2. "And thou hearest his voice," that is, a roar, a noise, "but thou knowest not whence it cometh and whither it goeth: so it is with every one that is born of the Spirit." That's what it's all about. If, he says, you do not know how to explain either the outcome or the direction of the wind, which you nevertheless feel both by hearing and touching, then why do you strive to understand the action of the Spirit of God, who do not understand the action of the wind, although you hear its sounds? Thus the words "breathe where he will" are spoken to signify the power of the Comforter, and mean this: if no one can restrain the wind, but rushes where he will, how much more can neither the laws of nature, nor the conditions of bodily birth, nor anything else of the kind restrain the actions of the Spirit. And that the words, "Thou hearest his voice," are spoken specifically of the wind, is evident from the fact that Christ, speaking to an unbeliever and ignorant of the work of the Spirit, would not have said, "Thou hearest his voice." Therefore, just as we do not see the wind, although it makes a noise, so invisible to the bodily eyes is the spiritual birth. But the wind is still a body, albeit the subtlest, because everything that is subject to feeling is a body. But if you are not vexed that you do not see this body, and therefore do not deny its existence, why are you troubled when you hear about the Spirit, and at the same time demand such distinctness, while not doing the same with regard to the body?

What about Nicodemus? In spite of such a clear example presented to him, he still remains with Jewish weakness. And so, when he again asks in perplexity, "How can this be," Christ says to him the words even more striking: "Thou art the teacher of Israel, and knowest not this" (v. 10)? Note that he does not accuse this man of malice, but of short-sightedness and simplicity.

And the pronouncements of the prophets will mark this form of birth; thus it is written: "[My descendants] shall serve Him, and shall be called the Lord's for ever: they shall come and declare His righteousness to men who shall be born, which the Lord has made" (Psalm 21:31,32); again: "Thy youth is renewed like an eagle" (Psalm 102:5); also: "shine, O [Jerusalem]" (Isaiah 60:1); "Behold, thy King cometh" (Zech. 9:9); or: "Blessed is he to whom iniquity is forgiven" (Psalm 31:1). But Isaac was also a type of this birth. Indeed, tell me, Nicodemus, how was Isaac born? Is it according to the law of nature? No! But the image of his birth was intermediate between the one and the other birth (carnal and spiritual): in him there was both a carnal birth, because he was born of cohabitation, and a spiritual one, because he was not born of blood. I will prove that these images foreshadowed not only this birth, but also the birth of the Virgin. Since it would not be easy to believe that the Virgin gives birth, barren women gave birth first, and not only barren, but also aged women. Of course, the birth of a woman from a rib is much more surprising than the birth of a barren woman; but, since this was in the beginning, a long time ago, there followed another, new and recent way of being born, namely from barren ones, in order to pave the way for the belief in being born of a virgin. Recalling this to Nicodemus, Christ says: "Thou art the teacher of Israel, and knowest not this? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak of what we know, and bear witness of what we have seen, but ye receive not our testimony" (vv. 10-11). He added the last words, again assuring, on the other hand, the truth of His words, and at the same time condescending to the weakness of Nicodemus.

