The strict account to be given hereafter. VI. 15. 371 our Judge? what shall we say? what defence shall we make? JOHN what excuse reasonable or unreasonable shall we put forward? shall we allege the expense? the gratification? the perdition of others whom by means of his art we ruin? We can have nothing to say, but must be punished with a punishment having no end, knowing no limit. That this come not to pass, let us henceforth guard all points, that having departed with a good hope, we may obtain the everlasting blessings; to which may we all attain through the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom and with Whom to the Father and the Holy Ghost be glory, now and ever and world without end. Amen. HOMILY XLIII. JOHN vi. 16-18. 1 èπl [eis And when even was now G. T.] 4 ἐγένετο [èyeyó come, His disciples went down unto1 into a ship, and went over the sea And it was now dark, and Jesus was And the sea arose by reason of a great CHRIST provideth for the good of His disciples not only VEG.T.] when He is present in the body, but also when far away; for having abundance of means and of skill, He effecteth one and the same end by contrary actions. Observe, for instance, what He hath done here. He leaveth His disciples, and goeth up into a mountain; and they, when even was come, went down unto the sea. They waited for Him until evening, expecting that He would come unto them; but when even was come, they could no longer endure not to seek their Master'; so great a love possessed them. They said not, "It is now evening, and night hath overtaken us, whither shall we depart? the place is dangerous, the time 5 al. in- unsafe;" but, goaded' by their longing, they entered into the flamed' ship. For it is not without a cause that the Evangelist hath al. 'sig-declared the time also, but by it to shew the warmth of their love. nifies' Wherefore then doth Christ let them go, and not shew 7al. 'and Himself'? And again', wherefore doth He shew Himself Some miracles witnessed by disciples only. 373 VI. 19. them how great (an evil) it is to be forsaken by Him, and JoHN maketh their longing greater; by the second, again, He sheweth forth His power. For as in His teaching they στασίαν, heard not all in common with the multitude, so in the case of the miracles they saw them not all with the mass of people, since it was needful that they who were about to receive in charge the presidency1 of the world, should have somewhat pomore than the rest. "And what sort of miracles," saith some one, "saw they by themselves?" The Transfiguration on the mount; this on the sea, and those after the Resurrection, which are many and important. And from these I conjecture that there were others also. They came to Capernaum without any certain information, but expecting to find Him there, or even in mid passage; this the Evangelist implies by saying that it was now dark, and Jesus was not yet come to them. And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew. What did they? They were troubled, for there were many and various causes which forced them to be so. They were afraid by reason of the time for it was dark, of the storm for the sea had risen, of the place for they were not near land; but, Ver. 19. Had rowed about five and twenty furlongs. 2 five and twenty or thirty,' N. T. 34 'they seg Ver. 20. He saith unto them, It is I, be not afraid. Wherefore then appeareth He? To shew that it was He Jesus.' Who would make the storm to cease. For this the Evan- N. T. gelist hath shewn, saying, Ver. 21. They were willing to receive Him1, and imme-4 [into diately the ship was near the land a. the ship.] He not only gave them a safe passage, but also one with a N. T fair wind. To the multitude He sheweth not Himself walking upon the sea, for the miracle was too great to suit their infirmity. Indeed, even by the disciples He was not seen long doing al. this, but He appeared, and at once retired. Now this seems drew d at the land whither they went.' N. T. eal. is shewn (or It shews by the Evangelist, saying,' &c. 'with from them.' Mat. 14. HOMIL. to me to be a different miracle from that found in Matthew; XLIII. and that it is different is clear from many reasons. For He worketh often the same miracles, in order to cause the beholders not merely to count them very strange, but also to receive them with great faith. 28. 1 i. e. that it was Christ. It is I, be not afraid. As He spake the word, He cast out fear from their souls. But at another time not so; wherefore Mat. 14, Peter said, Lord, if it be Thou, bid me to come unto Thee. Whence then was it that at that time they did not straightway admit this', but now were persuaded? It was because then the storm continued to toss the bark, but now at His really voice the calm had come. Or if the reason be not this, it is that other which I have before mentioned, that oftentimes working the same miracles, He made the second to be readily received by means of the first. But wherefore went He not up into the ship? Because He would make the marvel greater, would more openly reveal to them His Godhead, and would shew them, that when He before gave thanks, He al. did not so as needing aid, but in condescension to them. He clearly allowed the storm to arise, that they might ever seek Him; He stilled the storm, that He might make known to them His power; He went not up into the ship, that He might make the marvel greater. 2 lit. more nakedly' more 3 al. 'came' Ver. 22. And the people that were there saw that there was none other boat there save the one into which the disciples had entered, and that Jesus went not into the boat, but His disciples. And why is John so exact? Why said he not that the multitudes having passed over on the next day departed? He desires to teach us something else, namely, that Jesus allowed the multitudes if not openly, at least in a secret manner, to suspect what had taken place. For, They saw, e al. so that the beholders might both marvel, and not count them very strange.' f N. T. ver. 22-24. The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there save that one whereinto His disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples were gone away alone; (howbeit there came other little boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks;) when the people therefore say that Jesus was not there, neither His disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum seeking for Jesus. The readings here vary, without variety of meaning. saith he, that there was none other boat there but one, and JOHN that Jesus went not into it with His disciples. Ver. 24. And embarking in boats from Tiberias, they came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. What else then could they suspect, save that He had arrived there crossing the sea on foot? for it was not possible to say that He had passed over in another ship. For there was one, saith the Evangelist, into which His disciples entered. Still when they came to Him after so great a wonder, they asked Him not how He crossed over, how He arrived there, nor sought to understand so great a sign. But what say they? Ver. 25. Master, when camest Thou hither? VI. 24. 25. hence [2.] Unless any one affirm that the "when" is here used by them in the sense of " how." But it is worth while also1 al. to notice here the fickleness of their impulses. For they who said, This is that Prophet; they who were anxious to take Him and make Him a king, now when they have found Him take no such counsel, but having cast out their astonishment, they no longer admire Him for His former deeds. They sought Him, desiring again to enjoy a table like the first. east The Jews under the guidance of Moses passed over the Red Sea, but that case is widely different from this. He did all with prayer and as a servant, but Christ with absolute 22 lit. 'all' power. There when the south wind blew, the water yielded a strong so as to make them pass over on dry land, but here the wind. miracle was greater. For the sea retaining its proper nature Ex. 14, so bare its Lord upon its surface, thus testifying to the lit. Scripture which saith, Who walketh upon the sea as upon pavement. a And with reason, when He was about to enter into stubborn and disobedient Capernaum, did He work the miracle of the loaves, as desiring not only by what took place within, but also by the miracles which were wrought without the city, to soften its disobedience. For was it not enough to soften even any stone, that such multitudes should come with great eagerness to that city? Yet they had no such feeling, but again desired food for the body; for which also they are reproached by Jesus. 8 εὔθραυστον ὁρμὴν al. εὔκολον γνώμην. 21. 4 'back' Job 9,8. |