1714 Secondly, he continues, that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness . To become enlightened, therefore, is an effect of faith: "He who follows me will not walk in darkness" (8:12). May not remain in darkness : that is, the darkness of ignorance, of unbelief and eternal damnation. This shows that all are born in the darkness of sin: "For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord," as we read in Ephesians (5:8). And in the darkness of ignorance: "A man whose way is hidden and God has surrounded him with darkness" [Job 3:23]. And in the end, unless they turn to Christ, they will be brought to the darkness of eternal damnation. And so, he who does not believe in me remains in darkness: "Whoever is unbelieving in the Son will not see life; rather, the anger of God rests on him" [3:36].
1715 Then he discloses the punishment of unbelievers, which they will incur through their condemnation at the judgment. First, he states that the judgment will be delayed; secondly, that there will be a judgment in the future (v 48); and thirdly, he shows the cause of the judgment (v 48b).
1716 As to the first he says, If any one hears my sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him . Note that the ones to be made happy, beatified, are those who hear the word of God and keep it, believing it within in their hearts, and doing it without in their actions. But they who hear it but take no care to keep it, become more guilty: "For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be justified" (Rom 2:13); "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only" (Jas 1:22). And so, If any one hears my sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him .
But this seems to conflict with what was said above (5:22): "The Father�has given all judgment to the Son." Therefore, we should understand it as, I do not judge him at this time. It could be considered a weakness in him if he overlooked those who despised him. And so he says that such persons will be judged, although not now; for we read that "God will bring every deed into judgment" (Eccl 12:14), and "Flee from the face of iniquity, for the sword is the avenger of iniquity: and know that there is a judgment" [Job 19:29].
1717 He continues with the reason for the delay, saying for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world . Now the Son of God comes two times: one time he comes as Savior, and the next as judge. But since all were in sin, if he had come the first time as judge, he would have saved no one, because all were the children of wrath. And so it was fitting that he come first to save believers, and later to judge both believers and sinners. This is what he is saying: I do not judge now, for I did not come at this come to judge the world but to save the world . "God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him" [3:17].
1718 Then when he says, he who rejects me and does not receive my sayings has a judge , he foretells the judgment to come. It is like saying: Although those who do not keep my word are not judged now, they will not go unpunished, whoever they are, because, he who rejects me and does not receive my sayings by believing them and acting according to them, has a judge . The reason for this is that if one does not receive the word of Christ, he scorns the word of God, whose Word is Christ, just like the one who does not obey the command of his master. "Flee from the face of iniquity; and know that there is a judgment" [Job 19:29]; "For God will bring every deed into judgment" (Eccl 12:14); "Woe to you who scorn. Will not you yourselves also be scorned?" [Is 33:1]; "They who despise me will be despised" [1 Sam 2:30].
1719 Then when he says, the word that I have spoken will be his judge on the last day , he assigns the cause of the judgment. And first, he mentions the cause of the judgment; secondly, the adequacy of this cause (v 49).
1720 He says: I say that such a person has one that judges him. But who will that judge be? He says, the word that I have spoken will be his judge on the last day . According to Augustine, this is the same as saying: I will judge him on the last day. [43] For Christ revealed himself in his sayings, he announced himself. He, therefore, is the word that he spoke, for he spoke about himself: "Even if I do bear witness to myself, my testimony is true, for I know whence I have come and whither I am going" (8:14). It is like saying: What I have said to them and they have despised will judge them: "He is the one ordained by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness" (Acts 10:42).
1721 Then he shows the sufficiency of this cause, saying, for I have not spoken on my own authority [ of myself , ex meipso ]. So first he shows this from the origin of his sayings; secondly, from their dignity or value (v 50). Concerning the first he does two things: first, he excludes a false notion: secondly, he states the truth.
1722 The false notion, of course, is that the Son works, or says, or is, merely of himself, and not from another: for this would be to say that the Son is not from the Father, which is what he does say: I say that the word which I have spoken will judge them, for I have not spoken of myself : "The Son cannot do anything of himself" [5:19]; "I do not speak of myself" [14:10]. Indeed, I have not spoken of myself , is the same as "I was not born of myself but from the Father." He is saying in effect, I will judge him on the last day (appearing in the form of a servant): "He gave him the power to pass judgment, because he is the Son of man" [5:27]. Yet I will not judge from human authority, that is, because I am the Son of man, but from divine authority, because I am the Son of God. Therefore, I will not judge of myself, but from the Father from whom I have the authority to judge.