3. What does it mean, "We speak of what we know, and bear witness of what we have seen"? And with us sight is more certain than the other senses: therefore, when we want to assure someone, we say that we have seen with our own eyes, and do not know by hearing. In the same way, Christ converses with Nicodemus in a human way, borrowing from this also the confirmation of His words. And that this is so, and that Christ does not want to show Nicodemus anything else, and does not mean sensual sight here, is evident from the following. Having said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit," He adds, "We speak of what we know, and bear witness of what we have seen." But that wasn't the case at that time. How then does He say, "What have you seen"? Is it not evident that He is speaking of the most accurate and infallible knowledge? "But ye receive not Our testimony." Thus the words, "What we know," He speaks either of Himself and together of the Father, or only of Himself. And the words: "but you do not accept" do not express indignation in the present case, but express what happened. He did not say, "Is it possible to be more insensible than you, who do not accept what we proclaim with such accuracy?" No, He said nothing of the kind, showing perfect meekness both in word and in deed. He meekly and quietly foretells what is to come to pass; In the same way, He encourages us to meekness, so that when we converse with someone and do not persuade, we do not become annoyed or irritated. An irritated person not only cannot do anything, but also makes others even more distrustful. Therefore, it is necessary to refrain from anger, and in your words to convince others not only not by anger, but also not by shouting, since shouting is the food of anger. Let us bridle this horse in order to overthrow the rider; let us clip the wings of wrath, and evil will not rise high. Anger is a cruel and dangerous disease because it can destroy our souls. Therefore, it is necessary to block his entrance from everywhere. It is incongruous if we can tame beasts, and leave our raging thoughts unattended. Anger is a strong, all-consuming fire; it harms the body, and corrupts the soul, and makes a person look unpleasant and shameful. If an angry man could see himself in the time of his anger, he would no longer need any other exhortation, for there is nothing more disagreeable than the face of an irritated person. Anger is a kind of intoxication, or, rather, worse than intoxication and more miserable than a demon. But let us only try not to shout, and we ourselves will find the best way of wisdom. That is why Paul inspires us to suppress not only anger, but also shouting, saying: "Let all anger and wrath and wrath and cry be removed from you" (Ephesians 4:31). Let us obey this teacher of wisdom, and when we are angry with the servants, let us think of our own sins and be ashamed of their meekness. When you scold him, he silently endures the abuse; In this way you are outrageous, and he is inquisitive. Accept this instead of any exhortation. Though he is a servant, he is a man who has an immortal soul, and is adorned with gifts like us from the common Lord.

Amen.

[1] One of the translations is: "The wind blows where it will."

CONVERSATION 27

"If I have told you about earthly things, and you do not believe, how will you believe if I speak to you about heavenly things? No man hath ascended into heaven, but he that came down from heaven the Son of man, which is in heaven" (John 3:12,13)

1. What I have said many times, I will say now, and I will not cease to say. What is it? That Jesus, intending to touch upon lofty dogmas, often adapts himself to the weakness of his listeners and uses a form of teaching that does not always correspond to His greatness, but is more adaptable to them. The teaching is lofty and important, and once expressed, it is enough to show its dignity as much as we are able to hear it, but if we do not often speak of subjects that are simpler and closer to the concept of listeners, then even higher subjects cannot soon take possession of the mind of the listener who is bowed to his lot. That is why Christ spoke much more about simple things than lofty ones. But in order that this also should not cause harm in another respect, i.e., so that it would not hold the disciple down, He does not otherwise turn to simple things than after first stating the reason for which He speaks of them. So He did in the present case. Having spoken of baptism and birth, which takes place on earth by grace, and then intending to proceed to the word and of His own birth, ineffable and incomprehensible, He still hesitates and does not approach. Then he expresses the reason why he does not start. What is this reason? The rudeness and weakness of the listeners. To it He alluded, saying: "If I have told you about earthly things, and you do not believe, how will you believe if I speak to you about heavenly things"? Thus, where He speaks of something simple and unimportant, it must be attributed to the weakness of the hearers. Some say that the expression "earthly things must be understood here about the wind" is as if He were saying: "I have shown you an example of earthly things, but even so you are not convinced: how then can you understand things that are more exalted?" But if He here also calls baptism earthly, do not be surprised. He calls it so either because it takes place on earth, or in comparison with His terrible birth. Our birth (in baptism), although it is heavenly, is earthly in comparison with His true birth from the essence of the Father. And it is true that he did not say, "You do not understand," but, "You do not believe." Whoever finds it difficult and does not easily accept what is understandable to the mind can justly be accused of foolishness; but whoever does not accept that which cannot be comprehended by reason, but only by faith, deserves to be accused not of foolishness, but of unbelief. Thus, not allowing Nicodemus to test with his own mind what has been said, Christ continues to convict him of unbelief even more strongly. If our (spiritual) birth is to be received by faith, then what do people who experience the birth of the Only-begotten with their minds deserve? But perhaps someone will say: why was it necessary to say this, if the hearers did not want to believe? Because, although they did not want to believe, the people of later times could accept it and benefit from it. Thus, by striking Nicodemus with all His might, Christ finally shows that He knows not only this, but much more and much more than this, as He expresses in the following words: "No one has ascended into heaven except the Son of Man who came down from heaven and is in heaven" (v. 13). What, then, you will say, is the connection of thoughts here? A very great and close connection with the previous one. Nicodemus said, "Thou art a teacher that cometh from God" (v. 2); this very thing Christ now corrects, as if to say: do not think that I am the same teacher as many prophets who were from the earth were; I came from heaven. Not one of the prophets went up there, but I am always there. You see, how the most apparently lofty things are still too unworthy of His greatness. He does not only exist in heaven, but everywhere, and fulfills everything. But He converses, still condescending to the weakness of the listener, in order to gradually lead him to the higher. And here He does not call His flesh the Son of man, but, so to speak, His whole Himself according to His lower nature[1]. And usually He called all of Himself, sometimes after divinity, sometimes after humanity. "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up." Again, this also seems to have no connection with the previous one; but (in fact) it is quite consistent with it. Having said that through baptism people were shown the greatest benefit, He gives the reason for this, no less than the good deed itself, - the cross; just as Paul, speaking to the Corinthians, brings together these blessings in the following words: "Was Paul crucified for you? or in the name of Paul ye were baptized" (1 Cor. 1:13)? These two blessings more than all the others show the ineffable love of the Lord: He suffered for His enemies, and, having died for His enemies, He granted in baptism the complete forgiveness of sins.

