John 14 · The Lantern

Be not youre herte afraied, ne drede it; ye bileuen in God, and bileue ye in me.

Hence He speaks in words deliberately chosen, so that whatever He claims for the Father, He signifies in modest language to be appropriate to Himself also. Take as an instance the command, Believe in God, and believe also in Me. He is identified with God in honour; how, pray, can He be separated from His nature? He says, Believe in Me also, just as He said Believe in God.

In commanding them not to be troubled, Jesus placed them, as it were, on the threshold between hope and fear. This way, if they fell into weakness and suffering in their human frailty, the hope of his mercy might help them to recover.

Above (ch 13), our Lord taught his disciples by example, here he consoles them by his words. First, they are encouraged in many ways by what he says; secondly, what he has said is explained (ch 16). Concerning the first, we should note that there were two things which could trouble the disciples.

In the hous of my fadir ben many dwellyngis; if ony thing lesse, Y hadde seid to you, for Y go to make redi to you a place.

As the presbyters say, then those who are deemed worthy of an abode in heaven shall go there, others shall enjoy the delights of Paradise, and others shall possess the splendour of the city; for everywhere the Saviour will be seen, according as they shall be worthy who see Him.

We acknowledge, beloved brethren, that we are owing you, and ought now to repay, what was left over for consideration, how we can understand that there is no real mutual contrariety between these two statements, namely, that after saying, "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you, that I go to prepare a place for you;"-where He makes it c…

Then when he says, in my Father's house are many rooms, he adds the promise that it is through Christ that they will approach and be brought to the Father. Now a promise to others that they will gain entrance to some place involves two things: first, the place must be prepared; next, they have to be brought there.

And if Y go, and make redi to you a place, eftsoones Y come, and Y schal take you to my silf, that where Y am, ye be.

(Hom. lxxiii. 1) Having said, Thou canst not follow Me now, that they might not think that they were cut off for ever, He adds: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there ye may be also: a recommendation to them to place the strongest trust in Him.

He says then, If I go, by the absence of the flesh, I shall come again, by the presence of the Godhead; or, I shall come again to judge the quick and dead. And as He knew that they would ask whither He went, or by what way He went, He adds, And whither I go ye know, i. e. to the Father, and the way ye know, i. e. Myself.

Our Lord said above: "Where I am going you cannot follow me now" (13:36). And then here, to keep them from believing that they would be absolutely separated from him he adds, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself. This is the second promise, that they will be brought into the kingdom.

And whidur Y go, ye witen, and ye witen the weie.

Thomas seith to hym, Lord, we witen not whidur thou goist, and hou moun we wite the weie?

If ye had known me, ye would have known the Father also: but henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him." And now we come to Philip, who, roused with the expectation of seeing the Father, and not understanding in what sense he was to take "seeing the Father," says: "Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

How can our Lord say, If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also; when He has just said, Whither I go ye know, and the way ye know? We must suppose that some of them knew, and others not: among the latter, Thomas.

Next (v 5), our Lord explains what he has just said: first, we see the occasion for this explanation; secondly, the explanation itself (v 6). The occasion for this explanation was the hesitation expressed in the question of Thomas. Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way? Here Thomas denies the two things that our Lord affirmed.

Jhesus seith to hym, Y am weie, treuthe, and lijf; no man cometh to the fadir, but bi me.

For, says [the Scripture], "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord." Now the way is unerring, namely, Jesus Christ. For, says He, "I am the way and the life." And this way leads to the Father.

"God," he says, "Who is without beginning, eternally, without end, alone." Once more "understand, ye simple ones," as Solomon says, "his subtlety," lest haply ye be deceived and fall headlong into the denial of the Godhead of the Only-begotten Son. That is without end which admits not of death and decay: that, likewise, is called everlasting which is not only for a time.

Then when he says, Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life, the question is answered. Our Lord was to answer about two things: first, about the way and its destination; secondly, about their knowledge of both (v 7). He does two things about the first: first, he states what the way is; secondly, he gives its destination (v 6b).

