{"collection":"chr","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/chr/ecf/114/1140029.htm","path":"chr/ecf/114/1140029.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/chr/ecf/114/1140029.htm","text":"\u201cNow when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast, many believed on Him.\u201d\n[1.] Of the men of that time some clung to their error, others laid hold on the truth, while of these last, some having retained it for a little while again fell off from it. Alluding to these, Christ compared them to seeds not deeply sown, but having their roots upon the surface of the earth; and He said that they should quickly perish. And these the Evangelist has here pointed out to us, saying,\n\u201cWhen He was in Jerusalem, at the Passover, in the feast, many believed on Him, 612 when they saw the miracles which He did.\u201d\nJohn 2.24 . \u201cBut Jesus did not commit Himself unto them.\u201d\nFor they were the more perfect 613 among His disciples, who came to Him not only because of His miracles, but through His teaching also. The grosser sort the miracles attracted, but the better reasoners His prophecies and doctrines; and so they who were taken by His teaching were more steadfast than those attracted by His miracles. And Christ also called them \u201cblessed,\u201d saying, \u201cBlessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.\u201d ( John 20.29 .) But that these here mentioned were not real disciples, the following passage shows, for it saith, \u201cJesus did not commit Himself unto them.\u201d Wherefore?\n\u201cBecause He knew all things,\u201d 614\nJohn 2.25 . \u201cAnd needed not that any should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.\u201d\nThe meaning is of this kind. \u201cHe who dwells in men\u2019s hearts, and enters into their thoughts, took no heed of outward words; and knowing well that their warmth was but for a season, He placed not confidence in them as in perfect disciples, nor committed all His doctrines to them as though they had already become firm believers.\u201d Now, to know what is in the heart of men belongs to God alone, \u201cwho hath fashioned hearts one by one\u201d ( Ps. xxxiii. 15 , LXX.), for, saith Solomon, \u201cThou, even Thou only, knowest the hearts\u201d ( 1 Kings viii. 39 ); He therefore needed not witnesses to learn the thoughts of His own creatures, and so He felt no confidence in them because of their mere, temporary belief. Men, who know neither the present nor the future, often tell and entrust all without any reserve to persons who approach them deceitfully and who shortly will fall off from them; but Christ did not so, for well He knew all their secret thoughts.\nAnd many such now there are, who have indeed the name of faith, but are unstable, 615 and easily led away; wherefore neither now doth Christ commit Himself to them, but concealeth from them many things; and just as we do not place confidence in mere acquaintances but in real friends, so also doth Christ. Hear what He p. 83 saith to His disciples, \u201cHenceforth I call you not servants, ye are My friends.\u201d ( John 15:14, 15 .) Whence is this and why? \u201cBecause all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you.\u201d And therefore He gave no signs to the Jews who asked for them, because they asked tempting Him. Indeed the asking for signs is a practice of tempters both then and now; for even now there are some that seek them and say, \u201cWhy do not miracles take place also at this present time?\u201d If thou art faithful, as thou oughtest to be, and lovest Christ as thou oughtest to love Him, thou hast no need of signs, they are given to the unbelievers. \u201cHow then,\u201d asks one, \u201cwere they not given to the Jews?\u201d Given they certainly were; and if there were times when though they asked they did not receive them, it was because they asked them not that they might be delivered from their unbelief, but in order the more to confirm their wickedness.\nJohn 3:1, 2 . \u201cAnd there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus. The same came to Jesus by night.\u201d\nThis man appears also in the middle of the Gospel, making defense for Christ; for he saith, \u201cOur law judgeth no man 616 before it hear him\u201d ( John 7.51 ); and the Jews in anger replied to him, \u201cSearch and look, for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.\u201d Again after the crucifixion he bestowed great care upon the burial of the Lord\u2019s body: \u201cThere came also,\u201d saith the Evangelist, \u201cNicodemus, which came to the Lord 617 by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.