"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.

CONVERSATION 28

"For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him" (John 3:17)

1. Many of the careless people, abusing God's love for mankind to increase sins and to greater negligence, say these words: there is no hell, there is no torment; God forgives us all sins. Stopping the mouths of such people, one wise man says: "And do not say, 'His mercy is great, He will forgive the multitude of my sins'; for mercy and wrath are with him, and his wrath abides upon sinners" (Sirach 5:6,7). And in another place: "As great is His mercy, so great is His chastisement" (Sirach 16:13). Where, someone will say, is His love for mankind, if we receive what follows for our sins? But we will get what we deserve, listen to both the prophet and Paul. One says: "You reward each one according to his deeds" (Psalm 61:13); and the other: "Who will reward each one according to his deeds" (Romans 2:6). Nevertheless, God's love for mankind is great, and this is evident from this: God divided our destinies into two centuries of life, the present and the future, and, having determined the former for podvigs, and the latter for receiving crowns, He thus showed great love for mankind. How? By the fact that, even though we have committed a multitude of grievous sins and have not ceased to defile our souls with innumerable vices from youth to extreme old age, He does not torture us for any of these sins, but in the bath of life gives us absolution and grants justification and sanctification. But what will you say if he who has been vouchsafed the sacraments from childhood after that falls into a multitude of sins? Such a person deserves all the more punishment. For the same sins we are subjected not to the same condemnation, but to a much more severe one, when we sin after being sanctified by the sacraments. This is shown by Paul in the following words: "[If] he who rejects the law of Moses, in the presence of two or three witnesses, without mercy [is punished] with death, how much more grievous punishment do you think he will be guilty of who tramples on the Son of God, and does not count the blood of the covenant as holy, by which he was sanctified, and offends the Spirit of grace" (Hebrews 10:28,29)? Such a one, therefore, deserves a greater punishment.

However, God still opens the doors of repentance to such a person and gives him many means to wash away his sins, if only he himself desires. Consider, then, how great are the proofs of His love for mankind, that He forgives (sins) by His grace, and He does not punish him who sins after grace and deserves punishment, but gives time and means for justification. That is why Christ said to Nicodemus: "God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." Two comings of Christ: one has already happened, the other will be. But both have more than one purpose: the first was not to torture our deeds, but to resolve; The Second Coming will not be for remission, but for torment. Therefore of the first coming He says: "I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world" (John 12:47); and of the second: "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory, and all nations will be gathered before Him; and separate one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will set the sheep on His right hand, and the goats on His left" (Matt. 25:31-33). However, the first coming could also be for the court, at the request of justice. Why? Because before the coming of Christ there were already the natural law, and the prophets, and the written law, and the teaching, and the innumerable promises, and the manifestation of miracles, and punishments, and torments, and many other things that could correct (people) – and in all this it was necessary to demand an account. But since (God) loves mankind, He did not torture, but granted forgiveness. And if He had judged, all would have perished immediately. "For all," it is said, "have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Do you see what an ineffable love for mankind? "He that believeth in him is not judged, but he that believeth not is condemned already" (v. 18). But if He did not come to judge the world, how is it that the unbeliever is "already condemned" when the time of judgment has not yet come? He says this either because unbelief without repentance is in itself the greatest torment, or because He foretells the future. Just as a murderer, even if he has not been condemned by the verdict of a judge, has already been condemned by the very nature of his work, so is the unbeliever. And Adam died on the very day that he ate of the tree: such was the definition: "In the day that you eat of it, you will surely die" (Gen. 2:17). But he still lived after that: how did he die? Both by God's determination and by the nature of his action. As he has made himself guilty of punishment, he is under punishment, although not yet in reality, but by definition. And so that someone, having heard: "I have not come to judge the world," should not think that it is possible to sin with impunity, and therefore become even more careless, Christ prevents such negligence, saying: "Already condemned." Since there will be judgment, but it has not yet come, He immediately arouses the fear of torment and already shows the punishment. But even this serves as proof of God's great love for mankind, that God not only gave the Son, but also postponed the time of judgment so that sinners and unbelievers would have the opportunity to cleanse their sins. "He that believeth in him is not judged," he who believes in the Son, and not one who examines; a believer, not a curious one. And if a believer also has an unclean life, unkind deeds? Paul calls such people not true believers: "they say that they know God, but by their works they deny it" (Titus 1:16). However, Christ here expresses that they are not to be condemned for unbelief, but will be subjected to the most severe punishment for their works; but they are not punished for unbelief, because they have already believed.

