Commentary on Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist, Homilies 1–47

Homily 18

HOMILIES 173 glory. And may we all attain this by the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. Homily 18 (John 1.35-41) 'Again the next day John was standing there, and two of his disciples. And looking upon Jesus as He walked by, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!" And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.'1 How sluggish is human nature and how liable to meet with a bad end, not by reason of nature's constitution, but by reason of the sluggishness of its will. And on this account Paul, in writing to the Philippians, said: 'To write you the same things indeed is not irksome to me, but it is necessary for yoU.'2 Now, once the earth has received the seeds, it is immediately fruitful and does not need a second sowing. But in the case of our soul this is not so; one must be content, when he has often sown and given it much care, to be able once only to derive fruit. In the first place, the words sink with difficulty into the mind because it is very hard under the surface, and is thick with numberless thorns, and there 'are many scheming foes to steal away the seed. In the second place, when it has been planted and rooted, the same care is still needed so that the seeds may come to maturity and, having done so, remain undamaged and receive no harm from any source. Further, in the case of seeds, when the plant has reached maturity and has attained its full strength, it readily resists blight and drought and all other pests. In the case of doctrine, however, this is not so, but even after the whole has been perfectly worked out, frequently a single storm and flood comes on, and it is destroyed, either by the force of discontent, I John 1.35-37. 2 Phil. 3.1. 174 SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM or by the plotting of men who know how to deceive, or by various other trials borne in upon it. Indeed, I have spoken thus, not without purpose, but so that when you hear John again uttering the same words as before you will not rate them as nonsense or consider them vain and boring. Of course, when he spoke the first time he wished to be heard, but since many, because of their deep apathy, did not pay attention to his words from the beginning, he roused them from sleep by repeating his message again. Now, consider; he had said: 'After me there comes one who has been set above me'; and 'I am not worthy to loose the strap of his sandal'; and 'He will baptize [you] with the Holy Spirit and with fire,'3 and that the Spirit was seen descending as a dove and abiding upon Him, and he bore witness that 'this is the Son of God.' No one paid attention or asked a question or said: 'Why do you say these things, and about whom, and for what reason?' Again, he had said: 'Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.' Not even thus did he penetrate their insensibility. For this reason, finally, he was forced to say the same words again, as if softening some hard and unyielding soil by cultivating it. By his word, as it were by a plow, he stirred up the hard-packed mind so that the seeds might settle down deeply. Accordingly, it is for this reason that he did not make his speech long, either, because he was striving for one thing only: namely, to lead them on and to unite them with Christ. He knew that when they had accepted this, and had been convinced, they would not have any further need of his testimony to Him. And this is what actually took place. If the Samaritans said to the woman, after hearing Him: 'We no longer believe because of what thou hast said, for we have heard for ourselves and we know that this is in 3 Matt. 3.11. HOMILIES 175 truth the Saviour of the world, the Christ,'4 much more quickly would the disciples have been won over, as did, in fact, actually happen. Indeed, after they had come and heard Him for...