If ye hadden knowe me, sotheli ye hadden knowe also my fadir; and aftirward ye schulen knowe hym, and ye han seyn hym.

And again, the Lord replied to Philip, who wished to behold the Father, "Have I been so long a time with you, and yet thou hast not known Me, Philip? He that sees Me, sees also the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?

Connecting, therefore, His previous words with those that follow, He proceeded to say, "If ye had known me, ye should certainly have known my Father also." This conforms to His previous words, "No man cometh unto the Father but by me." And then He adds: "And from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him." But Philip, one of the apostles, not understanding what he had just hear…

Then when he says, If you had known me, you would without doubt have known my Father also, he shows that the disciples knew both where he was going and the way. First, he shows this; secondly he resolves a coming difficulty.

Filip seith to hym, Lord, schewe to vs the fadir, and it suffisith to vs.

Whence, also, to Philip, who then was desirous to see Him, the Lord shows this abundantly. For when he said, "Show us the Father," He answered: "He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father," since the Father was Himself seen through the spotless and living mirror of the divine image.

Philip is anxious to learn, but not very keen in that understanding which is adapted to Divine vision; for else he would never have supposed it possible with bodily eyes to behold in its fulness the Divine nature in spite of the plain declaration of God: No man shall see My Face and live.

Here our Lord clears up a confusion in one of the disciples: first, we see what the confusion was; secondly, it is resolved (v 9). In regard to the first, recall that above our Lord mentioned two things.

Jhesus seith to hym, So long tyme Y am with you, and `han ye not knowun me? Filip, he that seeth me, seeth also the fadir. Hou seist thou, schewe to vs the fadir?

For God the Father none ever saw, and lived. And accordingly it is agreed that the Son of God Himself spake to Moses, and said to the people, "Behold, I send mine angel before thy"-that is, the people's-"face, to guard thee on the march, and to introduce thee into the land which I have prepared thee: attend to him, and be not disobedient to him; for he hath not escaped thy noti…

So, he says, was not such a long time sufficient to teach you about my Father and me? And yet you still are looking to see him. If you had known me, you would have known the Father through me and would have not thought that he can be seen with bodily eyes.

Now the confusion is cleared up. First, we see it resolved; secondly, this is explained further (v 10). As to the first, our Lord chides Philip for his slowness; secondly, he states the truth, Philip, he who has seen me has seen the Father also; thirdly, Christ objects to the very request, how can you say, Show us the Father.

Bileuest thou not, that Y am in the fadir, and the fadir is in me? The wordis that Y speke to you, Y speke not of my silf; but the fadir hym silf dwellynge in me, doith the werkis.

If, indeed, He meant the Father to be understood as the same with the Son, by saying, "He who seeth me seeth the Father," how is it that He adds immediately afterwards, "Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? " He ought rather to have said: "Believest thou not that I am the Father?

"Believest thou not that I am in the Father?" That is, "I am seen in that Essence." "The words that I speak, I speak not of Myself," Seest thou the exceeding nearness, and the proof of the one Essence? "The Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works." How, beginning with words, doth He come to works?

Then when he says, How can you say, Show us the Father? he shows his disapproval of the request, and of the basis of the request. He is displeased with the request because the Father is seen in the Son. Philip could have said what we read in Job: "I, who have spoken so unthoughtfully, what can I reply? I will put my hand over my mouth" (39:34).

Bileue ye not, that Y am in the fadir, and the fadir is in me?

And such or so important a dispensation He did not bring about by means of the creations of others, but by His own; neither by those things which were created out of ignorance and defect, but by those which had their substance from the wisdom and power of His Father.

And then He goes on to say, "Believe ye not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? Or else believe me for the very works' sake." Formerly it was Philip only who was reproved, but now, it is shown that he was not the only one there that needed reproof.

Since our belief in the Trinity is shown by the above two statements, our Lord concludes to this belief, saying, Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? It was explained above how this is to be understood. In Greek, the text reads: Believe, that is, believe me, that I am in the Father and the Father in me.

