We should note here that three things make this argument effective: two of these are explicit, and the other implied. First, although the command given to Abraham [about circumcision] was the first to be given, it was not canceled by the command given to Moses concerning observing the sabbath. “I say that the covenant, confirmed by God, is not canceled by the law, which came four hundred and thirty years later” (Gal 3:17). And so Christ is arguing from this: Although when dealing with human laws, the later ones cancel the earlier laws, in the case of divine laws, the earlier ones have greater authority. And so the command given to Moses about observing the sabbath does not cancel the command which was given to Abraham concerning circumcision. Therefore, much less does it interfere with me, who am only doing what was decided by God before the creation of the world, for the salvation of mankind; and this salvation was symbolized by the sabbath.
Another point is that the Jews were commanded not to work on the sabbath; yet they did do things that were related to the salvation of the individual. So Christ is saying: If you people, who were commanded not to work on the sabbath, circumcise on that day (and this concerns the salvation of the individual, and thus it was done to an individual organ) and you do this so that the law of Moses may not be broken (from which it is clear that those things that pertain to salvation should not be omitted on the sabbath), it follows with greater reason that a man should do on that day those things that pertain to the salvation of everyone. Therefore, you should not be indignant with me because I healed a whole man on the sabbath.
The third point is that each command was a symbol: for “all these things happened to them in symbol” (1 Cor 10:11). Thus, if one symbol, i.e., the command to observe the sabbath, does not cancel the other symbol, i.e., the command to circumcise, much less does it cancel the truth. For circumcision symbolized our Lord, as Augustine says.
Finally, he says, a whole man, because, since God’s works are perfect, the man was cured so as to be healthy in body, and he believed so as to be healthy in soul.
1050 Then when he says, Judge not by the appearances, but with a just judgment, he guides them to a fair consideration of himself’, so that they do not judge him according to appearances, but give a judgment which is just. There are two ways in which one is said to judge according to appearances. First, a judge may reach his decision relying on the allegations: “Men see the things that are evident” (1 Kgs 15:7). But this way can lead to error; thus he says, Judge not by the appearances, i.e., by what is immediately evident, but examine the matter diligently: “I diligently investigated the stranger’s cause” (Jb 29:16); “He will not judge by appearances” (Is 11:3). In the second way, Judge not by the appearances, i.e., do not show partiality or favoritism in your judgment: for all judges are forbidden to do this. “You will not show favoritism when judging a person who is poor” (Ex 23:6); “You have shown partiality in your judgment” (Mal 2:9). To show partiality in a judgment is not to give a judgment that is just because of love, or deference, or fear, or the status of a person, which things have nothing to do with the case. So he says: Judge not by the appearances, but with a just judgment, as if to say: Just because Moses is more honored among you than I am, you should not base your decision on our reputations, but on the nature of the facts: because the things I am doing are greater than what Moses did.
But it should be noted, according to Augustine, that one who loves all equally does not judge with partiality. For when we honor men differently according to their rank, we must beware of showing partiality.
LECTURE 3
25 Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem then said: “Is he not the man they want to kill? 26 Look, he is speaking publicly, and they say nothing to him! Could it be that the rulers really know that he is the Christ? 27 We know where this man comes from; but when the Christ comes, no one will know where he comes from.” 28 So as Jesus was teaching in the temple, he cried out and said: “You do indeed know me, and you know where I come from. And I have not come of my own accord. But the one who sent me is truthful, whom you do not know. 29 I know him. And if I were to say that I do not know him, I would be like you, a liar. But I do know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.”
30 They therefore wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Many of the people, however, believed in him, and they said: “When the Christ comes, will he work more wonders than this man has done?” 32 The Pharisees heard the people saying these things about him, so the rulers and Pharisees sent officers to apprehend Jesus.
1051 Having considered the origin of his doctrine, he now tells us about the origin of its teacher. First, Christ shows his source, from which he comes secondly, he shows his end, to which he goes (v 33). He does three things concerning the first. First, we see the doubt of the people about his origin; secondly, we have Christ’s teaching concerning his origin (v 28); and thirdly, we see the effect this teaching had (v 30). He does two things about the first. First, we see the amazement of the people; secondly, their conjecture (v 26). The people were amazed over two things: at the unjust statements of their leaders, and at the public teaching of Christ (v 25).