\u201d ( John 19.39 .) And even now he was disposed towards Christ, 618 but not as he ought, nor with proper sentiments respecting Him, for he was as yet entangled in Jewish infirmity. Wherefore he came by night, because he feared to do so by day. Yet not for this did the merciful God reject or rebuke him, or deprive him of His instruction, but even with much kindness conversed with him and disclosed to him very exalted doctrines, enigmatically indeed, but nevertheless He disclosed them. For far more deserving of pardon was he than those who acted thus through wickedness. They are entirely without excuse; but he, though he was liable to condemnation, yet was not so to an equal degree. \u201cHow then does the Evangelist say nothing of the kind concerning him?\u201d He has said in another place, that \u201cof the rulers also many believed on Him, but because of the Jews 619 they did not confess (Him), lest they should be put out of the synagogue\u201d ( John 12.42 ); but here he has implied the whole by mentioning his coming \u201cby night.\u201d What then saith Nicodemus?\n\u201cRabbi, we know that Thou art a Teacher come from God: for no man can do the miracles that Thou doest, except God be with him.\u201d\n[2.] Nicodemus yet lingers 620 below, has yet human thoughts concerning Him, and speaks of Him as of a Prophet, imagining nothing great from His miracles. \u201cWe know,\u201d he says, \u201cthat Thou art a Teacher come from God.\u201d \u201cWhy then comest thou by night and secretly, to Him that speaketh the things of God, to Him who cometh from God? Why conversest thou not with Him openly?\u201d But Jesus said nothing like this to him, nor did He rebuke him; for, saith the Prophet, \u201cA bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench; He shall not strive nor cry\u201d ( Isa. 42:2, 3, Matt. 12:19, 20 ): and again He saith Himself, \u201cI came not to condemn the world, but to save the world.\u201d ( John 12.47 .)\n\u201cNo man can do these miracles, except God be with him.\u201d\nStill here Nicodemus speaks like the heretics, in saying, that He hath a power working within Him, 621 and hath need of the aid of others to do as He did. What then saith Christ? Observe His exceeding condescension. He refrained for a while from saying, \u201cI need not the help of others, but do all things with power, for I am the Very Son of God, and have the same power as My Father,\u201d because this would have been too hard for His hearer; for I say now what I am always saying, that what Christ desired was, not so much for a while to reveal His own Dignity, as to persuade men that He did nothing contrary to His Father. And therefore in many places he appears in words confined by limits, 622 but in His actions He doth not so. For when He worketh a miracle, He doth all with power, saying, \u201cI will, be thou clean.\u201d ( Matt. viii. 3 .) \u201cTalitha, arise.\u201d ( Mark v. 41 ; not verbally quoted.) \u201cStretch forth thy hand.\u201d ( Mark iii. 5 .) \u201cThy sins be forgiven thee.\u201d ( Matt. ix. 2 .) \u201cPeace, be still.\u201d ( Mark iv. 39 .) \u201cTake up thy bed, and go unto thine house.\u201d ( Matt. ix. 6 .) \u201cThou foul spirit, I say unto thee, come out of him.\u201d ( Mark ix. 25 ; not verbally quoted.) \u201cBe it unto thee even as thou wilt.\u201d ( Matt. xv. 28 .) \u201cIf any one say (aught) unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of him.\u201d ( Mark xi. 3 .) \u201cThis day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise.\u201d ( Luke xxiii. 43 .) \u201cYe have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; but I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause, shall be in danger of the judgment.\u201d ( Matt. 5:21, 22 .) \u201cCome ye after Me, and I will make you fishers of men.\u201d ( Mark i. 17 .) And everywhere we observe that His authority is great; for in His actions no one p. 84 could find fault with what was done. How was it possible? Had His words not come to pass, nor been accomplished as He commanded, any one might have said that they were the commands of a madman; but since they did come to pass, the reality of their accomplishment stopped men\u2019s mouths even against their will. But with regard to His discourses, they might often in their insolence charge Him with madness. Wherefore now in the case of Nicodemus, He utters nothing openly, but by dark sayings leads him up from his low thoughts, teaching him, that He has sufficient power in Himself to show forth miracles; for that His Father begat Him Perfect and All-sufficient, and without any imperfection.\nBut let us see how He effects this. Nicodemus saith, \u201cRabbi, we know that Thou art a Teacher come from God, for no man can do the miracles that Thou doest, except God be with him.