They will not convert because their deeds are evil. Preface

3.16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

3.17. For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

3.18. He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the Only Begotten Son of God.

3.19. The judgment is that light has come into the world; but people loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil;

3.20. For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds be exposed, because they are evil,

3.21. but he who does righteousness comes to the light, so that his deeds may be revealed, because they are done in God.

(John 3, 16-21)

Christ is Risen, dear brothers and sisters!

Today, on Radonitsa, the day of remembrance of the dead, the lines of the Gospel reading tell about the further conversation of the Lord with Nicodemus, aimed at defeating the false views of the Pharisaism on the Kingdom of God and the conditions for man’s entry into this Kingdom.

Earlier in the programs, we examined verses dedicated to spiritual rebirth as the main requirement for entering the Kingdom of God, as well as verses dedicated to the redemption of humanity through the sufferings of the Messiah on the Cross. In today's broadcast we will talk about the essence of the judgment of people who did not believe in the Son of God.

Explaining that the heart of the Cross of the Son of God is the love of God for people, Christ notes: For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.(John 3:16). And this verse represents summary the meaning of the entire Gospel. There are three great truths here: first, the initiator of the salvation of people is God; secondly, the reason for salvation is not the merits of people, but the love and kindness of God; thirdly, God's love is limitless and extends to all humanity, and not to some part of it.

And since the Pharisees thought that the work of Christ would consist of judgment over the nations of other faiths, the Lord points out: For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.(John 3:17). Since God sent the Son to save the world, it follows that the salvation of the world is possible only through faith in Christ.

Alexander Pavlovich Lopukhin writes: “Christ mentioned twice that He came to give people eternal life, that is, salvation... Judaism of that time generally expected to see in the Messiah a Judge, and, moreover, a Judge, mainly over the pagan world, which had hitherto oppressed the chosen Jewish nation. Therefore, Christ says that the most essential thing in His calling as the Messiah is precisely the salvation of the world, and not the execution of judgment on the world.”

But each person makes his own choice: accept salvation and thereby believe, or refuse and not believe. A person is responsible for his choice. This is exactly what the following words say: He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the Only Begotten Son of God(John 3:18). The unbeliever, that is, the one who refused to believe and continues to persist in his delusion, made his choice and carried out judgment on himself, without waiting for the final Judgment on the Last Day.

The judgment is that light has come into the world; but people loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil(John 3:19). The light has come into the darkness sinful world to illuminate and save. But people who do evil things chose darkness. Thus, people themselves make divisions and carry out judgment on themselves.

Euthymius Zigaben explains: “This is what the condemnation of unbelievers consists of: they condemn themselves by the fact that when the Light of Reason and Truth appeared (this is Jesus Christ speaking about Himself), they loved the darkness of unreason and lies more than the light. Whoever, in the absence of light, remains in darkness will perhaps still have an excuse, although he should not have remained in this position, but sought light; but whoever remains in darkness even when the light comes to him has no excuse.”

And this division happens here and now: For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds be exposed, because they are evil, but he who does righteousness comes to the light, so that his deeds may be revealed, because they are done in God.(John 3:20-21). Only in the light does it become clear what a person really is. Some, who love darkness and hate light, are afraid of discovery of their evil deeds and condemn themselves. Others, who love Christ and do good, are not afraid of exposure of their deeds and go to the Light that illuminates them.

A person walking towards the Light sees the beauty and truth of God not in human wisdom, but in God’s love. Thus, a person’s whole life changes: doors open before him Kingdom of Heaven. After all, salvation is not a reward from God for righteous deeds, but a state of soul in which a person, having united with God in earthly life, is fully united with Him in eternity.

Help us in this, Risen Lord!

Hieromonk Pimen (Shevchenko)

Explanatory Bible Commentary on the Gospel of John

“To see” means to enter, to take part, to take advantage of the benefits of the new Kingdom (cf.).

. Nicodemus said to Him: How can a man be born when he is old? Can he really enter his mother’s womb another time and be born?

From the words of Christ, Nicodemus had to conclude that He recognizes that it is not “learning” that is necessary for entry into the new Kingdom, but “renewal” of all life, such internal change in man, which can only be compared with natural birth. And Nicodemus really understood that Christ here demands something completely different than John the Baptist, who called for repentance (μετανοεῖσθαι). In repentance, man himself, although not without God’s help, tried to change his life, and in that new birth that Christ spoke to Nicodemus about, man was a suffering being, completely subordinate to the power of God, just as a child is born into the world without any of his own consent. (Christ does not yet speak about the conditions that are presented to the person seeking rebirth; they will be discussed specifically in verses 12–21). Nicodemus would like to relive his life, which he had almost lived so unsuccessfully. But is it possible to hope that in this new second life - if it were possible - he would be free from his natural weaknesses and sinful habits that made it impossible for him to achieve the ideal? Where is the guarantee that such new life, life “from the beginning” could really go differently? This is the meaning of Nicodemus’s first question. With the second question, he wants to say that the impossibility of repeating birth is quite clear to him and that, therefore, he cannot satisfy Christ’s demand (see verse 3).

. Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus did not understand how a person can be born for a new life, and Christ shows him two factors under the influence of which this new birth is possible. This is, firstly, “water”, i.e. what is closest is water, which in John’s baptism served as a symbol of cleansing from sins. Nicodemus must first be baptized with the baptism of John and confess his sins with all sincerity. This will be the first step towards revival for him. Then he must receive the Holy Spirit - this will be given to him from God over time. Both are necessary for everyone who wants to enter the Kingdom of God.

And it was not too late for Nicodemus to fulfill the first condition, because John still continued to baptize, and in addition, Christ Himself, through His disciples, also performed the baptism of repentance (). He was supposed to receive the Holy Spirit later. So, therefore, the first half of Nicodemus’ question has found its solution. Although he, Nicodemus, is old and has therefore become accustomed to his prejudices and inclinations, nevertheless he must realize and confess his sinfulness, and then the Holy Spirit will give him strength for a new life.

. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

In response to the second half of Nicodemus’ question, whether it is possible to be born again according to the flesh, Christ says that in such a second birth according to the flesh - which, of course, is impossible - there is no benefit. Everything that is born of the flesh is general rule, which also applies to that second birth that Nicodemus thinks about - “is flesh,” i.e. subject to sinful inclinations (etc.). A new spiritual, holy life can arise only under the influence of the Spirit of God. This will truly be a revival.

. Do not be surprised at what I said to you: you must be born again.

Christ sees that Nicodemus is surprised at such a decisive statement about the need for revival, and therefore invites Nicodemus to move from surprise to the speedy implementation of the demand presented to him by Christ.

. The Spirit breathes where it wants, and you hear its voice, but you do not know where it comes from and where it goes: this is what happens to everyone born of the Spirit.

Nicodemus, apparently, never ceased to wonder how it was possible for him, an old man, to renounce all sinful inclinations and habits. He wanted to understand how this process of human spiritual rebirth takes place. But Christ explains to him in a parable that he cannot understand everything with his own mind. For example, “wind” (in Russian, inaccurately, “spirit”). Is Nicodemus able to explain to himself where the wind comes from and where it goes? In the same way, it is not surprising that Nicodemus does not understand how the Spirit of God works on man.

Let us, however, consider in detail the comparison used by Christ. First, He says of the wind that it has complete freedom of movement: man cannot calm the wind or force it to change its direction. Secondly, the effect of the wind is felt even when one protects oneself from it in every possible way: it can be heard even with the doors locked. Thirdly, they do not know the point from which the wind begins to move in each in this case, and the final point to which this movement reaches.

The action of the wind is similar to the action of the Spirit of God in man. Firstly, the Spirit acts where it wants (cf.), and It cannot be appropriated by force, but can only be received as a gift (). Secondly, the presence of the Spirit cannot but be noticed by those who are reborn by the Spirit: even others, who are not completely deaf and blind, feel that this Spirit is present and active in the reborn (). Thirdly, neither the regenerate himself nor anyone else can determine where, when and how the Spirit began to act on him. The reborn know just as little about their final state, to which the Spirit leads them (). The origin and consummation of the life of regenerate man is a mystery, and yet this does not prevent, or rather should not induce a person to doubt the truth of regeneration.

. Nicodemus answered Him: How can this be?

Nicodemus now asks how what Christ said (ταῦτα - “this”, plural) can come to fruition. What is heard here is not doubt about the possibility of the very fact of rebirth, but a desire to find out the path by which one can come to rebirth. At the same time, Nicodemus does not ask: “What should I do?” He wants to know what he needs to expect from God, since he has realized that regeneration must be God's work, not man's.

. Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel, and do you not know this?”

In a tone of slight reproach, Christ tells Nicodemus that he professional teacher Israelite people, the rabbi (cf. verse 1) should have known what the Old Testament taught about the process of regeneration itself. The prophets spoke a lot about the outpouring of a new spirit, about the gift of new hearts to people, about the fullness of the knowledge of God and about the awakening in man of an inclination to fulfill the will of God. They often said that a person’s turning to God, calling on God is necessary condition to receive messianic salvation.

. Truly, truly, I say to you: We speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen, but you do not accept Our testimony.

Christ now begins to teach Nicodemus what he did not learn from Scripture, although he could have learned. First of all, He complains about the lack of faith of Nicodemus and the entire learned class of rabbis.