2. But why did He not say plainly, "I will be crucified," but sent His hearers to the ancient type? By this He teaches them, first, that ancient events have a correlation with new ones, that they are not alien to them; secondly, that He did not go to suffering against His will, and moreover, that He Himself did not suffer any harm from it, and that salvation was granted to many through it. Indeed, lest anyone say: how can those who believe in the Crucified One be saved, when He Himself was possessed by death? – Here He leads us to ancient history. If the Jews were saved from death by looking at the brass image of the serpent, then, of course, all the greater blessing can be received by those who believe in the Crucified One. The crucifixion was accomplished not because of the weakness of the Crucified One, nor because the Jews triumphed over him, but because "God loved the world." That is why His animate temple was crucified: "That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (v. 15). Do you see the cause of the cross and the salvation that came from it? Do you see the correspondence between the type and the truth? There the Jews are saved from death only temporarily; but here believers are from eternal death. There the hanged serpent heals from the bites of snakes; here the crucified Jesus heals the wounds of the spiritual serpent. There he who looks with bodily eyes receives healing; here he who looks with the eyes of his soul is freed from all sins. There was hung a copper representing the likeness of a serpent; here is the body of the Lord, formed by the Spirit. There the serpent bit and the serpent healed; So it is here: death destroyed, and death saved. But the serpent that destroyed had poison, and the one that saved had no poison; it is the same here again: the death that destroyed had sin, as the serpent had poison, and the death of the Lord was free from all sin, as the brazen serpent was free from poison. "He committed no sin, and there was no deceit in his mouth" (1 Peter 2:22). This is the same as Paul says: "He took away the strength of principalities and powers, and put them to shame with authority, triumphing over them by Himself" (Colossians 2:15). As a courageous fighter, having lifted his opponent into the air and thrown him to the ground, wins a brilliant victory, so Christ overthrew the opposing forces, in the sight of the whole universe, and, having healed those who were wounded in the wilderness, being hanged on the cross, freed them from all beasts. But He did not say, "It is fitting to be hanged," but to be lifted up. He used an expression that could have been more favorable to the listener and which came closer to the prototype.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." These words mean the following: Do not be surprised that I must be lifted up for your salvation. So it pleased the Father, and He loved you so much that He gave His Son for servants and ungrateful servants, which no one would do for a friend. This is also expressed by Paul in the words: "Hardly anyone will die for the righteous" (Romans 5:7). But the Apostle spoke about this at greater length, because he conversed with believers; but Christ – briefly, since His word was addressed to Nicodemus; but His word is more expressive. Each of His utterances has much expressiveness in it. In the words: "God so loved the world," He shows the great power of love, since there is a great, boundless distance between God and the world. Immortal, beginningless, boundless majesty, He loved those who are of earth and dust, full of an innumerable multitude of sins, offending Him at all times, ungrateful. Also expressive are the words added afterwards: "That He gave His Only-begotten Son" - not a servant, he says, not an angel, not an archangel, but for the Son no one would show such care as God for ungrateful servants. Thus, He does not depict His suffering quite clearly, but covertly; but he expresses the beneficial effects of suffering clearly and openly, saying: "That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Since He said that He must be lifted up, and thus signified His death, so that the hearer may not be perplexed by these words, and assume anything human about Him, and consider His death to be the cessation of existence, behold, how He corrects this: He says that He whom the Father gives is the Son of God, the author of life, moreover, eternal life. And whoever could communicate life to others through his death could not remain forever in (the power of) death. If those who believe in the Crucified One do not perish, then the Crucified One Himself cannot perish. Whoever delivers others from destruction is all the more free from it himself. He who communicates life to others all the more exudes life for himself. Do you see that faith is needed everywhere? He says that the cross is the source of life; but reason could not easily accept this: the heathen are witnesses to this, and even to this day they ridicule it; and faith, which surpasses the weakness of reasoning, also easily accepts and contains. Why did God love the world so much? Not for any other reason, but by goodness alone.