\u201d He thought he had said something great when he had spoken thus of Christ. What then saith Christ? To show that he had not yet set foot even on the threshold of right knowledge, nor stood in the porch, but was yet wandering somewhere without the palace, both he and whoever else should say the like, and that he had not so much as glanced towards true knowledge when he held such an opinion of the Only-Begotten, what saith He?\nJohn 3.3 . \u201cVerily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.\u201d\nThat is, \u201cUnless thou art born again and receivest the right doctrines, thou art wandering somewhere without, and art far from the Kingdom of heaven.\u201d But He does not speak so plainly as this. In order to make the saying less hard to bear, He does not plainly direct it at him, but speaks indefinitely, \u201cExcept a man be born again\u201d: all but saying, \u201cboth thou and any other, who may have such opinions concerning Me, art somewhere without the Kingdom.\u201d Had He not spoken from a desire to establish this, His answer would have been suitable to what had been said. Now the Jews, if these words had been addressed to them, would have derided Him and departed; but Nicodemus shows here also his desire of instruction. 623 And this is why in many places Christ speaks obscurely, because He wishes to rouse His hearers to ask questions, and to render them more attentive. For that which is said plainly often escapes the hearer, but what is obscure renders him more active and zealous. Now what He saith, is something like this: \u201cIf thou art not born again, if thou partakest not of the Spirit which is by the washing 624 of Regeneration, thou canst not have a right opinion of Me, for the opinion which thou hast is not spiritual, but carnal.\u201d 625 ( Tit. iii. 5 .) But He did not speak thus, as refusing to confound 626 one who had brought such as he had, and who had spoken to the best of his ability; and He leads him unsuspectedly up to greater knowledge, saying, \u201cExcept a man be born again.\u201d The word \u201cagain,\u201d 627 in this place, some understand to mean \u201cfrom heaven,\u201d others, \u201cfrom the beginning.\u201d \u201cIt is impossible,\u201d saith Christ, \u201cfor one not so born to see the Kingdom of God\u201d; in this pointing to Himself, and declaring that there is another beside the natural sight, and that we have need of other eyes to behold Christ. Having heard this,\nJohn 3.4 . \u201cNicodemus saith, How can a man be born when he is old?\u201d\nCallest thou Him \u201cMaster,\u201d sayest thou that He is \u201ccome from God,\u201d and yet receivest thou not His words, but usest to thy Teacher a manner of speaking which expresses 628 much perplexity? For the \u201cHow,\u201d is the doubting question of those who have no strong belief, but who are yet of the earth. Therefore Sarah laughed when she had said, \u201cHow?\u201d And many others having asked this question, have fallen from the faith.\n[3.] And thus heretics continue in their heresy, because they frequently make this enquiry, saying, some of them, \u201cHow was He begotten?\u201d others, \u201cHow was He made flesh?\u201d and subjecting that Infinite Essence to the weakness of their own reasonings. 629 Knowing which, we ought to avoid this unseasonable curiosity, for they who search into these matters shall, without learning the \u201cHow,\u201d fall away from the right faith. On this account Nicodemus, being in doubt, enquires the manner in which this can be, (for he understood that the words spoken referred to himself,) is confused, and dizzy, 630 and in perplexity, having come as to a man, and hearing more than man\u2019s words, and such as no one ever yet had heard; and for a while he rouses himself at the sublimity of the sayings, but yet is in darkness, and unstable, borne about in every direction, and continually falling away from the faith. And therefore he perseveres in proving the impossibility, so as to provoke Him to clearer teaching.\n\u201cCan a man,\u201d he saith, \u201center into his mother\u2019s womb, and be born?\u201d\nSeest thou how when one commits spiritual things to his own reasonings, he speaks ridiculously, seems to be trifling, or to be drunken, when he pries into what has been said beyond what seems good to God, and admits not the submission p. 85 of faith? Nicodemus heard of the spiritual Birth, yet perceived it not as spiritual, but dragged down the words to the lowness of the flesh, and made a doctrine so great and high depend upon physical consequence. And so he invents frivolities, and ridiculous difficulties. Wherefore Paul said, \u201cThe natural 631 man receiveth not the things of the Spirit.