"We" . Christ in the Gospels nowhere speaks of Himself plural Therefore, here He means someone else besides Himself. Who? Your disciples? No, His disciples had not yet acted with Him as preachers. It is most natural to see here a reference to John the Baptist, who at that time successfully continued his activities (John 3ff.). The activity of John and the activity of Christ are two stages of the single revelation of God. Both of them are completely credible witnesses, because they say what they saw (John, of course, in a state of prophetic inspiration - cf.: “and I have seen and testified”, – and Christ by virtue of His continuous communion with the Father, ). However, Nicodemus and others like him “do not accept” the testimony of John and Christ. Thus, faith due to signs, which many who were at the Passover festival in Jerusalem discovered at that time, is not recognized by Christ as real faith - it can rather be called unbelief!

. If I told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?

But John’s activity is already coming to an end, while Christ is just beginning His. Therefore, casting a glance at the near future, He speaks only about how the Jewish rabbis will treat Him. This attitude is unlikely to be friendly. They do not believe Christ even now when He tells them about earthly things (τὰ ἐπίγεια), i.e. about the Kingdom of God as it manifests itself in earthly relationships. Christ, by “earthly”, could mean here everything that He had hitherto () said about the temple and worship, about repentance and faith, about water baptism and rebirth. Can the rabbis accept with faith His teaching about “heavenly things” (τὰ ἐπουράνια)? Here Christ, of course, had in mind the higher, heavenly side of the Kingdom of God, which He could not help but tell His listeners over time, otherwise His teaching would have remained incomplete, and therefore only half true. But people like Nicodemus are unlikely to trust the testimony of Christ about such subjects that are beyond their understanding and generally cannot be verified by experience.

. No one has ascended to heaven except the one who descended from heaven Son of Man who is in heaven.

However, does Christ have the right to say that He also knows what is above the world, what constitutes the secret of heaven? Yes, He has such a right. In fact, it is entirely possible for someone who has been in heaven to speak about heavenly things, but Christ, and He alone, truly was and constantly continues to be in heaven. He came down from heaven. Some interpreters (for example, Prof. Bogoslovsky) understand the expression “to ascend into heaven” used here by Christ in a figurative sense, as meaning “full and perfect knowledge of the mysteries of God.” But we cannot agree with such an interpretation, because in this case we would have to deprive the verb “to ascend” (ἀναβαίνειν) from the connection with the verb “to descend” ( "descended from heaven"– καταβαίνειν), and there is undoubtedly a close relationship between these two verbs. If we understand the verb “to ascend” in a figurative sense, then in the same sense we must understand the verb “to descend.” But what, in this case, will the expression “descend from heaven” mean? Will this not destroy the idea of ​​the existence of the Logos and before His incarnations? Therefore, without imagining the ascension and descent of Christ from heaven in a gross spatial sense, it is still necessary to see in the passage under consideration the teaching that Christ as a person already existed in God before Your incarnation. And the meaning of verse 13 can be conveyed as follows: “no man (Angels are not meant here, since they “they always see the face of the Heavenly Father”, -) did not ascend into heaven - and therefore was not in heaven before living on earth - except for that Son of Man (see), Who came down from heaven and even now, with the divine side of His being, remains in heaven" (the expression "who is in heavens" is not found in all codes, but newest critics are more inclined to recognize it as genuine than as inserted after; see, for example, Tsang, p. 197)

. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

. so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.

Christ had just told Nicodemus about His eternal existence according to His Divinity and about His incarnation. Now He tells him another great secret- the mystery of the salvation of all people by His godmother and His subsequent glorification. Christ reveals this teaching by comparing what Moses raised to the pole copper serpent with Himself. There, in the desert, Moses put a copper image of a serpent in front of the entire Israeli camp so that every Jew bitten by a snake could turn his gaze to this image and, with faith in Jehovah, expect healing. Christ will also be ascended first to the cross, and then to heaven (the expression ὑψωθῆναι - “to ascend” has a dual meaning here, so that everyone who believes will have eternal life in Him (“he who believes in Him” is an inaccurate translation, because the expression ἐν αὐτῷ , “in Him,” cannot be made dependent on the verb πιστεύειν; the reading εἰς αὐτόν, “in Him,” is considered less attested). But with the similarity between the brass serpent and Christ, there is an important difference. Firstly, the saving action of the first extended only for one people, and the saving action of the Second will extend to humanity in general: “everyone" can be saved thanks to Christ. Secondly, the serpent gave salvation only from temporary death and then only in one case, but Christ gives “eternal” life, i.e. i.e. the believer in Christ will enter the Kingdom of God. It should be noted that all the fathers and teachers of the Church, on the basis of these words of Christ, consider the copper serpent as a prototype of the Messiah, and such a view has quite sufficient grounds (Tsang too narrows the meaning of Christ’s indication of the copper serpent, finding here “only a comparison” - p. 200).

. For he so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

The reason why the Only Begotten Son of God (see) must be exalted - first to the shameful instrument of execution, and then to the glorious throne of heaven - is that he loves people to the utmost.

"Loved" The evangelist speaks of the love of God as a fact already known from history (therefore, in the Greek text here the verb is put in the aorist form), because the coming of the Son of God to earth to save people was at that time a fact that had already happened.

"World" . By “world” here Christ does not mean nature in general, but conscious and responsible for their actions beings inhabiting the earth, i.e. all humanity is in a state of fall (cf. verse 17).

"Gave" . As can be concluded based on what was said in verses 14–15, here Christ had in mind God’s handing over of the Son to suffering and death (cf.).

. For He did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

Christ mentioned twice that He came to give people eternal life or, what is the same, salvation. Such a statement might seem to Nicodemus somewhat inconsistent with Christ’s recent appearance in the temple, where He appeared as an accuser and judge over the desecrators of the temple. Moreover, Judaism of that time generally expected to see in the Messiah a Judge, and, moreover, a Judge, mainly, over the pagan world, which had hitherto oppressed the chosen Jewish nation. Therefore, Christ says that the most essential thing in His calling as the Messiah is precisely the salvation of the world, and not the execution of judgment on the world (this, of course, does not exclude the future judgment that Christ will eventually perform over the entire universe; see).

. He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the Only Begotten Son of God.

However, judgment on the world, and most importantly on the Jews, is already underway. This judgment, one might say, takes place by itself: some accept the Messiah and are not, cannot be, subjected to judgment in the sense of condemnation. Others have already clearly revealed their unbelief in Christ, and therefore their fate has already been decided: they are now condemned for not believing in the name of the Son of God, i.e. They did not recognize in Him the One who received such a clear and definite testimony about Himself from God’s messenger John as the Only Begotten Son of God, existing eternally in the bosom of the Father (). The last one Last Judgment, in fact, will not bring anything new in determining the fate of such people: it will only testify to everyone their guilt.

. The judgment is that light has come into the world; but people loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil;

Christ here makes clear what kind of "judgment" He had in mind in the preceding verse. The essence of this judgment is that the “light”, i.e. the light of Christ's truth shone in a world that was in the darkness of sins and all kinds of prejudices. “People”, i.e. Those unbelievers who were discussed in the previous verse (besides these, there were also people who believed in Christ) moved away from this light; they were pleased to remain in the former darkness. Why? Because “their works”, i.e. all their behavior, their moral character, did not allow them to go towards the light (πονηρὰ τὰ ἔργα - morally evil, insidious deeds).

. For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds be exposed, because they are evil,

. but he who does righteousness comes to the light, so that his deeds may be revealed, because they are done in God.

Christ now spoke about a certain circle of people from the Jewish people who did not want to go to the light of Christ’s truth. Now He is first in relation to the evil ones, and then in relation to good people finds out the reason different attitude all people to the light of truth. To an evil man I don’t want the light to illuminate his deeds, which, due to their uselessness, do not deserve the respect that has hitherto been given to them (this is the meaning of the expression φαῦλα used in the 20th century - deeds that are insignificant, bad, although perhaps not always harmful or treacherous). So, the Apostle Paul says: “everything that is revealed is made manifest by the light”(). On the other hand, there are people who act “in truth” or, more precisely, do the truth ( ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν ), i.e. people are honest, sincere, alien to any hypocrisy (cf.). Such people willingly go towards the light, strive to acquire the truth that has appeared in Christ - not in order, of course, to become famous before other people, but in order to know themselves and properly evaluate their behavior. Then such people “are inspired by even greater zeal to achieve the highest moral ideal"(Prof. Bogoslovsky). And they are not afraid of their deeds being discovered, because they know that they did them “in God,” i.e. for God and with His help.

It should be noted that by saying that a person who sincerely loves the truth is not afraid, so that “his works may be made manifest,” Christ thereby makes a certain reproach to Nicodemus, who considered himself a man who treasures the truth (cf. verse 2), and at the same time for a time he feared that his business - a visit to Christ - would be discovered, which is why he came to Christ only at night. This reproach obviously had an effect on Nicodemus, because he later even began to defend Christ in the Sanhedrin () and took part in His burial (). Tradition reports that after the resurrection of Christ he was baptized by the apostles Peter and John and died a martyr (his memory is celebrated on August 2).

The second half of the chapter deals with the activity of Christ in Judea. This activity was unusually successful, and the disciples of the Baptist even felt jealous of Christ (verses 22–26). Then the Baptist's final testimony about Christ is given. First the Baptist speaks of himself and his relationship to Christ (verses 27-30), and then of the divine dignity of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ (verses 31-36).

. After this Jesus came with His disciples to the land of Judea and lived there with them and baptized.

