596 Christ's Victory in drawing all men unto Him. HOMIL. Christ. And to shew that He implieth this, hear what He LXVII. saith; Now shall the prince of this world be cast down, " by My Death."

Ver. 32. And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me.

That is, "even those of the Gentiles." And that no one may ask, "How shall he be cast down, if he is stronger even than Thou art?" He saith, "He is not stronger; how can he be stronger than One Who draweth others to Him? And He speaketh not of the Resurrection, but of what is more than the Resurrection, I will draw all men to Myself. For had He said, "I shall rise again," it was not yet clear that they would believe; but by His saying, "they shall believe," both are proved at once, both this, and also that He must rise again. For had He continued dead, and been a mere man, no one would have believed. I will draw all men c. 6, 44. to Myself. How then said He that the Father draweth ?

Because when the Son draweth, the Father draweth also. He saith, I will draw them, as though they were detained. by a tyrant, and unable of themselves alone to approach Him, and to escape the hands of him who keepeth hold of Mat. 12, them. In another place He calleth this spoiling; no man how can can spoil a strong man's goods, except he first bind the &c.N.T. strong man, and then spoil his goods. This He said to prove His strength, and what there He calleth "spoiling," He hath here called "drawing."

29.

Knowing then these things, let us rouse ourselves, let us glorify God, not by our faith alone, but also by our life, since otherwise it would not be glory, but blasphemy. For God is not so much blasphemed by an impure heathen, as by a corrupt Christian. Wherefore I entreat you to do all that God may be glorified; for, "Woe," It saith, "to that servant by whom the Name of God is blasphemed," (and wherever there is a "woe," every punishment and vengeance straightway follows,) "but blessed is he by whom that Name is glorified." Let us then not be as in darkness, but avoid all sins, and especially those which tend to the hurt of others, since by these God is most blasphemed. What pardon shall we have, when, being commanded to give to others, we plunder the property of others? What shall be

God is to be glorified in our obedience.

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XII.

our hope of salvation? Thou art punished if thou hast not JOHN fed the hungry; but if thou hast even stripped one who was 32. clothed, what sort of pardon shalt thou obtain? These things I will never desist from saying, for they who have not heard to-day perhaps will hear to-morrow, and they who take no heed to-morrow perhaps will be persuaded the next day; and even if any be so disposed as not to be persuaded, yet for us there will be no account to give of them at the Judgment. Our part we have fulfilled; may we never have cause to be ashamed of our words, nor you to hide your faces, but may all be able to stand with boldness before the judgment-seat of Christ, that we also may be able to rejoice over you, and to have some compensation of our own faults, in your being approved in Christ Jesus our Lord, with Whom to the Father and the Holy Ghost be glory for ever. Amen.

HOMILY LXVIII.

JOHN Xii. 34.

The people answered Him, We have heard out of the Law that Christ abideth for ever; and how sayest thou, The Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?

DECEIT is a thing easily detected, and weak, though it be daubed outside with ten thousand colours. For as those who whitewash decayed walls, cannot by the plastering make them sound, so too those who lie are easily found out, as in fact was the case here with the Jews. For when Christ said to them, If I be lifted up I will draw all men unto Me; We have heard, saith one of them, out of the Law, that Christ remaineth for ever; and how sayest thou, that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man? Even they then knew that Christ was some Immortal One, and had life without end. And therefore they also knew what He meant; for often in Scripture the Passion and the Resurrection are mentioned in the same place. Thus Isaiah puts Is.53,7. them together, saying, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and all that follows. David also in the second Psalm, and in many other places, connects these two things. The Patriarch Gen. 49, too after saying, He lay down, He couched as a lion, addeth, And as a lion's whelp, who shall raise Him up? He sheweth at once the Passion and the Resurrection. But these men when they thought to silence Him, and to shew that He was not the Christ, confessed by this very circumstance that the Christ remaineth for ever. And observe their evil dealing;

9.

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XII.