Ellis bileue ye for thilke werkis. Treuli, treuli, Y seie to you, if a man bileueth in me, also he schal do the werkis that Y do; and he schal do grettere werkis than these, for Y go to the fadir.

This refers to the other miracles that the apostles did, such as healing a man through their shadow falling on him. But this incident did not reveal the fullness of this saying, but rather it was fulfilled in the fact that, when he used the power of the Godhead for an act of kindness, the disciples on the one hand worked through the power given to them for the service of those…

It is no easy matter to comprehend what is meant by, or in what sense we are to receive, these words of the Lord, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also:" and then, to this great difficulty in the way of our understanding, He has added another still more difficult, "And greater things than these shall he do." What are we to make of it?

After clarifying what he had said by appealing to the works he did by himself, our Lord now clarifies these things by the works he would do through the disciples. First, he mentions the works of the disciples; secondly, he mentions how they would do them, Whatever you ask the Father in my name, I will do it.

And what euere thing ye axen the fadir in my name, Y schal do this thing, that the fadir be glorified in the sone.

But if we think it impious to believe that the Father has handed over all judgment to the Son in such a way that he does not have it himself—for he has it and cannot lose what the divine majesty has by its very nature—we ought to consider it equally impious to suppose that the Son cannot give what either men and women can merit or any creature can receive, especially as he hims…

Explaining to us how one who believes in Him can perform great and wondrous deeds, He says: "If you ask anything in My name." Here He shows us the manner of working miracles: anyone can work miracles through petition and prayer and the invocation of His name. So too the apostles said to the lame man: "In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk" (Acts 3:6).

Now he mentions how these things will be done: first, the way, whatever you ask; secondly, why they will be done, that the Father may be glorified.

If ye axen ony thing in my name, Y schal do it.

If ye louen me, kepe ye my comaundementis.

From which an example is given us to avoid the way of the old man, to stand in the footsteps of a conquering Christ, that we may not again be incautiously turned back into the nets of death, but, foreseeing our danger, may possess the immortality that we have received.

Above He said "I will do everything you ask"; now He shows that one must ask not simply, but with love for Him and the keeping of the commandments. For then I will do it, when you ask in this manner. And in another way. Hearing that they would be left by Him, they could naturally become saddened and troubled in their souls.

Above, our Lord consoled his disciples over his leaving by promising that they would be able to approach the Father. But because it might seem that this was in the distant future, and in the meantime they would still be in sorrow without their Teacher, he here soothes their sorrow by promising them the Holy Spirit.

And Y schal preye the fadir, and he schal yyue to you another coumfortour,

Happily the Lord Himself employs this expression of the person of the Paraclete, so as to signify not a division or severance, but a disposition (of mutual relations in the Godhead); for He says, "I will pray the Father, and He shall send you another Comforter ...

The apostle says that the Comforter—the title given to the third person of the Trinity—is God. In his epistle to the Corinthians he says, "God, who comforts those who are cast down, comforts us." The Holy Spirit who comforts those who are cast down is therefore God.… Or if they rather take these words of the apostle as applying to the Father or the Son, let them no longer, then…

Another preparation was needed for Christ, and as to this he says, And I will pray the Father, and so forth. Note that our Lord Jesus Christ, as a human being, is the mediator between God and humankind, as we see from 1 Timothy (2:5). And so as a human being he approaches God and asks heavenly gifts for us, and coming to us he lifts us up and leads us to God.

the spirit of treuthe, to dwelle with you with outen ende; which spirit the world may not take, for it seeth hym not, nether knowith hym. But ye schulen knowe hym, for he schal dwelle with you, and he schal be in you.

Again he said to me, "Love the truth, and let nothing but truth proceed from your mouth, that the spirit which God has placed in your flesh may be found truthful before all men; and the Lord, who dwelleth in you, will be glorified, because the Lord is truthful in every word, and in Him is no falsehood.