At the end of the holiday (“after this” - μετὰ ταῦτα, i.e. after all the incidents described from the 13th verse of the 2nd chapter) Christ set off from Jerusalem to the land of Judea. The “land of Judea” at that time meant the area bounded from the north by the extreme borders of Samaria, from the south by the edge of the desert near Bathsheba, from the west by the lowlands of the Philistine plain and from the east by the line of the Jordan and Dead Sea(Prof. Bogoslovsky, p. 248). Jerusalem is like main city the promised land stood out from this area. It is very likely that Christ’s stay in the land of Judea was quite long, so that He managed to preach the news of the approach of the Kingdom of Heaven throughout all the borders of Judea. During his preaching, he also performed the rite of baptism, like John, but there was quite a big difference between the baptism of John and the baptism of Christ. Firstly, Christ performed baptism not Himself, but through His disciples (), and secondly, His baptism was not only external sign repentance for those who were baptized, but a special rite through which people joined the ranks of the followers of Christ (cf.). Then, John baptized, preaching about the approach of the Messiah, and Christ - preaching about the Kingdom of Heaven. Of course, He pointed to Himself as the Founder of this Kingdom and began to form a large community of believers around Him (cf.). This He did not do when He was in Jerusalem.

. And John also baptized in Aenon, near Salem, because there was a lot of water there; and they came there and were baptized,

At this time, John the Baptist continued his activities, since he, having set out to serve at the command of God (), could not voluntarily, without a new command of God, stop his activities. But where was Aenon, in whose waters John baptized then? “Near Salim,” notes the evangelist. Meanwhile, we do not know where Salim was. There is no doubt that this place was located west of the Jordan, since the disciples of the Baptist in their appeal to John make it clear that they are with their teacher on west side Jordan (verse 26, where it should be more correctly read: “Rabbi, the One who was with you on the other side of the Jordan”, in the Russian translation - “beside the Jordan”). And the very dispute between John’s disciples about the comparative merits of the baptism of Christ and John becomes understandable only on the assumption that Christ and John were at that time in the same area, i.e. in Judea (see verse 25). It is impossible to pinpoint the exact location of Aenon. But it is likely that he was located near one of the streams that flowed into the Dead Sea from the west. There was a lot of water in this stream, which attracted the Baptist here.

. for John was not yet imprisoned.

The evangelist makes the remark that John was not yet imprisoned in prison due to the fact that, according to weather forecasters, for example, Matthew, John was imprisoned almost immediately after the baptism of Christ (), and, therefore, there is no time left for him activities that the Evangelist John speaks about in the section under consideration. So that readers are not tempted by the contradiction presented here, the evangelist hastens to correct the testimony of the weather forecasters about the time of the Baptist’s imprisonment.

. Then John's disciples had a dispute with the Jews about cleansing.

Some Jews (or, according to another reading, one Jew) entered into a competition with John’s disciples “about purification” ( περὶ καθαρισμοῦ ), that is, about the customs of the Jews to wash dishes and wash themselves (cf.), and from here, probably, they moved on to a dispute about the comparative merits of the baptism performed by John and the baptism performed by Christ. It may very well be that the Jews pointed out to the disciples of the Baptist the futility of his activities, when the One to whom John himself turned the gaze of his disciples already appeared. They also talked, of course, about the extraordinary success that the new preacher had.

. And they came to John and said to him: Rabbi! He who was with you at the Jordan and about whom you testified, behold He baptizes, and everyone comes to Him.

The activity of Christ aroused envy in the disciples of the Baptist and, at the same time, jealousy about the glory of their teacher, which now, apparently, was on the wane. They express their irritation to John, hoping that he will take some measures to induce Christ to withdraw from the area where John has chosen the place of his activity. After all, the Baptist did so much for Christ with his testimony of Him as the Messiah!

. John answered: a man cannot take upon himself anything unless it is given to him from heaven.

In response to his disciples, the Baptist first of all says that any success that anyone has in his business depends entirely on the will of God. This is a gift from God.

. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said: I am not the Christ, but I was sent before Him.

Next, John recalls to his disciples exactly the words that he said about Christ and which, of course, were not unknown to his disciples. And he said (cf.) that it was not he, John, Christ, but only sent before Him, i.e. before Jesus as the Christ.

. He who has the bride is the groom, and the friend of the groom, standing and listening to him, rejoices with joy, hearing the voice of the groom. This is my joy fulfilled.

Explaining his attitude towards Christ, the Baptist compares himself to the “friend of the groom” who played for the Jews main role throughout the entire marriage process. Of course, this friend was very pleased when he saw that his matchmaking business had come to the desired end and when he heard the conversation of the newlywed couple. The Baptist also prepared people for the acceptance of Christ, Who was now gathering around Him a community of believers or, for the Church was the bride of This Heavenly Bridegroom (). From these words of the Baptist we have the right to conclude that he already knew, even earlier than his disciples reported, about the success that Christ had in Judea, and this gave him joyful confidence that the work of Christ would reach the desired goal.

. He must increase, but I must decrease.

If the activity of John is now coming to an end, and the activity of Christ is ever increasing, then this is how it should be. An explanation of this statement is given below in the discourse on the dignity of Christ.

. He who comes from above is above all; but he who is from the earth is and speaks as he who is from the earth; He who comes from heaven is above all,

The first advantage of the Face of the Lord Jesus Christ lies in His heavenly (“from above”) origin. The expression “coming from above” denotes precisely the ineffable birth of the Word from God the Father, and not the sending of Christ to serve (St. Cyril of Alexandria), because the Baptist himself was also sent from above (cf.). This superiority of Christ eliminates any thought that there could be any competition with Him: He is above all. But who does the Baptist further mean by “earthly” and “speaking from the earth”? Many interpreters believe that he is speaking here about himself, but one cannot agree with such an opinion. John was, after all, a prophet, awarded divine revelations and speaking to the people as a messenger of Heaven (). He testified before his disciples and the people about what he heard and saw (). It is better to see here an indication of other, ordinary Jewish teachers, with whom, of course, Christ was then compared as the new rabbi.

. and what He saw and heard, He testifies to; and no one accepts His testimony.

The second advantage of Christ is the incomparable excellence of His teaching. The Lord spoke only what he knew directly, what he heard and saw in heaven (cf. verse 11). That is why the number of followers of Christ, which seemed too large to the Baptist’s disciples, seems to him to be very insignificant, in view of the high dignity of Christ’s teaching.

. He who received His testimony has sealed that He is true,

John, however, hastens to divert the gaze of his disciples from sad picture, which was represented by the unbelievers' sermons of Christ, and draws their attention to the results that are experienced by those who believe in His word. The lives of these believers have completely changed, and they, receiving the grace of God in Christ (), thereby testify with all firmness (“put their seal”) that the promises that God gave them through John the Baptist () really come to fulfillment: they have become much better than they were before, and themselves are a “seal” certifying the truth of God’s promises.

. for He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for he does not give the Spirit by measure.

These promises, however, could not remain unfulfilled, because they were spoken by the messengers of God - the prophets and, in particular, John the Baptist himself. They were given revelation from the Spirit of God, and, moreover, not sparingly (“without measure” - οὐἐκ μέτρου).

The entire verse, according to the best codes, should look like this: “one sent from God” (or a messenger of God) speaks the words of God, for the Spirit gives (of course, his gifts) not by measure (that is, not stingily, but generously).

. The Father loves the Son and has given everything into His hand.

The third and final advantage of Christ is that, out of His special love for the Son, He gave Him all things into His power. John here calls Christ the Son of God because this name was revealed to him during the baptism of Christ in the Jordan ().

. He who believes in the Son has eternal life, and he who does not believe in the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Here John points out high goal, which God had by giving such power to the Son (cf. verses 15-16), and thereby makes it clear to his disciples how much they are losing by not joining the ranks of the followers of Christ.

The judgment is that light has come into the world; but people loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds be exposed, because they are evil; but he who does righteousness comes to the light, so that his deeds may be revealed, because they were done in God.

John. 3, 19-21.

No misfortune worse than that when a person begins to fear the truth, lest it expose him.

Pascal.

The glory of the good is in their conscience, not in the mouths of men.

I write what I write only because I know one thing that can free people Christendom from those terrible bodily sufferings and, most importantly, from that spiritual corruption in which they are sinking further and further, I, standing on the edge of the coffin, cannot remain silent.

Nowadays it cannot but be clear to everyone thinking people that the life of people, not just Russian people, but all the peoples of the Christian world, with its ever-increasing need of the poor and the luxury of the rich, with its struggle of all against all, revolutionaries against governments, governments against revolutionaries, enslaved peoples against enslavers, the struggle of states between themselves, the West and the East, with their ever-growing armaments that absorb the strength of the people, their sophistication and depravity, that such a life cannot continue, that life Christian peoples, if it does not change, it will inevitably become more and more miserable.

This is clear to many, but, unfortunately, people often do not see the cause of this plight and even less see the means of deliverance. Many, very diverse conditions are recognized as the cause of this situation, and a wide variety of remedies are proposed. Meanwhile, there is one reason, one means of deliverance.

The reason for the plight of Christian peoples is the absence among Christian peoples of a common higher understanding of the meaning of life, faith and the guidance of behavior that follows from it.

The means of getting rid of this disastrous situation, and the means is not fantastic, not artificial, but the most natural, consists in the assimilation by the people of the Christian world of the higher understanding of life that was discovered by them 19 centuries ago, corresponding to the present age of mankind, and the guidance of behavior that follows from it, that is Christian teaching in its true sense.

One of the grossest superstitions is the superstition of scientific people that a person can live without faith.

True religion is such an attitude established by a person to the endless life around him, which connects his life with this infinity and guides his actions.

If you realize that you have no faith, know that you are in the most dangerous position a person can be in in this world.