\u201d ( 1 Cor. ii. 14 .) Yet even in this he preserved his reverence for Christ, for he did not mock at what had been said, but, deeming it impossible, held his peace. There were two difficulties; a Birth of this kind, and the Kingdom; for neither had the name of the Kingdom ever been heard among the Jews, nor of a Birth like this. But he stops for a while at the first, which most astonished 632 his mind.\nLet us then, knowing this, not enquire into things relating to God by reasoning, nor bring heavenly matters under the rule of earthly consequences, nor subject them to the necessity of nature; but let us think of all reverently, believing as the Scriptures have said; for the busy and curious person gains nothing, and besides not finding what he seeks, shall suffer extreme punishment. Thou hast heard, that (the Father) begat (the Son): believe what thou hast heard; but do ask not, \u201cHow,\u201d and so take away the Generation; to do so would be extreme folly. For if this man, because, on hearing of a Generation, not that ineffable Generation , but this which is by grace, he conceived nothing great concerning it, but human and earthly thoughts, was therefore darkened and in doubt, what punishment must they deserve, who are busy and curious about that most awful Generation , which transcends all reason and intellect? For nothing causes such dizziness 633 as human reasoning, all whose words are of earth, and which cannot endure to be enlightened from above. Earthly reasonings are full of mud, and therefore need we streams from heaven, that when the mud has settled, the clearer portion may rise and mingle with the heavenly lessons; and this comes to pass, when we present an honest soul and an upright life. For certainly it is possible for the intellect to be darkened, not only by unseasonable curiosity, but also by corrupt manners; wherefore Paul hath said to the Corinthians, \u201cI have fed you with milk, and not with meat; for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able, for ye are yet carnal; for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal?\u201d ( 1 Cor. iii. 2 .) And also in the Epistle to the Hebrews, and in many places, one may see Paul asserting that this is the cause of evil doctrines; for that the soul possessed by passions 634 cannot behold anything great or noble, but as if darkened by a sort of film 635 suffers most grievous dimsightedness.\nLet us then cleanse ourselves, let us kindle the light of knowledge, let us not sow among thorns. What the thorns are, ye know, though we tell you not; for often ye have heard Christ call the cares of this present life, and the deceitfulness of riches, by this name. ( Matt. xiii. 22 .) And with reason. For as thorns are unfruitful, so are these things; as thorns tear those that handle them, so do these passions; as thorns are readily caught by the fire, and hateful by the husbandman, so too are the things of the world; as in thorns, wild beasts, and snakes, and scorpions hide themselves, so do they in the deceitfulness of riches. But let us kindle the fire of the Spirit, that we may consume the thorns, and drive away the beasts, and make the field clear for the husbandman; and after cleansing it, let us water it with the streams of the Spirit, let us plant the fruitful olive, that most kindly of trees, the evergreen, the light-giving, the nutritious, the wholesome. All these qualities hath almsgiving, which is, as it were, a seal on 636 those that possess it. This plant not even death when it comes causes to wither, but ever it stands enlightening the mind, feeding the sinews 637 of the soul, and rendering its strength mightier. And if we constantly possess it, we shall be able with confidence to behold the Bridegroom, and to enter into the bridal chamber; to which may we all attain, through the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father and the Holy Ghost be glory, for ever and ever. Amen.\n\u1f00 \u03ba\u03c1\u03b9\u03b2\u03ad\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03bf\u03b9 , al. \u1f00 \u03c3\u03c6\u03b1\u03bb\u03ad\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03bf\u03b9 .\n82:614 82:615 83:616 83:617 83:618 83:619 83:620 83:621 83:622 84:623 84:624 84:625\n\u03c8\u03c5\u03c7\u03b9\u03ba\u1f74 , \u201cbelonging to the natural life,\u201d opposed in N.T. to \u03c0\u03bd\u03b5\u03c5\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03b9\u03ba\u03ae .\n84:626 84:627\n\u1f04 \u03bd\u03c9\u03b8\u03b5\u03bd (\u201cagain,\u201d or \u201cfrom above\u201d).\n84:628 84:629 84:630 85:631 85:632 85:633 85:634 85:635 85:636 85:637","title":"Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Vol. XIV: The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John.: John 2.23","type":"page"}