But further, lest any should imagine that the Father and Son only, without the Holy Spirit, make their abode with those that love Them, let him recall what was said above of the Holy Spirit, "Whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye shall know Him; for He shall dwell with you, and shall be in you." Here you see that, along with the Fa…

The Spirit is a most excellent gift because he is the Spirit of truth. He is called the Spirit to show the subtlety or fineness of his nature, for the word "spirit" is used to indicate something which is undiscoverable and invisible. And so what is invisible is usually referred to as a spirit.

Y schal not leeue you fadirles, Y schal come to you.

Now how it is that we are in Him through the sacrament of the flesh and blood bestowed upon us, He Himself testifies, saying, "And the world will no longer see Me, but ye shall see Me; because I live ye shall live also; because I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you." If He wished to indicate a mere unity of will, why did He set forth a kind of gradation and sequence in…

Of necessity our Lord Jesus the Christ at this point finishes the discourse touching the Holy and Consubstantial Trinity. For He has already shown before, setting forth both words and facts for assurance unto them that love Him, both that He is in His nature God and is begotten of God the Father, and is of equal might and like mind with Him.

Above, our Lord promised that the Holy Spirit would be our Consoler. But because the apostles had not risen very high in their knowledge of the Holy Spirit, and their attention was absorbed by the presence of Christ, this consolation seemed small to them. Thus, in this part, our Lord promises, first, that he will return; secondly, his own gifts (v 25).

Yit a litil, and the world seeth not now me; but ye schulen se me, for Y lyue, and ye schulen lyue.

[Jesus] applied the word world to those who, being bound by this material and carnal life and beholding the truth by material sight alone, were ordained through their unbelief in the resurrection to see our Lord no more with the eyes of the heart.… For the carnal person who has never trained his mind for contemplation but rather keeps it buried deep in the lust of the flesh, as…

Now that the Passion is close at hand, and brings along with it the moment of His Assumption, He says that He will be invisible to the world, that is, to them that value the enjoyment of things temporal before the Divine blessings, and set more store by earthly things than by heavenly.

Here he explains how he will return and shows that his return to the apostles will be in a special way. Since they might think that he would return to them as still subject to death, he excludes this, saying: Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more.

In that dai ye schulen knowe, that Y am in my fadir, and ye in me, and Y in you.

When someone sweeps clean their soul in the name of Christ, Christ dwells in them and God dwells in Christ. From that time onward, that person becomes one of three persons—himself; Christ, who dwells in him; and God, who dwells in Christ.

The meaning of the passage before us is somewhat hard to reach, and as it were demands that the inquiry applied to it be keen, and imposes very considerable delay on our discourse: howbeit we believe that Christ will once more direct us into truth.

Now we see the fruit of his return, which is the knowledge of those things which the apostles did not know. For, as we saw, Peter did not know where Christ was going, and so he asked: "Lord, where are you going?" (13:36); and Thomas did not know this, nor the way he would go: "Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?" (14:5).

He that hath my comaundementis, and kepith hem, he it is that loueth me; and he that loueth me, schal be loued of my fadir, and Y schal loue hym, and Y schal schewe to hym my silf.

Whoever loves me and keeps my commandments will enjoy my love and that of the Father and will obtain in addition a vision of who I really am. They will not be disadvantaged by the fact that they did not see me in body. Indeed, they will also enjoy that vision at the appropriate time as well when they see me coming down from heaven.

Even now the Son loves those who love him and the Father. But he loves them now so that they may live properly as a result of their faith, which works through love. Then (in the future), he will love them as well, but in such a way that they may come to the vision of the truth of which they only had a taste through faith.

Now the reason for his return is given, and our Lord mentions two reasons why he is seen by the faithful and not by the world. The first is their true love for God; the second is God's love for them (v 21b). As to the first he says, he who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.

Judas seith to hym, not he of Scarioth, Lord, what is don, that thou schalt schewe thi silf to vs, and not to the world?

But you, heretic, as you wildly rave and are driven about by the Spirit of your deadly doctrine the Apostle seizes and constrains, establishing Christ for us as the foundation of our faith, being well aware also of that saying of our Lord, If a man love Me, he will also keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him.