People can and do live characteristic of people a reasonable and consistent life only when they are united by an understanding of the meaning of life, that is, by faith in the same thing, an equally satisfying understanding of the meaning of life for the majority of them and the guidance in actions arising from this understanding. When does something happen that cannot help but happen, since the explanation of the meaning of life and the guidance of behavior that follows from it is never the last, but is constantly becoming more and more clear? when it happens that the understanding of the meaning of life, which has become more precise and definite, requires a guide of behavior that follows from this understanding, different from the previous one, but the life of a people or peoples continues to go on as before, then the life of such peoples is both disunited and disastrous. And this disunity and misery continually increase as people, not having assimilated the religious understanding characteristic of the time and the guidance of behavior that follows from it, continue to live according to the guidance that follows from the previous, outdated understanding of life, and, in addition, in order to assimilate the characteristic religious understanding of time, they try to artificially come up with such an understanding of life that would justify their structure of life, which no longer corresponds to the spiritual requirements of most people.

This has been repeated many times in history, but never, I think, has this discord between the way of life of people who have lagged behind the religious understanding of the meaning of life and the guidance of behavior that follows from it, been as great as it is now among Christian peoples who have not accepted the Christian faith revealed to them. teachings in its true meaning and the guidance of behavior arising from this teaching, while living and continuing to live their former pagan life.

This discord in the life of Christian peoples is especially great, I think, because the explanation of the understanding of life introduced by Christianity into the consciousness of peoples too far determined the way of life of the peoples who accepted it, and therefore the guidance of behavior resulting from it was too contrary not only to personal habits of people, but also the entire way of life of pagan peoples who accepted Christian teaching.

This is what gave rise to that amazing disunity, immorality, misery, and foolishness in the life of Christian peoples.

This happened because the people of the Christian world, having accepted, under the guise of Christianity, a church teaching that differed in its foundations from paganism only in its insincerity and artificiality, very soon stopped believing in this teaching, without replacing it with any other. So the people of the Christian world, more and more freed from faith in the perverted Christian teaching, have finally reached the situation in which they find themselves at the present time, where the majority of them have no explanation for the meaning of their lives, that is, no religion, faith and no general guidance of behavior. The majority of people, the working people, although outwardly they adhere to the old, church faith, no longer believe in it, are not guided by it in life, but adhere to it only out of habit, tradition and for the sake of decency. The minority, the so-called educated classes, for the most part or they no longer consciously believe in anything, and only for the sake of political purposes, some of them pretend that they still believe in church Christianity, or - the smallest minority - sincerely believe in a teaching that is incompatible with life and lagging behind it, and various complex sophisms trying to justify their faith.

This is the main and the only reason the plight experienced by Christian peoples in our time.

This disastrous situation is further intensified by the fact that, since this state of unbelief has been going on for a long time, it has become that among the people of the Christian world those who benefit from this state of unbelief, all the ruling classes, either most shamelessly pretend to believe in something that they do not believe and cannot believe, or, especially the most depraved of them, scientists directly preach that for the people of our time there is no need at all for any explanation of the meaning of life - faith, or any kind guidance of actions arising from faith, and that the only fundamental law of human life is the law of development and struggle for existence, and that therefore people’s lives can and should be guided only by human lusts and passions.

It is in this unconscious unbelief of the people and the conscious denial of the faith of the so-called educated people the Christian world is the cause of the misfortunes of the people of this world.

Man has an irresistible urge to believe that he is not seen when he sees nothing, like children who close their eyes so as not to be seen.

Lichtenberg.

People of our time believe that all the meaninglessness and cruelty of our life, with the insane wealth of a few, with the envious embittered poverty of the majority, with violence, weapons and wars, are not visible to anyone and that nothing prevents us from continuing to live such a life.

A delusion does not cease to be a delusion just because the majority shares it.

The people of the Christian world, having accepted, under the guise of Christian teaching, a perversion of it compiled by the church, which replaced paganism and at first partly satisfied people with its new forms, eventually ceased to believe in this Christianity perverted by the church and finally reached the point where they were left without any religious understanding of life and the resulting consequences. from it are guidelines for behavior. And since without such a common to all, or at least common to most people, understanding of the meaning and the general guidance of actions arising from it, the life of people cannot but be both unreasonable and disastrous, then the longer such a life of the people of the Christian world continued, the more it became more and more unreasonable and disastrous. And this life in our time has reached that degree of unreason and misery at which it can no longer continue in its previous forms.

The majority of the working people, deprived of land and therefore the opportunity to use the products of their labor, hate the landowners and capitalists who keep them in slavery. Landowners and capitalists, knowing the attitude of the workers towards them, fear and hate them and, with the help of government-organized violence, keep them in slavery. And evenly, without ceasing, the situation of the workers worsens, their dependence on the rich increases, and just as evenly, without ceasing, the wealth of the rich, their power over the working people and their fear and hatred increase. The armaments of peoples against peoples, which cannot have an end, are also uniformly increasing, spending ever greater and great work slave workers for land, water, underwater, air structures, with the sole purpose of preparing for international massacres. And these murders were committed, are being committed and cannot but be committed, since all Christian peoples (not as people, but as nations), united in states, hate each other and other, non-Christian states and are ready to attack each other at any moment. In addition, there is not a single large Christian state that, according to some unnecessary patriotic legends, does not hold, against their will, in its power one or more not large nations, forced to participate in the life of a large people they hated: Austria, Prussia, England, Russia, France with their conquered peoples: Poland, Ireland, India, Finland, the Caucasus, Algeria, etc. So, in addition to the ever-growing hatred of the poor against the rich, With the same hatred of large peoples against each other, the hatred of the oppressed peoples against the oppressors is still growing and growing. And what’s worse is that all these hatreds, the most contrary to human nature, both of large nations towards each other, and of conquered peoples towards their conquerors and vice versa, are not only not condemned, like any unkind feeling of people towards people, but, on the contrary , are praised, elevated to merit, to virtue. The hatred of oppressed workers for the rich and powerful is praised as love for freedom, for fraternity, for equality. The hatred of the Germans for the French, the British for the Yankees and the Russians for the Japanese, etc. and vice versa is considered the virtue of patriotism. The patriotic hatred of Poles for Russians and Prussians and Prussians for Poles, Finns and vice versa is also valued even more.

And that's not it. All these disasters would not yet show that the life of Christian peoples cannot continue in the same direction. These disasters could have been an accidental, temporary phenomenon, if among these peoples there had been some kind of religious guiding principle common to all of them. But this is not the case; there is nothing like a common guiding religious principle among the peoples of the Christian world. There is a religious, church lie, and not just one, but several different ones, hostile to each other: Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, etc., there is a scientific lie - and also many different ones, hostile to each other. There are political lies, international lies, party lies, there are lies of art, lies of legends and habits; there are many different lies, but there is no guidance, no moral guidance, arising from a religious worldview. And the people of the Christian world live like animals, guided in their lives only by personal interests and struggle with each other, only differing from animals in that animals have remained since time immemorial with the same stomach, claws and fangs; people are moving with greater and greater speed from dirt roads to railroads, from horses to steam, from oral preaching and writing to printing, to telegraphs, telephones, from boats with sails to ocean-going steamers, from edged weapons to gunpowder, cannons, and Mausers. , bombs and airplanes. And life with telegraphs, telephones, electricity, bombs and airplanes and with the hatred of all against all, guided not by some spiritual principle that unites people, but, on the contrary, by animal instincts that separate everyone, using mental powers for their satisfaction, becomes crazier and crazier , more and more miserable.

Those who think that it is impossible to lead people except by violence, neglecting their reason, do to people the same as they do to horses, blinding them so that they walk more quietly in a circle.

What is the purpose of people's minds if they can only be influenced by violence? The right of the strong is not a right, but a simple fact that can be a right only as long as it does not meet with protest and resistance. It’s like cold, darkness, heaviness that must be endured until you find heating, lighting, leverage. All human industry is liberation from the power of brute nature; the progress of justice is nothing more than a series of restrictions to which the tyranny of the strong was subjected. Just as medicine consists in victory over disease, so goodness consists in victory over the blind brutality and unbridled lusts of the human beast. Thus, I always see the same law, the increasing liberation of the individual, the ascent of the whole being in life to goodness, to justice, to wisdom. Covetous greed is the starting point; reasonable generosity is the point of achievement.

Amiel.

From the fact that it is possible to subject people to justice by force, it does not at all follow that it is just to subject people to violence.

Pascal.

Violence produces only a semblance of justice, but removes people from the opportunity to live justly without violence.

The majority of people in the Christian world feel the ever-increasing misery of their situation and use to deliver themselves the means that, according to their worldview, they alone consider valid. This means is the violence of some people over others. Some people, who consider the existing order beneficial for themselves, use violence government activities are trying to maintain this order, others, with the same violence of revolutionary activity, are trying to destroy the existing structure and install another, better one in its place.

There were many revolutions and their suppression in the Christian world. External forms changed, but the essence government structure: power of the few over many, depravity, lies and fear of the oppressed ruling classes, oppression, enslavement, stupor and embitterment masses even if they changed in form, in essence they not only did not decrease, but noticeably increased and are increasing. What is happening now in Russia especially clearly exposes not only the aimlessness, but the obvious harmfulness of using violence as a means of uniting people.

Every newspaper of late contains less and less news about where and how the cash register was robbed, where a gendarme, an officer, policemen were killed, where an assassination attempt was discovered, and every newspaper contains more and more often news about executions and death sentences.

They have been shooting and hanging non-stop for a year or two, and thousands have been strangled and shot. Thousands were also beaten and torn apart by revolutionary bombs; but since in Lately killed more and more by those in power, and killed by revolutionaries less and less, then the ruling classes triumph, and it seems to them that they have won and that they will now continue their ordinary life, supporting deception with violence and supporting violence with deception.