1723 He establishes the truth when he says, the Father who sent me has himself given me commandment what to say and what to speak . Unless this is appropriately understood, it can be the source of two errors. The first is that since the one commanding is greater than the one commanded, the Father is greater than the Son. Secondly, since what is given to someone was not possessed by him before it was given, and so was not known by him, it seems that if the Father gave a commandment to the Son it follows that the Son at some time did not have it, and so did not know it. As a result, something has been added to the Son, and so the Son is not truly God.
In answer to this we should note that all the divine commands are in the mind of the Father, since these commands are nothing other than the plans or patterns of things to be done. And so just as the patterns of all creatures produced by God are in the mind of the Father, and are called ideas, so the patterns of all things to be done by us are in his mind. And just as the patterns of all things pass from the Father to the Son, who is the Wisdom of the Father, so also the patterns of all things to be done. Therefore, the Son says, the Father who sent me has himself given me , as God, commandment , that is, by an eternal generation he has communicated to me what to say within and what to speak without, just as what we say (if we speak the truth) makes known what is in our minds. [44]
1724 Chrysostom explains all this differently, and more clearly. [45] First of all (v 47): If any one hear my sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him . Now one is said to be condemned in two ways: either by a judge or by the reason for the condemnation. For a murderer is condemned to be hanged both by the judge who passes sentence and by the murder he committed, which is the reason for his condemnation. He says, I do not judge him , that is, I am not the reason for his condemnation, but he himself is: "Your destruction, O Israel is from yourself; your help is only in me" [Hos 13:9]. And the reason is: for I did not come to judge the world , that is, I was not sent to condemn but to save.
But will not such a person be judged? He certainly will, because he who rejects me and does not receive my sayings has a judge . He shows what that judge is when he says, the word that I have spoken , and you have heard, will be his accuser and will be his judge on the last day . "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin" (15:22). He shows that the word that he spoke will judge them by saying, for I have not spoken of myself . This is not said causally, but in a material sense, so that the meaning is: You say that your word will judge. But what is that word? It is the word that I have spoken, for I have not spoken of myself ; that is, it is the word from the Father that I have spoken, and what he gave me to say and speak. Otherwise, if I had spoken something in opposition to the Father, or something I had not received from the Father, and they had believed me, they would have an excuse. But because I have spoken as I have, it is certain that they have rejected not only me, but also my Father.
1725 According to this explanation, the statement, the Father who sent me has himself given me commandment what to say and what to speak , shows the sufficiency of the basis of the judgment because of the dignity or value of the word. First, its dignity is given; secondly, the fact that the word was spoken. Its dignity is stated when he says, I know that his commandment is eternal life . "This is the true God and eternal life" (1 Jn 5:20). For the Son himself is the commandment of the Father, or, he is eternal life. "If you would enter life, keep the commandments" (Mt 19:17).
Therefore, because the Father has given me commandment, and this commandment is eternal life, and since I have come to lead men to eternal life, I accomplish the commandment of the Father in all that I do. This is what he is saying, What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has said to me . According to Chrysostom, whose explanation is clear, the meaning is: what I say, therefore , when preaching in public, I say as the Father has said to me , that is, insofar as I have received knowledge from him - understanding this was received by Christ as man.
1726 But if, with Augustine, we understand this to apply to Christ as God, how can the Father say something to him, since Christ is his Word? The answer is that the Father did not say anything to him as though he spoke by words to his only Word. Rather, the Father spoke to the Son by generating him, and giving him life in himself: "He [the Lord] said to me, 'You are my son'" (Ps 2:7). [46]
[1] St. Thomas refers to Jn 12:6 in the Summa Theologiae : II-II, q. 55, a. 7, obj. 3; q. 188, a. 7.
[2] Tract. in Io ., 50, ch. 6, col. 1760; cf. Catena Aurea , 12:1-11.
[3] Chrysostom, In Ioannem hom ., 62, ch. 1; PG 59, col. 342; cf. Catena Aurea , 11:1-5; Jerome, Evang. Ioan. ; PL 29, col. 670.
[4] Origen.
[5] Augustine, De consensus evangelistarum , 2, ch. 79, 78; PL 34; cf. Catena Aurea , 12:1-11.
Gregory, Epistola V ad Theoctistam ; PL 77; col. 449C.
[6] Tract. in Io ., 50, ch. 6, col. 1760; cf. Catena Aurea , 12:1-11.
[7] Tract. in Io ., 50, ch. 10, col. 1762; cf. Catena Aurea , 12:1-11.