It is out of love that the disciple proceeds to make this inquiry, but he clearly does not quite understand our Saviour's language. For our Lord Jesus Christ promised to His Saints a kind of special knowledge and not like that vouchsafed to others.

Above, our Lord promised the disciples that he would come to them; here he clears up a perplexity for one of the disciples. First, we see the bewildered disciple; secondly, Christ's answer (v 23). With respect to the first, when those who are humble and saintly hear great things about themselves, they are usually astonished and bewildered.

Jhesus answerde, and seide `to hym, If ony man loueth me, he schal kepe my word; and my fadir schal loue hym, and we schulen come to hym, and we schulen dwelle with hym.

God does indeed consume and utterly destroy: he consumes evil thoughts, wicked actions and sinful desires when they find their way into the minds of believers.

For today the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples with a sudden sound, and changed the minds of carnal men into love of Him, and while tongues of fire appeared outwardly, their hearts were made flaming within, because as they received God in the vision of fire, they burned sweetly through love. For the Holy Spirit Himself is love.

Then, Christ's answer is given: first, Christ states the reason why he will manifest himself to the disciples and not to the world; secondly, he explains something he had said (v 24b). He shows, first, why he will manifest himself to his disciples; secondly, why he will not manifest himself to the world, at he who does not love me.

He that loueth me not, kepith not my wordis; and the word which ye han herd, is not myn, but the fadris, that sente me.

Nevertheless, I have heard of some who have passed in among you, holding the wicked doctrine of the strange and evil spirit; to whom ye did not allow entrance to sow their tares, but stopped your ears that ye might not receive that error which was proclaimed by them, as being persuaded that that spirit which deceives the people does not speak the things of Christ, but his own,…

He that loveth Me not keepeth not My words. When He has premised and rightly defined who those that love Him are, and of what blessings they will partake, He at once proceeds to treat of others who have not yet chosen to love Him.

Now he gives the reason why he will not manifest himself to the world: this reason is the lack of those things on account of which he says that he will manifest himself. For when the cause is absent, the effect is absent. Now the causes for a divine manifestation to be made to the worldly are not found in them. And so God will not manifest himself to the world and the worldly.

These thingis Y haue spokun to you, dwellynge among you; but thilke Hooli Goost,

(Hom. lxxv. 3) These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. Some of these things were obscure, and not understood by the disciples.

"These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you." When would He not abide with them, who, about to ascend to heaven, promises, saying: "Behold, I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world"? But the incarnate Word both abides and departs: He departs in body, He abides in divinity.

Here our Lord promises gifts to his disciples. He had promised them both the Holy Spirit and himself; and so now he first mentions what they will receive when the Holy Spirit comes; and secondly, what they will receive from him, peace. From the coming of the Holy Spirit they will receive great things, namely an understanding of all the words of Christ.

the coumfortour, whom the fadir schal sende in my name, he schal teche you alle thingis, `and schal schewe to you alle thingis, what euere thingis Y schal seie to you.

But above, withal, He made a declaration concerning this His work. What, then, is the Paraclete's administrative office but this: the direction of discipline, the revelation of the Scriptures, the reformation of the intellect, the advancement toward the "better things? " Nothing is without stages of growth: all things await their season.

Neither must the Holy Spirit be regarded as separated from the Father whose Spirit he is, nor should the Son be believed to be separated from him whose face he is, as well as his right hand, power and wisdom.… For the divinity of the ever adorable Trinity is one and the same everywhere and forever.

He promises them that they will understand his teachings through the Holy Spirit, who will give himself to them; he says, the Paraclete... will teach you all things. He does three things concerning the Holy Spirit: he describes him, mentions his mission and his effect. He describes the Holy Spirit in several ways: as the Paraclete, as Spirit, and as Holy.

Pees Y leeue to you, my pees Y yyue to you; not as the world yyueth, Y yiue to you; be not youre herte affrayed, ne drede it.