The essence of the error of all possible political teachings, both the most conservative and the most advanced, which led people to their plight, is that the people of this world considered and consider it possible through force to unite people so that they all, without resisting, submit to one and the same structure of life and the resulting guidance in behavior. It is clear that people can, submitting to passion, force people who disagree with them to carry out their will through violence. You can forcefully push a person out or drag him somewhere he doesn’t want to go. (Both animals and people always do this under the influence of passion.) And this is understandable, but the reasoning that violence can be a means of inducing people to commit the actions we desire is completely incomprehensible.

All violence consists of some people, under the threat of suffering or death, forcing other people to do something that those being raped do not want. And therefore, those being raped do what they do not want, only as long as they are weaker than those who are raping and cannot get rid of what threatens them for not doing what is required. As soon as they are stronger, they naturally not only stop doing what they don’t want, but, irritated by the struggle with those who raped them and everything they suffered from them, they first free themselves from the rapists, and then force those who disagree with them to do what they think good and necessary for yourself. And therefore it would seem clear that the struggle between the rapists and the raped cannot in any way unite people, but, on the contrary, the further it continues, the more it separates them. It would seem that this is so clear that it would not be worth talking about it if for a long time the deception that the violence of some people over others can be useful to people and unite them had not been so widespread and accepted tacit consent, as the most undoubted truth, not only by those who benefit from violence, but also by the majority of the very people who have suffered and are suffering most from violence. This deception has existed for a long time, both before Christianity and after it, and remained and remains in full force today throughout the entire Christian world.

The difference between what was in the old days, before the advent of Christianity, and what is now in the Christian world, is only that the unfoundedness of the assumption that the violence of some people over others could be useful to people and unite them, in the old days there was completely hidden from people, but now, expressed especially clearly in the teachings of Christ, the truth that the violence of some people over others cannot unite, but can only separate people, is becoming more and more clear. And as soon as people understand that the violence of some people over others, in addition to being painful for them, is also not reasonable: then immediately people who previously calmly endured violence become indignant and embittered against it.

This same thing is now happening in all nations among those who are raped. But not only are those who are raped more and more aware of this truth, in our time those who rape are also aware of it. In our time, those who rape themselves no longer have confidence that when they rape people, they are doing good and fair. This delusion is destroyed both for the rulers and for those fighting them. Carried away by their situation, both those and others - although they try to convince themselves with all kinds of convictions, most of them false, that violence is useful and necessary - deep down in their souls already know that by doing their cruel deeds, they achieve only a semblance of what what they want, and then only temporarily, in essence, it moves them away, and does not bring them closer to the goal.

It is this consciousness, more and more clearly assimilated by the people of the Christian world, that inevitably leads them to the way out that alone can lead them out of their present disastrous situation. This solution is in one thing: in the acceptance by humanity of the teachings of Christ hidden from people in its true meaning, still unknown to most people and the resulting guidance for behavior that excludes violence.

When among 100 people one rules over 99, this is unfair, this is despotism; when 10 rules over 90, this is also unfair; it is an oligarchy; when 51 rules over 49 (and then only in the imagination - in essence, again 10 or 11 of these 51) - then this is absolutely fair, this is freedom!

Could there be anything funnier, in its obvious absurdity, than such reasoning, and yet this very reasoning serves as the basis for the activities of all improvers of the state structure.

The nations of the earth tremble and tremble. Everywhere you can feel some kind of work of forces, as if preparing for an earthquake. Never before has a person had such enormous responsibility. Each moment brings with it more and more important concerns. It feels like something great is about to happen. But before the appearance of Christ, the world expected great events and, however, did not accept him when he came. So now the world can experience the pangs of childbirth before his new coming and still not understand what is happening.

Lucy Malory.

And do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul; but fear more than that who can destroy both soul and body.

Art. 19-20 Now this is judgment, because light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light: for their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds be exposed, for they are evil.

(John 3:19). The meaning of these words is this: people are punished because they do not want to leave the darkness and hasten to the light. Thus Christ deprives them of all justification. If, He says, I came only to punish and demand an account from them of their deeds, then they could say: that is why we moved away from You. But I came to free them from darkness and bring them to light. Who would have mercy on a person who does not want to come out of darkness into the light? Thus, he says, they move away from us, not being able to accuse us of anything, but still receiving countless benefits from us. Condemning them for this and elsewhere, He says: you will hate me tune(15, 25) ; and further: Had he not come and spoken to them, they would have had no sin(15, 22) . He who sits in darkness due to lack of light would perhaps receive forgiveness; and he who remains in darkness after the appearance of light testifies to himself that his will is corrupted and rebellious. But since what was said seemed incredible to many (no one can prefer darkness to light), He also shows the reason why people were subjected to such misfortune. What is this reason? Besha bo, speaks, their deeds are evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds be exposed (3, 19–20) . After all, He came not to judge or torture, but to forgive and forgive their sins, to give them salvation through faith: why did they run away from Him? If He, having come, sat down at the judgment seat, then they could have some reason for this. Anyone who recognizes something bad in himself usually avoids the judge, but criminals even rush to the one who forgives. So, if He came with forgiveness, they should hasten to Him, and especially those who were aware of many sins; many did so. Publicans and sinners, coming to Jesus, reclined with Him. What do His words mean? He speaks of those who have decided to remain in evil forever. He Himself came in order to leave past sins and warn against future ones. But since some have changed to such an extent and weakened to the deeds of virtue that until their last breath they want to remain in evil and never think of leaving it, then Christ, having in mind such people, denounces them. Christianity requires both Orthodox teaching and good life, but they, says Christ, are afraid to turn to us, for the very reason that they do not want to show good life. No one will denounce someone who lives in paganism, because he who has such gods and festivals, like gods, shameful and worthy of ridicule, also shows deeds worthy of his teaching, and the worshipers of God, living carelessly, have everyone for themselves as accusers and accusers - so venerable is the truth and for her enemies! Notice with what precision Christ expresses what he speaks about. He did not say: he who does evil does not come to the light, but: do, that is, always doing; whoever wants to always wallow in the mire of sin does not want to subject himself to My laws and, outside of them, fearlessly commits fornication and does everything else that is forbidden. Coming to Me, he becomes visible like a thief in the light. That is why he avoids My power. Indeed, one can even now hear from many pagans that they cannot turn to our faith because they cannot give up drunkenness, fornication and similar vices. Well, you say, aren’t there both Christians who act badly and pagans who lead their lives in wisdom? That there are Christians who live badly, I know that too; But whether there are pagans who live virtuously, I still don’t know for certain. Don’t point me to people who are humble and honest by nature: this is not virtue! Show me a person who, while experiencing strong passions, would remain wise, but you will not find such a person (in paganism). If the promise of the Kingdom, the threat of Gehenna, and the like barely keeps people in virtue, how much less can people who are not convinced of this succeed in virtue? If some of them show an appearance of virtue, they do it for glory. And whoever does this for glory will not refuse to satisfy his evil desires, whenever possible to hide. But in order not to seem like anyone who loves to argue, we agree that among the pagans there are people who live well: this does not at all contradict our words. I'm talking about things that happen many times, not things that happen occasionally.

But look how Christ deprives them, on the other hand, of all justification. He says that light has come into the world (v. 19). Did they look for him, he said, did they work, did they care to find him? The light itself came to them; however, even then they did not rush to him. If some Christians live badly, then regarding this we note that Christ is not talking about those who became Christians from birth and accepted the faith from their ancestors (although they often deviated from the right teaching through a vicious life); It seems that it is not about them that we are talking here, but about those who, from Judaism or paganism, had to turn to the right faith. (Christ) shows that no one, being in error, will want to turn to faith unless he first prescribes a good life for himself, and no one will remain in unbelief unless he first decides to remain evil forever. Don’t tell me that so-and-so is chaste and not a thief; This is not the only thing that virtue consists of. What good is it, having these qualities, to be a slave to vain rumors and, fearing shame from your friends, to remain in error? This does not mean living virtuously. The slave of vanity is no better than the fornicator; even commits much greater and graver sins than that one. But show me someone among the pagans who would be free from all passions and not involved in any vice: you cannot indicate. And those who became famous among them for great deeds and despised, as they say, wealth and luxury, they were the most servile to human glory; and this is the cause of all evil. The Jews remained in this state. Therefore, accusing them, Christ said: How can you believe that you can accept glory from each other?(John 5:44). But why didn’t Christ talk and spread the word about this with Nathanael, to whom he testified to the truth? Because he did not come to Christ with the same zeal (with which Nicodemus did). Nicodemus considered this a duty for himself and used the time to listen to the conversation when others were resting. But Nathanael came according to the conviction of another. However, Christ did not ignore him either; He told him: From here you will see the heavens open, and the angels of God ascending and descending(John 1:51). He did not say anything like that to Nicodemus, but talked with him about the arrangement of our salvation and about eternal life, using different speech in accordance with the spiritual disposition of each. For Nathanael, who knew the prophecies and was not so fearful, it was enough to hear this alone. And to Nicodemus, since he was still fearful, Christ did not reveal everything clearly, but shook his soul in order to destroy fear with fear, saying that the unbeliever is condemned and that unbelief comes from a vicious conscience. Nicodemus valued human glory a lot and thought about it more than about punishment. Mnozi, it is said, the prince believed in him, but for the sake of the Pharisee I did not confess(12, 42): This is where Christ reproaches him, and shows that he who does not believe in Him does not believe in Him for any other reason than because he leads an unclean life. Next He says: I am the light(8, 12) ; and here: light will come into the world (3, 19) . Thus, at first He spoke more secretly, and later more clearly. Meanwhile, Nicodemus was held back by the glory of the people; That’s why I couldn’t have as much courage as I should have.

