With these words, as we said above, He calms their sorrow, teaching them that He loves Him, not he who grieves over His death, which sorrow they also feel, but he who keeps His commandments and commandments not to be attached to the present life, but to lay down their lives for God and for good. He says to them as it were: you think that out of love you grieve over My death, but I, on the contrary, set it as a sign of love that you should not grieve. That this is the thought in His words is shown by the fact that He says a little further: "If you had loved Me, you would have rejoiced that I go to My Father" (v. 28). Therefore, whoever loves Me has My commandments, and not only has, but also keeps them, lest the thief, the devil, come and steal this treasure, for careful care is needed not to lose them. What reward will he receive who loves Me? "He will be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and I will appear to him Myself." Why did He say, "I will appear to him Myself"? Since after the resurrection He had to appear to them in a God-like body, so that they would not take Him for a spirit and a ghost, He also foretold these things to them, so that when they saw Him then, they would not remain in unbelief, but remember that He had foretold these things to them, and that He appeared to them for keeping His commandments, so that they might always strive to keep them, The mystery of the resurrection is great, and they would accept it with difficulty; therefore He prepares them, saying that He Himself will appear to them. For after His resurrection He also ate in order that He might not be considered a phantom, which Judas now had a thought. Judas, who is now mentioned, thought that as we see the dead in dreams, so He will appear to them; therefore he says: "Lord! What is this, that Thou wilt manifest Thyself to us, and not to the world?" You die and want to appear to us in a dream, just as the dead appear. For "what is this" are the words of the frightened and troubled. What does the Lord answer to this? How does He overthrow his opinion as false?

Jesus answered and said to him, "Whoever loves me will keep my word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; but the word that you hear is not mine, but the Father who sent me.

Judas, in great fear, thought that the Lord would appear to them in a dream after His death, which is why he proposed the above-mentioned question. And the Lord, refuting his opinion, says that as the Father Himself appears, so will I Myself appear to you. For I and the Father will come together to him who keeps My words. I will not appear to you in a dream; but since I will come with the Father, as it is fitting for the Father to appear, so will be my appearance to you. The words: "We will make our abode with him" also overthrow the opinion of Judas. Dreams are short; but I will appear and abide with the Father. Therefore My visitation is not like a dream. He foretells them of His appearance, as I have said, so that they do not consider Him a phantom, and at the same time He stirs them up to keep His commandments by assuring them that both He and the Father are the ones who keep them. In the same way, on the contrary, both He and the Father are removed from the one who does not keep the commandments, as from one who does not love. For whoever does not love Me does not keep My words. And whoever does not love the Son does not love the Father either. For the word belongs to both the Son and the Father. Therefore, whoever does not keep the words of the Son, that is, the Father, does not love both the Son and the Father. Therefore, you, disciples, keep My words, for by this you will prove your love for Me and for the Father.

Others say that the question is: Why do You want to appear to us, and not to the world? – the disciple Judas offered not out of fear, but out of love for people. He wished that the benefit of the manifestation should be not only for the disciples, but also for the whole world. And the Saviour shows that not everyone is worthy of such blessings; but only those who keep His commandments will be made worthy of His appearing and the love of the Father. For in him who keeps the commandments, God and the Father dwells. But not in the same way as in the Son; for in the Son He dwells naturally, but in man morally.

These things have I said to you while I was with you. But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have told you.

Since the Lord's words were incomprehensible to the disciples, and they did not understand some of them, and for the most part they doubted them, so that they do not ask Him again and tell them what commandments we must keep, He frees them from cares and confusion, saying that the Comforter will make unclear and incomprehensible things incomprehensible to you. This, which seems obscure to you, I have said, being with you and being with you; but if I depart, you will be taught all things. Therefore, you need not grieve over separation from Me, when it will bring you so many blessings and so much wisdom. For as long as I Myself abide with you, and the Spirit does not come, you cannot comprehend anything great or lofty. He often mentions the Comforter because of the sorrow that befalls them, giving them a good hope that He will guide them. The Comforter will come "in my name." This means: He will not teach you anything that is alien to My teaching, He will not seek His own glory, but He will come in My name, that is, for the glory of My name, and not His own, as teachers who are hostile to each other do, drawing their followers with them. Some in the words "in My name" understand the name of Christ: "Comforter". For it is said: "We have Jesus Christ as an advocate (Comforter)" (1 John 2:1). And just as the Spirit who came to the disciples became the Comforter, relieved their sorrow, He came in the name of Christ, for He is also the Comforter, just as Christ is. But the Apostle Paul also calls the Spirit Christ, when he says: "You do not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in us. But if anyone has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not His" (Romans 8:9). Then he added: "But if Christ is in you..." (v. 10). Do you see how he said above that the Spirit of God dwells in them, and then added, Christ is in you. It is clear that the Apostle called the Spirit Christ. And since the Spirit is called Christ, then the words: "The Father will send Him 'in My name'" you must understand in such a way that He also will be called Christ, the Holy Spirit both taught and reminded: "taught" all that Christ did not say to them, as not being able to contain; recalled" all that the Lord, although He had said, could not retain in their memory, either because of the vagueness of what was said, or because of the weakness of their minds.