Between the two echo psalms and hymns; and they mutually challenge each other which shall better chant to their Lord. Such things when Christ sees and hears, He joys. To these He sends His own I peace. Where two (are), there withal (is) He Himself.

"Peace," He said, "I leave with you, my peace I give unto you." It is here we read in the prophet, "Peace upon peace:" peace He leaves with us when going away, His own peace He will give us when He cometh in the end. Peace He leaveth with us in this world, His own peace He will give us in the world to come.

Above, our Lord promised his disciples what they would gain from the presence of the Holy Spirit. Here he promises them a gift they will obtain from his own coming and presence. Note that if we consider the characteristic feature of the persons of the Son and the Holy Spirit, our Lord seems to interchange their gifts.

Ye han herd, that Y seide to you, Y go, and come to you. If ye loueden me, forsothe ye schulden haue ioye, for Y go to the fadir, for the fadir is grettere than Y.

For if any one should inquire the reason why the Father, who has fellowship with the Son in all things, has been declared by the Lord alone to know the hour and the day [of judgment], he will find at present no more suitable, or becoming, or safe reason than this (since, indeed, the Lord is the only true Master), that we may learn through Him that the Father is above all things…

Let the Arian attend to this, and find healing in his attention; that wrangling may not lead to vanity, or, what is worse, to insanity. For it is the servant-form which is that wherein the Son of God is less, not only than the Father, but also than the Holy Spirit; and more than that, less also than Himself, for He Himself, in the form of God, is greater than Himself.

Then when he says, You heard me say to you, I go away, they were troubled because he was leaving them. But they were somewhat consoled because he added, and I will come to you.

And now Y haue seid to you, bifor that it be don, that whanne it is don, ye bileuen.

Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, had said unto His disciples, "If ye loved me, ye would surely rejoice, because I go unto the Father; for the Father is greater than I." And that He so spake in His servant-form, and not in that of God, wherein He is equal with the Father, is well known to faith as it resides in the minds of the pious, not as it is reigned by the scornful and…

That is: I am so calm, I do not fear death and do not grieve, that I even foretell it; therefore I command you also to rejoice, so that when it comes to pass, you may believe Me, that just as I knew about the sorrows that would befall you and, having foretold them, did not lie, so also in My prediction concerning your consolation and guidance I will not prove false, but all joy…

He now answers an unspoken question when he says, And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place, you may believe. For they could have asked why he was telling them these things, and so he anticipates them by saying this.

Now Y schal not speke many thingis with you; for the prince of this world cometh, and hath not in me ony thing.

For as a serpent cannot mark its track upon a rock, so the devil could not find sin in the body of Christ. For the Lord says, "Behold, the prince of this world cometh, and will find nothing in me." -For as a ship, sailing in the sea, leaves no traces of her way behind her, so neither does the Church, which is situate in the world as in a sea, leave her hope upon the earth, beca…

Now when the impious Jews were already at hand, with the band of soldiers whom they brought, and their leader who also had promised to betray Him, and were ready to take Him and bear Him away in no long time to His sufferings upon the cross, and before the Crucifixion, He declared that He would break off His discourse with them.

Then when he says, I will no longer talk much with you, he mentions another source of their consolation, based on the reason for his death.

But that the world knowe, that Y loue the fadir; and as the fadir yaf a comaundement to me, so Y do. `Rise ye, go we hennus.

Let us withdraw from the bond of the body and leave everything earthly so that when the adversary comes he may find nothing of his in us. Let us strive for the eternal and fly up to the divine on the wings of love and the oars of charity. Let us rise up from here, that is, from the things of the age and those of the world.

The common and usual acceptation of the words before us suggests the thought, that as the period of the madness of the Jews had come, and the priceless Cross of our Saviour was well-nigh set up, He was hastening to depart with His holy disciples, to that place in which the band of men and officers found and took Him. And the thought is a plausible one.

Then he mentions the true reason for his death, which is that good which is virtue. He says, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Augustine relates this sentence to what follows, Rise, let us go hence. Two things led Christ to undergo death: love for God and love for neighbor; "Walk in love" (Eph 5:2).

John14