St. Kirill of Alexandria

“This is judgment, because light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light.” He does not leave the judgment of unbelievers without examination, but adds guilt and clearly shows that, according to the proverbial saying, “It is not without truth that the feathered forests stretch out”(Prov. 1:17) If, he says, they, having the opportunity to be illuminated, chose to be in darkness, then shouldn’t they, in fairness, find themselves defining evil for themselves? Do they not voluntarily expose themselves to something that could have been avoided if they had correctly assessed objects, preferred light to darkness and cared more about virtue than about vice? But again he granted man freedom from the bonds of necessity in the pursuit of both, so that he would justly receive praise for good and punishment for evil, as he expressed this in another place: “If you want and listen to Me, you will destroy the good earth; if you do not want, you will listen to Me, you will girdle your sword.”(Isa. 1:19–20) .

Interpretation of the Gospel of John. Book II.

Blazh. Theophylact of Bulgaria

The judgment is that light has come into the world; but people loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil

Evfimy Zigaben

This is judgment, because light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light.

This is what the condemnation of unbelievers consists of: they condemn themselves by the fact that when the Light of Reason and Truth appeared (this is Jesus Christ speaking about Himself), they loved the darkness of unreason and lies more than the light. Whoever, in the absence of light, remains in darkness may still have an excuse, although he should not have remained in such a position, but sought light; but whoever remains in darkness even when the light comes to him has no excuse. Having a completely corrupt soul, he closes his eyes to the light and voluntarily remains in darkness, and not only does not go to the light himself, but on the contrary - when the light comes closer to him, he runs away and turns away from his salvation. Then Jesus Christ presents the reason why people loved darkness.

for their deeds are evil.

They ran away from the light so that it would not reveal their deeds. But He came not to demand an account of affairs, but to forgive everything; all the more so they should have resorted to light.

Lopukhin A.P.

The judgment is that light has come into the world; but people loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil

Christ explains here what " court" He meant in the previous verse. The essence of this court is that " light", that is, the light of Christ's truth, shone in a world located in the darkness of sins and all kinds of prejudices. "People", that is, those unbelievers who were discussed in the previous verse (besides such, there were people who believed in Christ), moved away from this light, they were pleased to remain in the former darkness. Why? Because “their deeds,” that is, their whole behavior, their moral character, did not allow them to go towards the light (πονηρὰ τὰ έργα - morally evil, insidious deeds).

. Among the Pharisees there was a man named Nicodemus, one of the rulers of Judah.

Nicodemus was almost like that. He also believed in Jesus and, it seems, spoke to the Jews in favor of the Lord, namely: that they need to judge Him by careful study (). And after the crucifixion during burial, he also showed a lot of caring and generosity. However, he did not believe as he should have.

. He came to Jesus at night and said to Him: Rabbi! we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do such miracles as You do unless God is with him.

Still adhering to the weakness of the Jews, he comes to Jesus “at night” out of fear from the Jews (); calls Him Teacher, as common man, for he had such a concept about Him, which is why he adds that no one can perform such miracles unless God is with him. You see, he comes to Jesus as a prophet and a man beloved of God.

What about the Lord? He does not denounce him in a threatening manner, does not say why at night you come to the Teacher sent from God, why do you not have courage? He doesn’t say anything like that, but mercifully talks to him about divine and lofty subjects. Note also that although Christ performed many miracles, the present evangelist does not narrate any of them, either because they were said about them by other evangelists, or because they are beyond a detailed narrative.

. Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

It seems that the Lord’s words to Nicodemus have nothing in common with Nicodemus’ words to Him. But for those who are attentive, a lot of similarities will open up. Since Nicodemus had a humiliated concept of Christ, namely, that He is a Teacher and that God is with Him, the Lord says to him: it is natural for you to have such a concept of Me. For you have not yet been born “from above,” that is, from God, by a spiritual birth, but still carnal, and the knowledge that you have about Me is not spiritual, but spiritual and human. But I tell you that both you and everyone else will be outside the Kingdom if you are not born again and of God and do not receive the proper understanding of Me. For birth through baptism, bringing light into the soul, gives it the opportunity to see or know the Kingdom of God, that is, His only begotten Son. For the Son can be called both the wisdom of God and the kingdom of God. But this kingdom, Nicodemus, no one can see or know unless he is born of God. So you, because you have not yet been born spiritually, do not see Me - the Kingdom of God, as you should, but you have a low concept of Me.

. Nicodemus said to Him: How can a man be born when he is old? Can he really enter his mother’s womb another time and be born?

Nicodemus, hearing a teaching higher than human, is amazed and, due to the nature of weak human nature, asks: “How is this possible?” This is a sign of unbelief. For where there is no faith, there are questions: how is this, why is this? Nicodemus’ words also seem funny, because he did not think about spiritual birth, but remembered the bodily womb. Having heard that if someone is not born “again,” he thought that it was used instead of “first,” “again,” for the second time, and he understood the speech in this meaning: if someone is not born “first,” for the second time. Therefore, he says: “How can he, being old, enter his mother’s womb?”

. Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

Two subjects were incomprehensible to him: one was spiritual birth, the other was the Kingdom. For the Jews had never heard the name of the Kingdom of Heaven. Now he wonders about the birth. Christ reveals to him more clearly the way of spiritual birth.

For man, consisting of two parts, soul and body, also has a two-part image of birth. Water, visibly received, acts to cleanse the body, and the Spirit, invisibly united, acts to revive the invisible soul. If you ask how water can give birth, then I will ask how a seed, which is itself water-like, can be formed into a person? Therefore, just as the grace of God accomplishes everything over the physical seed, so at baptism water is presented, but everything is accomplished by the Spirit and prayerful invocation, and especially the presence of God. For in this water the signs and image of burial and resurrection are made. Three immersions are a sign of a three-day burial; then the person resurrects (emerges) like the Lord, wearing light and clean incorruptible clothing, and having immersed corruption in water.

. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

The Lord, diverting Nicodemus’ attention from the birth of the flesh, says: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” that is, a person born through baptism becomes spiritual; for you must understand the word “spirit” instead of “spiritual.” True, the one who is baptized is not made by the divine spirit, but, having received sonship, grace and honor through the Spirit, he is worthy to be spiritual.

. Do not be surprised at what I said to you: you must be born again.

Seeing that Nicodemus was still embarrassed, he said: “Don’t be surprised.” Then he tries to teach by sensory example.

. The Spirit breathes where it wants, and you hear its voice, but you do not know where it comes from and where it goes: this is what happens to everyone born of the Spirit.

“The spirit,” he says, “breathes where it wants, and you hear its voice, however, you do not know its direction, because it is uncontrollable and unhindered, and by the force of nature it has a desire in all directions.” If he says "breathes where he wants" it is not because the wind has the ability free choice and desires, but because he wants (as I said) to point out his natural movement and unstoppable force. If you do not know where and how the wind, this spirit that is subject to feeling, breathes, then how do you want to understand rebirth from the Spirit of God? If this spirit cannot be restrained, then much less will the grace of the Holy Spirit be subject to the laws of nature.

Let the Doukhobor Macedonius and his predecessor Eunomius be ashamed. The first makes the Spirit a slave, but here he hears that the wind breathes where it wants, and, therefore, the more the Spirit has independent movement and acts where and how it wants. And Eunomius, having previously sinned in this very thing and called the Spirit a creature, showed such insolence that he seemed to know God as well as himself. Let him hear that he does not know the movement and tendency of the wind; How, you criminal, do you dare to appropriate to yourself the knowledge of the Essence of God?

. Nicodemus answered Him: How can this be?

Nicodemus still remains with Jewish weakness, so he asks again: "how can it be?"

. Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel, and do you not know this?”

Therefore, the Lord, showing him that he is asking this out of simplicity, says: “You are the teacher of Israel. If you remember the glorious miracles performed in the Old Testament, starting from the creation of man and onwards, namely: how he was created (), how a woman was created from a rib (), how signs were performed in Egypt, how in the Red Sea (), how barren gave birth ( ) and the like, if you understand this, like the teacher of Israel, then you will believe what I now say.”

. Truly, truly, I say to you: We speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen, but you do not accept Our testimony.

“Moreover, I am talking about what I know and what I have seen, that is, I know exactly.” For by the word “saw” He does not mean bodily vision, but the most accurate knowledge.

“But you do not accept the testimony of “Ours,” that is, Mine.” The Lord does not say this to Nicodemus alone, but extends it to the whole family of Jews who remained in unbelief to the end.

. If I told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?

“If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe,” that is, if I told you about the regeneration that takes place in baptism, and you did not accept, but asked “how?” (calls this birth “earthly” because it takes place on earth for the benefit of people living on earth; although it is heavenly in grace and dignity, we are baptized while on earth). So, if I spoke about this “earthly” birth and found you not to believe, then how will you believe if you hear about the ineffable heavenly birth in which the Only Begotten Son was born from the Father?

Some by “earthly” meant the example of the wind, so the speech is presented in this sense: if I presented you with an example of earthly objects, and you were not convinced by it, then how can you study more sublime objects?

. No one has ascended into heaven except the Son of Man, who is in heaven, who came down from heaven.

And this apparently has nothing to do with the previous one. But if anyone looks closely at the thought of the Lord, it turns out that this too is closely related to the previous one.