2. Do you see how, having begun with (the fearful truths), Christ ended with them again? In the beginning He said, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." And here again, "He that believeth not is condemned already." That is, do not think that postponement (of punishment) can be of any benefit to one who has already deserved punishment, if he does not repent. The condition of an unbeliever is in no way better than that of people who have already been condemned and given over to punishment. "But the judgment is this, that light has come into the world; but men loved darkness more than light" (v. 19). The meaning of these words is this: people are punished for not wanting to leave the darkness and hasten to the light. In this way, Christ deprives them of all justification. If, says He, I had come only to punish and demand an account of their deeds, they might have said, "That is why we have departed from Thee." But I have come to deliver them from darkness and bring them into the light. Who would have mercy on a man who does not want to come out of darkness into the light? In this way, he says, they depart from us, not being able to accuse us of anything, but still receiving from us innumerable blessings. Condemning them for this and in another place, He says: "They hated Me without a cause"; and again: "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have had no sin" (John 15:22), Whoever sits in darkness for want of light would perhaps receive forgiveness; and he who remains in darkness after the manifestation of light, testifies to himself that his will is corrupt and disobedient. But since what was said seemed incredible to many (for no one can prefer darkness to light), He also shows the reason why people were subjected to such misfortune. What is this reason? "For their works were evil; for everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds be exposed" (vv. 19-20). For He did not come to judge or torment, but to forgive and forgive their sins, to give them salvation through faith: why did they flee from Him? If He had come and sat down at the judgment seat, they might have had some reason to do so. Whoever is aware of something evil in himself usually avoids the judge; But criminals even rush to the one who forgives. Therefore, if He came with forgiveness, they should hasten to Him, and especially those who were conscious of many sins in themselves; And so many did. Publicans and sinners, coming to Jesus, sat down with Him. What do His words mean? He speaks of those who have resolved to remain forever in evil. He Himself came in order to forsake former sins and warn against future ones. But since some have changed to such an extent and have weakened themselves to the feats of virtue that they want to remain in evil until their last breath and never think of leaving it, Christ, having in mind such people, denounces them. Christianity demands both Orthodox teaching and a good life, but they, says Christ, are afraid to turn to us, because they do not want to show a good life. No one will rebuke him who lives in paganism, because he who has such gods and festivals, like shameful gods and worthy of ridicule, also shows deeds worthy of his teaching, and the worshippers of God, living carelessly, have everyone for themselves accusers and accusers - so worthy is the truth even for its enemies! Notice, then, with what precision Christ expresses what He speaks. He did not say, "He who has done evil does not come to the light," but, "He who does," that is, he who always does; whoever wants to always wallow in the mire of sin does not want to submit himself to My laws, and, outside of them, fearlessly commits fornication and does everything else that is forbidden. And when he comes to Me, he is seen as a thief in the light. That is why he shuns My authority. Indeed, even now we can hear from many pagans that they cannot turn to our faith because they cannot abandon drunkenness, fornication and similar vices. What, then, you will say, are there not Christians who do evil, and pagans who spend their lives in wisdom? That there are Christians who live badly, I also know; but whether there are pagans who live virtuously, I do not yet know for certain. Do not point out to me people who are humble and honest by nature: this is not a virtue! Point out a person who, experiencing a strong passion, would remain wise, and you will not find such a person (in paganism). If the promise of the kingdom, the threat of hell, and the like, scarcely keep men in virtue, how much less can men who are not convinced of this succeed in virtue. If some of them show a form of virtue, they do so for glory. And whoever does this for glory, when it is possible to conceal himself, will not refuse to satisfy his evil wishes. But in order not to appear to anyone to be lovers of argument, let us agree that among the pagans there are people who live well; This does not contradict our words in the least. I am talking about what happens many times, and not about what happens occasionally.