1052 As we said before, Christ went up to this feast in secret to show the weakness of his human nature; but he publicly taught in the temple, with his enemies being unable to restrain him, to show his divinity. And so, as Augustine remarks, what was thought to be a lack of courage turned out to be strength. Accordingly, Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem then said, in amazement, for they knew how fiercely their leaders were looking for him, as they lived with them in Jerusalem. Thus Chrysostom says: “The most pitiable of all were they who saw a very clear sign of his divinity and, leaving everything to the judgment of their corrupt leaders, failed to show Christ reverence.” “As the ruler of a city is, so are its inhabitants” (Sir 10:2). Yet they were amazed at the power he had which kept him from being apprehended. So they said: Is he not the man they, i.e., their leaders, want. This agrees with what was said before: “For reasons like this the Jews began to persecute Jesus, because he performed such works on the sabbath” (above 5:16); “Evil has come out of the elders of the people, who ruled them” (Dn 13:5). This also shows that Christ spoke the truth, while what their leaders said was false. For above, when our Lord asked them: “Why do you want to kill me?” they denied it and said: “You have a demon within you! Who wants to kill you?” But here, what their leaders had denied, these others admit when they say, Is he not the man they want to kill? Accordingly, they are amazed, considering the evil intentions of their leaders.
1053 Again, they were amazed that Christ was openly teaching; so they said: Look, he is speaking publicly, i.e., Christ was teaching, an indication of the secure possession of the truth, “I have spoken publicly” (below 18:20), and they say nothing to him, held back by divine power. For it is a characteristic of God’s power that he prevents the hearts of evil men from carrying out their evil plans. “When the Lord is pleased with the way a man is living he will make his enemies be at peace with him” (Ps 16:7); and again, “The heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he wills” (Prv 21:1).
1054 We see their conjecture when he says, Could it be that the rulers really know that he is the Christ? As if to say: Before, they sought to kill him; but now that they have found him, they do not say anything to him. Still, the leaders had not changed their opinion about Christ: “If they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor 2:8), but were restrained by divine power.
1055 Their objection to this conjecture is then added: We know where this man comes from. As if to argue: The Christ should have a hidden origin; but the origin of this man is known; therefore, he is not the Christ. This shows their folly, for granted that some of their leaders believed Christ, they did not follow their opinion, but offered another, which was false. “This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations” (Ez 5:5). For they knew that Christ took his origin from Mary, but they did not know the way this came about: “Isn’t Joseph his father, and Mary his mother’?” as we read in Matthew (13:55).
1056 Why did they say, when the Christ comes, no one will know where he comes from, since it says in Micah (5:2): “Out of you [Bethlehem-Ephrathah] will come a leader, who will rule my people Israel.”? I answer that they took this opinion from Isaiah, who said: “Who will make known his origin?” (53:8). Thus, they knew from the prophets where he was from, according to his human origin; and they also knew from them that they did not know it, according to his divine origin.
1057 Then (v 28), he shows his origin. First, he shows in what sense his origin is known, and in what sense it is not known; in the second place, he shows how we can acquire a knowledge of his origin (v 29). He does two things about the first. First, he shows what they knew about his origin; secondly, what they did not know about it (v 28b).
1058 They did know the origin of Jesus; and so he says of Jesus that he cried out . Now a cry comes from some great emotion. Sometimes it indicates the upheaval of a soul in interior distress; and in this sense it does not apply to Christ: “He will not cry out” (Is 42:2); “The words of the wise are heard in silence” (Ecc 9:17). Sometimes it implies great devotion, as in, “In my trouble I cried to the Lord” (Ps 119:1). And sometimes, along with this, it signifies that what is to be said is important, as in, “The Seraphim cried to each other and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God of hosts’ “ (Is 6:3); and in, “Does not wisdom cry out?” (Prv 8:1). This is the way preachers are encouraged to cry out: “Cry out, do not stop!. Raise your voice like a trumpet” (Is 58:1). This is the way Christ cried out here, teaching in the temple.
