He answers: yes, I am more. He was glad to see My day, that is, he considered it pleasant, longed-for, and joyful, as a very beneficial day, and as the day not of a small person, not of an ordinary person, but of a great one. "Day" is the name of the Cross, for it was foreshadowed by Abraham in the offering of Isaac and in the slaughter of the ram. As he carried the wood, so the Lord carried the cross, and as Isaac was forsaken, and the ram was slaughtered, so He, like God, remained beyond suffering, but suffered in humanity and in the flesh. Foreseeing this day of the Cross as the day of universal salvation, Abraham rejoiced. He also shows that He voluntarily goes to suffering, since He praises the one who rejoiced in the Cross: for through Him is the salvation of the universe. - Some understand by "day" the entire time of Christ's appearance in the flesh, which, foreseeing, Abraham rejoiced that from him and his descendants would come the Saviour. And perhaps it was not only Abraham who rejoiced, but all of them, as David says: "This day the Lord hath made: let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 117:24). The Jews, not being able to rise to the meaning of His words, instead of asking and finding out what day He is talking about, which Abraham saw, mock Him even more, as if He were saying something foolish. You, they say, are not yet fifty years old, and you have seen Abraham? They said this, thinking that the Lord was about fifty years old, while He was about thirty-three years old. Why did they not say, "Thou art not yet forty years old, but, Fifty?" It would be superfluous to ask about this. Maybe they mentioned fifty years without a definite thought. Yet some say that they said this because they especially honored the fiftieth year, that is, the year of jubilee, in which slaves were set free, buyers gave up their acquisitions, and did everything else that pertained to honor. What does the Lord say? "Before Abraham was, I am." See that he did not say, "Before Abraham was," "I was," but, "I am." For this saying "I am" is more characteristic of God, because it means continuous and eternal existence. Thus His Father expressed Himself in the Old Testament: "I am He" (Exodus 3:14). Of Abraham, as corruptible, he decently said, "was." For what has received existence is destroyed. And the word "I am" indicates freedom from all corruption and divine eternity. For this reason they also took this saying, as befitting God alone, for blasphemy, and took stones against Him. But again He hides Himself with humility, so as not to die before the time appointed for His death. How is it hidden? He did not hide in a corner of the church, did not run into a house, did not lean against the wall or behind a pillar, but by Divine power He made Himself invisible to the accusers, although He came out in the midst of them. "And he went on," that is, he went like this, simply, until a certain time. - See, perhaps, how He fulfilled everything on His part: He taught them enough about Himself and about the Father, and showed true nobility and freedom in freedom from sins; He explained that slavery alone is shameful, slavery to sin, and in general he did not omit anything necessary. And they throw stones at Him. For this reason He leaves them, as they are no longer capable of correction. Note that the stones are thrown by those of whom the evangelist said that they believed in Him (above vv. 30 and 31). This means that their faith was not faith, but some kind of temporary and cold disposition to the words of Christ.

CHAPTER NINE