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you; not as the world gives, I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, and let it not be afraid.

The apostles again felt sadness when they heard the words of the Lord: "I am departing, and the Spirit will come." Wherefore, seeing their hearts in confusion, and especially because of the sorrows and troubles that lie before them, he says, "Peace I leave with you," saying to them as it were, "What harm does it harm you from the troubles of the world, as long as you are at peace with me?" For My world is not like the world. This peace is often harmful and useless, but I give you a peace in which you will be at peace with each other and will be one body. And this will make you the strongest. Though many will rise up against you, yet you will not suffer in the least with unanimity and mutual peace. Then, since He again said, "I forsake you," which indicated His departure and could have thrown them into confusion, he adds, "Let not your heart be troubled, and let it not be afraid." They were confused by their affection and love for Him, because they were to be deprived of Him, and they were afraid that after His death calamities might befall them. But the Lord does not leave unhealed either their confusion from attachment or the fear of future calamities, but calms both, saying: "Let not your heart be troubled, and let it not be afraid."

You have heard that I said to you, "I am coming from you and will come to you." If you loved Me, you would rejoice that I said, "I go to the Father"; for My Father is greater than I. And behold, I told you these things before it came to pass, that you might believe when it came to pass.

Since the Lord saw that the Apostles did not fully hope for His resurrection, and did not even know what it was, and therefore they were greatly grieved and troubled at the thought of separation from Him, He condescended to their weakness and said: I told you that I would go and come again; and yet you are still grieving, for you do not trust me, that though I die, I will not forsake you in your afflictions. But now, when you hear that I am going to My Father, whom you consider great and greater than Me, you should rejoice that I am going to Him, greater than I am and able to destroy all calamities. Do you see what the sequence of thought is? "My Father is greater than Me," He said for the comfort of His disciples. They grieved because Christ could not protect them. And He says, "If I cannot either, then My Father, whom you consider greater than Me, will in all probability help you." Likewise, in another place He says: Do you think that I cannot pray to the Father, and He will send Me twelve legions of angels? (Matt. 26:53). Here He does not say this because He cannot do so (for how powerful is He Who by the mere word He spoke to the Jews, and suddenly threw them all back? (John 18:4-6), but because they thought of Him as a man. So also this, "My Father is greater than I," He said according to their conception, since they considered Him weak, and the Father able to strengthen them in time of afflictions.

"And behold, I spoke unto you before it came to pass, that ye might believe when it should come to pass." That is: I am so calm, I am not afraid of death and do not grieve, that I even predict it; therefore I command you also to rejoice, so that when it comes to pass, you will believe me, that just as I knew about the tribulations that will befall you, and having foretold about them, I did not lie, so in the prediction of your comfort and guidance I will not be false, but all joyful things will come to you.

Some think that He called the Father greater in that He is the author of the Son. The Father, he says, is more because He is My cause and beginning, for I was born of Him. And the fact that the Father is greater does not mean that He is also another being. For among men, too, it may be said that the father is greater than the son, but not any other being. Then, let the heretics say, by what did Christ depart to the Father: by Divinity or by humanity? Without a doubt, humanity. For, as God, He has always been in heaven and is not separated from the Father. Thus the Father is called greater than Him as a Man.

It is not enough for Me to speak to you, for the prince of this world is coming, and in Me he has nothing. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father has commanded me, so do I do: arise, let us go hence.

Having comforted the disciples with the above speech, the Lord again speaks of His death. "For the prince of this world is coming," he says, "that is, the devil. That he is the prince of this world, understand not about the creature in general, but about vicious people and worldly philosophies. For he does not rule over heaven and earth, otherwise he would overthrow and upset everything, but over those who themselves give themselves over to him. That is why he is also called the prince of darkness, and by darkness understand evil deeds. And as some might have thought that Christ also was put to death for sins, He added: "And in Me He has nothing"; I am not guilty of death, I owe nothing to the devil, but I accept suffering voluntarily, out of love for the Father. He often mentions death, adding words of consolation to make it acceptable to them. For when they hear that He will die, they also know that He voluntarily despises the devil and dies for love of the Father. Thus, if the sufferings were pernicious and not salvific, the loving Father would not have deigned to do so, the beloved Son would not have taken them upon Himself. How are we to understand that He dies out of love for the Father? The Father, he says, loves the world, and for it He delivers Me up to death. I, loving the Father, agree with His good pleasure and will, and prove that I love the Father by taking upon Myself and fulfilling what He commanded, that is, His favor and determination. Tell you, Arians, if the Son were a slave, would He say that I die for love of the Father? A servant does the will of his master, not because he loves him, but because he is a slave and fears punishment. And the Lord Jesus, since He does the will of God out of love, is not a slave, not a creature, but truly a Son, doing the will of the Father. Therefore, when you hear, "The Father has commanded Me," because of the word "commanded," do not look upon the Lord as a subordinate, but because of the word, "Father," acknowledge Him to be the Son, consubstantial with the Father. Understand "commanded" thus: he willed, spoke, determined, and was well pleased.