Our Lord, as the Light of the world, to rise again. they said not, "We have heard that Christ neither suffereth JOHN nor is crucified," but that He remaineth for ever. Yet even 35. 36. this which has been mentioned, would have been no real objection, for the Passion was no hindrance to His Immortality. Hence we may see that they understood many of the doubtful points, and deliberately went wrong. For since He had before spoken about death, when they now heard in this place the," be lifted up," they guessed that death was referred to. Then they said, Who is this Son of Man? This too they did deceitfully. "Think not, I pray," saith one, “that we say this concerning thee, assert not that we oppose thee through enmity, for, lo, we know not concerning whom thou speakest, and still we declare our opinion." What then doth Christ? To silence them, and to shew that the Passion is no impediment to His enduring for ever, He saith,

Ver. 35. Yet a little while, He saith, is the light with you. Signifying that His death was a removal1; for the light of1i.e. the sun is not destroyed, but having retired for a while ap- porary. pears again.

Walk while ye have the light".

Of what season doth He here speak? Of the whole present life, or of the time before the Crucifixion? I for my part think of both, for on account of His unspeakable lovingkindness, many even after the Crucifixion believed. And He speaketh these things to urge them on to the faith, as He also did before, saying, Yet a little while I am with you. He that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

How many things, for instance, even now do the Jews, without knowing what they do, but walking as though they were in darkness? They think that they are going the right way, when they are taking the contrary; keeping the sabbath, respecting the Law and the observances about meats, yet knowing not whither they walk. Wherefore He said,

Ver. 36. Walk in the light, that ye may become children of the light.

That is," My children." Yet in the beginning the Evangelist

a Lest darkness come upon you. N.T. b Savile reads Kатηуороûνтes, conject. Tηpouvτes, which is the Ben. reading.

e While ye have light, believe in the light. N. T.

tem

c. 7, 33.

c. 1, 13.

I i. e.

Christ.

ed and

did hide

600

Our Lord withdraws, and returns again.

HOMIL. Saith, Were born, not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, LXVIII: but of God; that is, of the Father; while here Himself1 is said to beget them; that thou mayest understand that the operation of the Father and the Son is One. Jesus having 2 depart-spoken these things, departed from them, and did hide Himself2. Why doth He now "hide Himself?" They took not up Himself stones against Him, nor did they blaspheme Him in any from them. such manner as before; why then did He hide Himself? N. T. Walking in men's hearts, He knew that their wrath was fierce, though they said nothing; He knew it boiling and murderous, and waited not till it issued into action, but hid Himself, to allay their ill-will. Observe how the Evangelist has alluded to this feeling; he has immediately added,

3 before them. N. T.

4 i. e.

that

drew

of the

Ver. 37. Though He had done so many miracles3, they believed not on Him.

What "so many?" So many as the Evangelist hath omitted. And this is clear also from what follows. For when He had Christ retired, and given in, and had come to them again, He with- speaketh with them in a lowly manner, saying, He that from the believeth on Me, believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent malice Me. Observe what He doeth. He beginneth with humble Jews. and modest expressions, and betaketh Himself to the Father; then again He raiseth His language, and when He seeth that they are exasperated, He retireth; then He cometh to them again, and again beginneth with words of humility. And where hath He done this? Nay, where hath He not done it? See, for instance, what He saith at the beginning, c. 5, 30. As I hear, I judge. Then in a loftier tone, As the Father c. 5, 21. raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, so also the Son

v. 44.

quickeneth whom He will; again, "I judge you not, there is another that judgeth." Then again He retireth. Then c. 6, 27. coming to Galilee, Labour not, He saith, for the meat that perisheth; and after having said great things of Himself, that He came down from Heaven, that He giveth eternal life, He again withdraweth Himself. And He cometh in [2.] the Feast of Tabernacles also, and doth the same. And one may see Him continually thus varying His teaching, by His presence, by His absence, by lowly, by high discourses. Which He also did here. Though He had done so many miracles, It saith, they believed not on Him.