3. But see how Christ deprives them, on the other hand, of all justification. He says that "light has come into the world." Did they seek him, he says, did they labor, did they take care to find him? The light came to them by itself; yet even then they did not hasten to him. If, however, some live badly among Christians, then we note that Christ does not speak of those who became Christians from birth and received the faith from their ancestors (although often they also deviated from the right teaching by their vicious lives); it seems that it is not about them that we are speaking here, but about those who from Judaism or paganism had to convert to the true faith. (Christ) shows that no one, being in error, will want to turn to faith unless he first prescribes to himself a good life, and no one will remain in unbelief unless he first decides to remain evil forever. Do not tell me that so-and-so is chaste, and do not believe; this is not the only virtue. What is the use, having these qualities, to be a slave to vain rumors, and, fearing the shame of one's friends, to remain in error? This does not mean living virtuously. A slave of vanity is no better than a fornicator; even commits much greater and more grievous sins than the other. But show me someone among the Gentiles, who would be free from all passions and would not be involved in any vice: you cannot point out. And those who were famous among them for great deeds and despised, as they say, wealth and luxury, were the ones who were most subservient to the glory of men; and this is the cause of all evil. The Jews also remained in this state. That is why, accusing them, Christ said: "How can ye believe, when ye receive glory from one another" (John 5:44)? But why did Christ not converse and spread words about this with Nathanael, to whom He testified the truth? Because he did not come to Christ with such zeal (as with Nicodemus). Nicodemus considered this a duty for himself and used the time to listen to the conversation in which others rested. But Nathanael came because of the conviction of another. However, Christ did not ignore him either; He said to him; "From henceforth ye shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending" (John 1:51). To Nicodemus He did not say anything of the kind, but conversed with him about the dispensation of our salvation and about eternal life, using different speeches in accordance with the spiritual disposition of each. For Nathanael, who knew the prophecies and was not so afraid, it was enough to hear this alone. And to Nicodemus, since he was still fearful, Christ did not reveal everything clearly, but shook his soul in order to destroy fear with fear, saying that the unbeliever is condemned and that unbelief comes from a vicious conscience. Nicodemus treasured the glory of man much and thought about it more than about punishment. "And many of the rulers," it is said, "believed on Him; but for the sake of the Pharisees they did not confess" (John 12:42): it is for this that Christ reproaches him and shows him, moreover, that he who does not believe in Him does not believe for any other reason than because he leads an unclean life. Then He says: "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12); and here, "light has come into the world" (v. 19). In this way, at first He spoke more secretly, and later more clearly. Meanwhile, Nicodemus was restrained by the glory of the people; therefore he could not have as much courage as he should have. Let us flee from vanity; This passion is stronger than all passions. Hence covetousness and love of money; Hence hatred, enmity, strife. He who desires more cannot stop at anything; but he desires more because he loves vain glory. Tell me, why do many surround themselves with a multitude of eunuchs, a crowd of servants, and such brilliance? Not out of necessity, but so that people who meet them will witness this inappropriate brilliance. Thus, if we cut off this passion, then together with the head we will destroy the other members of this evil, and then nothing will prevent us from living on earth as in heaven. Vanity not only draws its captives to evil, but also creeps into virtues; and if he cannot deprive us of them; then it does us great harm in virtue itself, forcing us to endure labors, and depriving us of fruits. Infected with vanity, whether he fasts, prays, or gives alms, he is deprived of his reward. What misfortune can be greater than this, exhausting oneself in vain and in vain, to be subjected to ridicule and to be deprived of heavenly glory? And he who desires both glory cannot receive both together. True, it is possible to attain both glory, but only if we desire not both, but one – the glory of heaven. And he who covets both cannot receive both together. Therefore, if we want to attain glory, let us flee from the glory of men, and to desire that glory alone is from God. In this way we can acquire both glory, which may we all be vouchsafed to receive, through the grace and love of mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom and with Whom be glory to the Father with the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

DISCOURSE 29