And he said: You do indeed know me, according to appearances, and you know where I come from, that is, as to my bodily existence: “After this he was seen on earth” (Bar 3:38). For they knew that he was born from Mary in Bethlehem, and brought up in Nazareth; but they did not know about the virgin birth, and that he had been conceived through the Holy Spirit, as Augustine says. With the exception of the virgin birth, they knew everything about Jesus that pertained to his humanity.
1059 They did not know his hidden origin; and so he says: And I have not come of my own accord. First, he gives his origin; and secondly, he shows that it is hidden from them.
His origin is from the Father, from eternity. And so he says: I have not come of my own accord, as if to say: Before I came into the world through my humanity, I existed according to my divinity: “Before Abraham came to be, I am” (below 8:58). For he could not have come unless he already was. And although I have come, I have not come of my own accord [ a me ipso ], because the Son is not of himself [ a se ], but from the Father. “I came from the Father and have come into the world” (below 16:28). Indeed, his origin was foretold by the Father, who promised to send him: “I beg you, O Lord, send him whom you are going to send” (Ex 4:13); “I will send them a Savior and a defender, to free them” (Is 19:20). And so he says: the one who sent me is truthful, as if to say: I have not come from another but from him who promised and kept his promise, as he is truthful: “God is truthful” (Rom 3:4). Consequently, he teaches me to speak the truth, because I have been sent by one who is truthful. But they do not know this, because they do not know him who sent me; and so he says: whom you do not know.
1060 But since every man, although born in a bodily condition, is from God, it seems that Christ could say that he is from God; and consequently, that they do know where he comes from. I answer, according to Hilary, that the Son is a (from) God in a different way than others: for he is from God in such a way that he is also God; and so God is his consubstantial principle. But others are a (from) God, but in such a way that they are not ex (from) him. Thus, it is not known where the Son is from because the nature ex (from) which he is, is not known. But where men are from is not unknown: for if something exists ex (from) nothing, where it is from cannot be unknown.
1061 Then when he says, I know him, he teaches us how to know him from whom he is. For if a thing is to be learned, it must be learned from one who knows it. But only the Son knows the Father. And so he says: If you wish to know him who sent me, you must acquire this knowledge from me, because I alone know him. First, he shows that he knows him; secondly, he shows the perfection of his knowledge; and thirdly, the nature of his knowledge.
1062 He shows that he knows him when he says, I know him. Now it is true that “All men see him” (Jb 36:25), but they do not see him in the same way, for in this life we see him through the intermediary of creatures: “The invisible things of God are clearly known through the things that have been made” (Rom 1:20). Thus we read: “Now we see in a mirror, in an obscure manner” (1 Cor 13:12). But the angels and the blessed in heaven see him through his essence:—“Their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven” (Mt 18:10): “We shall see him as he is” (1 Jn 3:2). The Son of God, on the other hand, sees him in a more excellent way than all, that is, with a comprehensive or all-inclusive vision: “No one has ever seen God,” i.e., in a comprehensive way; “it is the Only Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, who has made him known” (above 1:18); “No one knows the Father but the Son” (Mt 11:27). It is of this vision that he is speaking of here, when he says: I know him, with a comprehensive knowledge.
1063 He shows the perfection of his knowledge when he says: And if I were to say that I do not know him, I would be like you, a liar. This is mentioned for two reasons. Intellectual creatures do know God, though from a distance and imperfectly, for “All men see him, from a distance” (Jb 36:25). For divine truth transcends all our knowledge: “God is greater than our hearts” (1 Jn 3:20). Therefore, whoever knows God can say without lying: “I do not know him,” because he does not know him to the full extent that he is knowable. But the Son knows God the Father most perfectly, just as he knows himself most perfectly. Thus he cannot say: I do not know him.
Again, because our knowledge of God, especially that which comes through grace, can be lost—“They forgot God, who saved them” (Ps 105:21)—men can say, I do not know him, as long as they are in this present life: because no one knows whether he deserves love or hatred. The Son, on the other hand, has a knowledge of the Father that cannot be lost; so he cannot say: I do not know him.