3. Let us be ashamed of His love, let us be ashamed of His immeasurable love for mankind. He did not spare even the Only-begotten Son for us, but we save money for our own evil. He gave up His true Son for us; but we do not want to give even silver for His sake, or even for our own sake. How can we receive forgiveness for this? If we see a man exposed to danger and death for us, we prefer him to all others, we count him among our first friends, we give him all that is ours, we say that this belongs to him more than to us, and yet we do not think that we have repaid him in a worthy manner. And we have no gratitude to Christ even in this measure. He laid down His life for us, He shed His precious blood for us, for us, the ungrateful, the unkind; but we do not squander money for our own benefit, but despise Him in nakedness and pilgrimage, Him who died for us.

Whoever first does good reveals manifest goodness in himself, and whoever has received a good deed, no matter how he repays it, gives only what is due and does not deserve gratitude, especially when he who has begun to do good does good to his enemies; and whoever repays him, he repays the benefactor with what he has received from him, and he himself uses it again. But even this does not affect us; nay, we are so ungrateful that we clothe our slaves and mules and horses in golden garments, but we despise the Lord, who wanders about naked, passing from door to door, standing at the crossroads, and stretching out his hands to us, and often look at Him with stern eyes; but even this very thing He tolerates for our sake. He gladly hungers to feed you; He wanders in nakedness, in order to give you the opportunity to receive the garment of incorruption. But in spite of this, you do not give anything of your possessions. Your clothes are either moth-eaten, or they are a burden for the chests and an unnecessary concern for the owners; but He who gave both this and all the rest wanders naked. But you say that you do not put your clothes in chests, but dress yourselves in them and adorn yourselves? Tell me, then, what is the use of this? Is it the one that the crowd will see you in the square? What then? They will not marvel at him who is clothed in such garments, but at him who gives to the needy. Therefore, if you want to be surprised, clothe others, and you will receive a thousand praises. And then God will praise you together with people. Now no one will praise you; but only everyone hates it, seeing that you adorn the body, but neglect the soul. Prostitutes also have the adornment of the body, and they often dress in the most valuable and brilliant garments; but only virtuous people have the adornment of the soul. I often speak of this, and I shall not cease to speak of it, caring not so much for the poor as for your souls. They will have consolation, if not from us, then from some other side; even if there were no consolation for them, but they perished of hunger, in that case there would be no greater harm to them. Did the squalor and exhaustion from hunger harm Lazarus in any way? But no one will snatch you out of hell unless you receive help from the poor; nay, we shall say the same as the rich man, given over to eternal torment and deprived of all consolation. But God forbid that any of us ever hear such words; that we may depart into the bosom of Abraham, according to the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom and with Whom be glory to the Father with the Holy Spirit unto the ages of ages. Amen.

[1] I.e. according to humanity.