Since Nicodemus called the Lord Teacher and Prophet, He says: “Do not consider Me to be a prophet who is from the earth, sent by God to teach, but consider Me to have come down from above as a Son, and not to be from the earth. None of the prophets ascended to heaven, but I alone am about to ascend, just as I descended.” When you hear that the Son of Man came down “from heaven,” do not think that the flesh came down from heaven. Indeed, Apollinaris thought that Christ, having a body from heaven, passed through the Virgin as through a canal. But since Christ, consisting of two natures, was one Hypostasis or one Person, then the names of Man are applied to the Word, and again the names of the Word are applied to Man. So here it is said that he came down from heaven "Son of Man" because He is one Person and one Hypostasis. Then, so that when you hear “he who descended,” you don’t think that he who descended is no longer in heaven, he says "he who is in heaven." So, when you hear that I have gone down, do not think that I am not there; but I am also physically present here and there I sit with the Father in Divinity.

. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

. So that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.

Having spoken first about rebirth through baptism, he then speaks about the good deed accomplished for us through the cross. For the cross and death are the reason for the grace given to us through baptism, since at baptism we represent the Lord.

Doesn’t say directly that I will be crucified, but reminds me of the serpent and ancient history() and thus, at the same time, on the one hand, teaches us that the ancient is akin to the new and that the same Lawgiver of the Old and New Testaments, although Marcion, Manes and the rest of the collection of similar heretics reject, saying that he is the lawgiver of the evil demiurge (artist); on the other hand, it teaches that if the Jews avoided death by looking at the copper image of the serpent, then much more will we avoid spiritual death by looking at the Crucified One and believing in Him. Perhaps compare the image with the truth. There is the likeness of a serpent, having the appearance of a serpent, but not having poison: so here the Lord is a Man, but free from the poison of sin, coming in the likeness of the flesh of sin, that is, in the likeness of the flesh subject to sin, but He Himself is not the flesh of sin. Then those who looked on avoided physical death, and we avoid spiritual death. Then the hanged man healed the stings of snakes, and now Christ heals the wounds of the mental dragon.

When you hear "I must be exalted" understand this: to be hanged. For He was hanged on high, so that He who had sanctified the earth would also sanctify the air by walking on it. Understand “to ascend” this way: to be glorified. For the cross has truly become the height and glory of Christ. In what He seemed to be condemned, He condemned the prince of this world.

Let me explain a few. Adam died justly because he sinned. The Lord did not die out of a debt of justice, because He did not sin. Before the crucifixion of the Lord, she rightly ruled over people. And since the Lord turned out to be sinless, what could the devil find in Him worthy of death? And since He was killed unjustly, He defeated the one who killed Him and thus freed Adam from the death justly inflicted on him as a sinner.

And otherwise. Two things have dominated the human race: pleasure and sorrow. The Lord, having gone through both, turned out to be invincible. The tempter first approached Him on the mountain with an offer of pleasure (); but, having found Him invincible through this, he used great cunning, brought sorrow, in order, at least through it, to take possession of Him, and for this he raised everything against Him: the denial of the disciples, the ridicule of the soldiers, the blasphemy of those passing by, from the Jews, but at the same time – found Him invincible. For the sorrow on the cross could not arouse in the Lord hatred of the crucifiers, but He continued to love them and prayed for them, saying: “Father! Do not put this sin on them" (). You see how He conquered with what He apparently conquered. Thus, the cross became both His exaltation and glory.

. For he so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son,

God's love for the world is great and extended to such an extent that He gave not an angel, not a prophet, but His Son, and, moreover, the Only Begotten (). If He had given away an angel, then this matter would not have been small. Why? Because the angel is His faithful and obedient servant, and we are enemies and apostates. Now, when he gave his Son, what superiority of love did He show?! Again, if He had many sons and gave one, then this would be a very great thing. And now He gave the Only Begotten. Is it possible to praise His goodness worthily?

The Arians say that the Son is called the Only Begotten because He alone was produced and created by God, and everything else was already created by Him. The answer to them is simple. If He were called the Only Begotten without the word “Son,” then your subtle invention would have a basis. But now, when He is called the Only Begotten and the Son, the word “Only Begotten” cannot be understood as you do, but in such a way that He alone is begotten of the Father.

Please note, I ask you, that just as He said above that the Son of Man came down from heaven, although the flesh did not descend from heaven, but added to man what belonged to God because of the unity of the Person and the unity of the Hypostasis, so here again He adds what belongs to man to God. To the word. “He gave,” he says, “his Son to death.” Although God remained impassive, since by Hypostasis God the Word and Man, subject to suffering, were one and the same, it is said that it is given over to the Son, who actually suffered in his own flesh.

so that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.

What is the benefit of giving the Son? Great and unthinkable for man is that everyone who believes in Him will receive two benefits: one, so that he does not perish; another is to have life, and eternal life at that. He promised long life to those who pleased God in him, and the Gospel rewards such with life not temporary, but eternal and indestructible.

. For He did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

Since there are two comings of Christ, one already past and the other future, then about the first coming he says that the Son was not sent to judge the world (because if He had come for this, then everyone would have been condemned, since everyone sinned, just as Paul says (), but he came primarily to save the world. This was His goal. But in reality it turned out that He condemns those who did not believe. The Mosaic law came primarily to expose sin () and condemn criminals. For he did not forgive anyone, but as soon as he found someone sinning in something, he at the same time imposed punishment. So, the first coming was not intended to judge, except those who in fact did not believe, for they were already condemned; and the second coming will be decisive in order to judge everyone and reward everyone according to their deeds.

. He who believes in Him is not condemned,

What does it mean that “he who believes in the Son is not condemned”? Is it really not sued if his life is unclean? Very litigious. For even Paul does not call such people sincere believers. “They show,” he says, “that they know God, but by their deeds they deny Him” (). However, here he says that he is not judged by the very fact that he believed: although in evil deeds will give the strictest account, but will not be punished for disbelief, because he believed at once.

but the unbeliever is already condemned, because he did not believe in the name of the Only Begotten Son of God.

“But the unbeliever is already condemned.” How? Firstly, because unbelief itself is condemnation; for to be out of the light - this alone - is the greatest punishment. Then, although here it is not yet given over to Gehenna, here it has combined everything that leads to future punishment; just as a murderer, even if he was not sentenced to punishment by a judge’s verdict, was condemned by the essence of the case. And he died on the same day that he ate from the forbidden tree; although he was alive, according to the verdict and the merits of the case, he was dead. So, every unbeliever is already condemned here, as undoubtedly subject to punishment and not having to come to judgment, according to what has been said: "The wicked will not rise again for judgment"(). For no account will be required from the wicked, any more than from the devil: they will rise not to judgment, but to condemnation. So in the Gospel, the Lord says that the prince of this world has already been condemned (), both because he himself did not believe, and because he made Judas a traitor and prepared destruction for others. If in parables (;) the Lord also introduces those who are subject to punishment as those who give an account, then do not be surprised, firstly, because what is said is a parable, and what is said in parables does not need to be accepted as laws and rules. For on that day everyone, having an infallible judge in his conscience, will not require any other reproof, but will go away bound from himself; secondly, because the Lord makes those who give account not unbelievers, but believers, but uncompassionate and unmerciful. We are talking about the wicked and unbelievers; and some - wicked and unbelieving, and others - unmerciful and sinful.

. The judgment is that light has come into the world;

Here the unbelievers are shown to be deprived of all justification. “This,” he says, “is the judgment, that the light came to them, but they did not rush towards it.” They sinned not only by not seeking the light themselves, but, worst of all, by the fact that it came to them, and they, however, did not accept it. That is why they are condemned. If the light had not come, people could plead ignorance of good. And when the Word came and delivered His teaching to enlighten them, and they did not accept, then they were already deprived of all justification.

but people loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil;

Lest anyone say that no one would prefer darkness to light, he also states the reason why people turned to darkness: “Because,” he says, “ their deeds were evil.” Since it requires not only a right way of thinking, but also an honest life, and they wanted to wallow in the mud of sin, therefore those who do evil deeds did not want to go to the light of Christianity and obey My laws.

. For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds be exposed, because they are evil.

. But he who does righteousness comes to the light, so that his deeds may be revealed, because they are done in God.

"But he who does what is truthful" that is, he who leads an honest and godly life strives for Christianity as a light, in order to further succeed in goodness and so that his deeds according to God may be evident. For such a one, believing correctly and leading an honest life, shines for all people and is glorified in him. Therefore, the reason for the unbelief of the pagans was the uncleanness of their lives.

Perhaps someone else will say: “Well, aren’t there vicious Christians and pagans who approve of life?” That there are vicious Christians, I will say this myself; But I cannot say decisively that good pagans will be found. Some may be found “by nature” to be meek and kind, but this is not a virtue, and no one is good “from deeds” and practicing goodness. If some seemed good, then they did everything because of glory; he who does it for glory, and not for the good itself, will willingly indulge in an evil desire when he finds an opportunity for it. For if with us the threat of Gehenna, and any other care, and the examples of countless saints barely keep people in virtue, then the nonsense and vileness of the pagans will keep them in goodness even less. It’s great if they don’t make them completely evil.

. After this Jesus came with His disciples to the land of Judea and lived there with them and baptized.

While the Passover festival continued, Jesus was in Jerusalem. When he had passed, Jesus went out from there into the land of Judea and lived near the Jordan, where many gathered. He sought crowded places not for empty honor or glory, but because he wanted more bring benefit and benefit to people. When He went up on holidays, He went for the same reason, in order to bring benefit to a greater number of people both by teaching and by showing miracles.

When you hear that He baptized, do not think that He Himself baptized: His disciples baptized, but the evangelist attributes the work of the disciples to the Teacher. Further, this same evangelist says that “Jesus did not baptize, but His disciples”(). Will you ask “why didn’t He baptize Himself”? Find out. John said before that "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit"(). But He did not give the Holy Spirit yet, because it was not yet time. So, if He had baptized, then either He would have baptized without the Spirit (and how then would He have differed from John?), or He would have given the Spirit ahead of time, and this is unworthy of God, who does everything on time.

When was the time to give the Spirit? Time after ascension. For our nature in Christ Jesus needed to appear to the Father sinless and, after God had thus been reconciled with us, to be sent down to the Spirit as a rich and generous gift.

. And John also baptized in Aenon, near Salem, because there was a lot of water there; and came there and were baptized

. For John was not yet imprisoned.

So, the disciples of Jesus baptized, and John continued to baptize and did not stop, doing two things at once: one, speaking to those who came to him about Christ and leading them to Him; another thing is that he did not give the students a reason for jealousy and big disputes. If he had stopped baptizing, what would his disciples not have done, given their envious disposition towards Christ? If he, very often calling out and always yielding primacy to Christ, did not convince them to turn to Him, then what kind of envy would he have aroused in them when he stopped baptizing?

Therefore, Christ especially began to preach when John was imprisoned, due to the envy of the disciples of the Baptist. I think that John’s death was allowed to happen very quickly so that the entire disposition of the people would pass to Christ, and he would not be divided in his thoughts about both, John and Christ.

The disciples of Christ baptize with a baptism that has nothing more than the baptism of John, for both are imperfect, as not participating in the Spirit, although the goal of both is the same - to bring those baptized to Christ.

. Then John's disciples had a dispute with the Jews about cleansing.

During a dispute between John's disciples and a Jew, the question of baptism came up. The Jew valued the baptism of Christ's disciples above, and John's disciples valued the baptism of their teacher.

. And they came to John and said to him: Rabbi! He who was with you at the Jordan and about whom you testified, behold He baptizes, and everyone comes to Him.

Those who argue about purification, that is, baptism, come to their teacher and begin to incite him, saying: “Teacher! He who was with you, who had the degree of a disciple, separated and baptizes”; The one about whom you testified, that is, whom you baptized, whom you made noble, dares to do the same as you; Moreover, some do not listen to you, but everyone listens to Him: “For everyone,” he says, “comes to Him, but leaves you.”

. John answered and said, “A man cannot accept anything.” to myself, unless it is given to him from heaven.

John, wanting to frighten them and show that they, by hindering Christ and removing Him from glory, are at enmity against God, says: “A man cannot accept anything from himself”; and further: “If,” he says, “it had not been given from heaven, then He whom you envy would not have increased. Therefore, you sin twice at once: once by opposing God’s decree, and the other by undertaking the impossible.”

At the same time, he reassures them somewhat by the fact that the one who conquers them is not a man, but God. “Yes, and we,” he says, “what we had, we had not from ourselves, but from heaven. If the works of Christ are more glorious, then there is no need to be surprised, for this is what pleases God.”

. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said: I am not the Christ, but I was sent before Him.

“You yourself,” he says, “know that I testified about Him, that He is greater than me.” So, if you fully accept my testimony, then know that He is more venerable than me, and my joy is that everyone should come to Him.

. He who has a bride is a groom,

If the bride, that is, the people, did not come to this Bridegroom, then I, the bridegroom, would grieve; Now that this has happened, I rejoice greatly, for I see that the Bridegroom - Christ is calling to the bride - the people and teaching them.

and the groom’s friend, standing and listening to him, rejoices with joy, hearing the groom’s voice.

It was not without a purpose that he said “standing,” but this shows that his work is over and he is standing without action, and that he finally needs to stand and only listen to the teaching of Christ and His conversation with the bride.

This is my joy fulfilled.

“My joy,” he says, “was fulfilled in the presence of the Bridegroom.” The business that was entrusted to me, as a bridegroom, I see, was a success.

So, the Lord is the bridegroom of every soul; the marriage room, in which the union takes place, is the place of baptism, that is, the church; He gives the bride a pledge - forgiveness of sins, communication of the Holy Spirit, and the rest in the next century, when He will introduce the worthy into the best and highest sacraments. Note that the bridegroom is no other than Christ alone; nevertheless, teachers are bridegrooms, like the Forerunner. For the giver of blessings is none other than the Lord; all others are intermediaries and servants of goods given from the Lord.

. He must increase, but I must decrease.

“My work,” he says, “is finished, and I have handed the people over to Him. Therefore my glory must decrease, but His must increase.” How is the glory of the Forerunner diminished? Just as the morning dawn is covered by the sun and it seems to many that its light has faded, although in fact it has not faded, but is covered by more; so, without a doubt, the Lucifer the Forerunner is covered by the mental Sun, and therefore it is said that he is diminished. Christ grows because in a short time He makes Himself known through miracles. He does not grow with success in virtue. Away with such a thought! She is the idle talk of Nestorius. But it grows as the Divinity manifests and reveals itself; for little by little, and not suddenly, He declares that He is God.

. He who comes from above is above all; but he who is of the earth is and speaks as one who is of the earth; He who comes from heaven is above all,

The Forerunner compares himself with Christ and says that He comes “from above,” from the Father, and is “above all,” surpasses everyone and preserves the superiority of the Father, and I, who am from the earth, speak earthly, imperfect and humiliated in comparison with the teachings of Christ . Although the teaching of the Forerunner himself was divine, in comparison with the teaching of Christ it has much earthly.

. And what He saw and heard, He testifies to; and no one accepts His testimony.

He says that he saw and heard, that is, he speaks and testifies to what he heard from the Father and what he saw, that is, what he knows exactly. But none of those who do not listen to the truth accepts His testimony.

When you hear that Christ says what he heard from the Father, do not think that He has the need to learn knowledge from the Father, but since everything that the Son knows by nature, He has from the Father, as one in essence with Him, then it is said, that He heard from the Father what He knows. This is similar to how you, seeing a son who is like his father in everything, say that he has everything from his father, that is, he did not look like anyone else except his father.

. He who received His testimony has sealed that He is true,

And whoever accepted the testimony, that is, His teaching, sealed it, that is, showed, confirmed that he is true. For whoever believes what is sent from God believes God, and by this he seals and proves that he believed Him because He is true. And vice versa, whoever does not believe what was sent from God shows that He is a liar, and that is why he did not believe Him, because He is a liar ( God gives the Spirit, that is, the power of the Spirit, and gives in measure; but He does not give to Christ either in measure or without measure, for Christ has Him essentially.

When you hear that He is “sent,” understand that He is sent from the Father, like a ray from the sun. Don’t we say this: “the sun sent rays” and “the sun sent out light,” that is, sent it to the earth? However, we do not say that the ray is of a different essence or later than the sun. So the Son was sent into the world from the mental Sun and the Father, like a reflection, like a ray, like light, and whatever you want to call Him, as appropriate.

It is not untimely to say here when it comes to how the Son has the Spirit and in what sense the Spirit is called filial. The Apostle says: “God has sent into your hearts the Spirit of His Son, crying: “Abba, Father!” (), and in another place: “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His” (). The Latins, poorly accepting and understanding these words, say that the Spirit proceeds from the Son. We will tell them, firstly, that it is different to be from someone and different to be someone else. That the Spirit is the Spirit of the Son is beyond doubt and is confirmed by all Scripture; but no Scripture testifies that He is from the Son, lest we introduce two authors of the Spirit, namely, the Father and the Son.

So, they say: “But He breathed on the disciples and said: "receive the Holy Spirit"" (). What a false understanding! If He gave the Spirit to the disciples when He breathed on them, then how did He tell them that a few days after this you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you ()? Or why do we believe that at Pentecost there was a descent of the Spirit, if He gave Him on the evening of the day of His resurrection? For then He still blew. But it's very funny. Obviously, He did not give them the Holy Spirit then, but one of the gifts of the Spirit, namely, forgiveness of sins. For he immediately adds: "Whose sins will you forgive"(). But the Son has the Spirit essentially, as being consubstantial with Him, and not as being brought into action by Him. For the prophets are brought into action. It is called the Spirit of the Son because the Son is truth and power and wisdom, and the Holy Spirit is described by Isaiah as the Spirit of truth and power and wisdom (). It is also called filial in another sense, namely that it is given to people through the Son. You believe that the Spirit comes from the Father, and is given to creation through the Son, and this will be the rule of Orthodoxy for you.

. The Father loves the Son and has given everything into His hand.

Having spoken high things about Christ, now he again proclaims humble things in order to make the word acceptable to the listeners. Therefore he says "The Father loves the Son" as if talking about some extraordinary person, and gave everything into the hands of the Son - according to humanity. If by God, then what? The Father gave everything to the Son by nature, not by grace. Since He has being from the Father, it is naturally said that He has everything from the Father. So the Son has everything that is in heaven and that is on earth. For he rules over all, although not all are willing.

Subsequently, when at the second coming every knee bows before Him, He will receive complete dominion over everyone, when malice will no longer have power, but, remaining inactive, will show that the nature is good from the beginning, is inherent in everyone and contains everything.

. He who believes in the Son has eternal life,

"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life" in itself, that is, Christ Himself, who is truly life (); for by Him we live and move ().

but he who does not believe in the Son will not see life,

For whoever has voluntarily abandoned life, how will he have it when life is Christ? For the Apostle Paul also says: when Christ, your life, appears, then you, having become dead to evil and motionless, will appear in glory ().

but the wrath of God remains on him.

He did not say “will leave him,” but “will remain on him,” showing that he will never leave him. So that when you hear about death, you do not take it as temporary, he says that it will remain on him, on the one who did not believe, and the punishment will be eternal. With all these words, the Baptist leads and encourages all listeners to faith in Christ. For he says this not without purpose, but also admonishes his disciples and all others not to envy Christ, but to listen as to God.