Nicephorus adds that the body of S. John, like that of the Blessed Virgin, was not found in his sepulchre, but that it rose again, and was raised by Christ to heaven. S. Ambrose makes mention of this opinion (Serm. 20. in Ps. 118) S. Thomas also, and B. Peter Damian held this as a pious opinion. Nevertheless it has no sure foundation either in Scripture, or in the tradition of the Ancients. Indeed it is opposed to the fact that in the Council of Ephesus the relics of the martyrs, and especially of S. John, were ordered to be collected. And Pope Celestine, in his epistle to the Council of Ephesus, says, “Before all things ye ought especially to consider, and again and again call to mind (these things), you, to whom John the Apostle preached, whose relics present with you ye honour.”
If then the relics of S. John were at Ephesus, he cannot yet have risen again, unless any one should maintain that they were the relics, not of his body, but of his clothes, his books, &c., or possibly of his hair and beard. Be this as it may, it is not possible at the present time to find any other relics of the body of S. John.
You will ask, how is it that S. John is called by the Fathers and the Church a martyr, if he died a natural death? I reply, with S. Jerome, that S. John was a martyr because he was thrown into a caldron of boiling oil at Rome before the Latin Gate by the Emperor Domitian on account of his preaching Christ, as Tertullian testifies (de Prœscrip. c. 36). The most ancient testimony of the Roman Church confirms this. In memory thereof a church has been erected on the site, and the Church has appointed a yearly commemoration of the same on the 6th of May. For although S. John did not then die, but came out of the caldron unhurt, yet because he willingly offered himself to such a cruel death for the sake of Christ, and because that boiling oil would naturally and necessarily have produced death, unless he had been miraculously preserved unhurt, therefore S. John was truly a martyr, and is rightly called a martyr.
Moreover, this present passage, as well as S. Luke ix.27, and Revelation x. 11, as I there show, do not favour a contrary opinion. For the meaning is, (1.) “I wish thee, O Peter, to follow Me by the cross, but John I will to remain so (sic), i.e., without the cross, or a violent death, until I come, that having died by a natural death I should take him to Myself in heaven.” So S. Augustine, Bede, &c.
(2.) It may mean, “I will John to abide in life until I come to the public destruction of Jerusalem. Until I come, by means of Titus and the Romans, to avenge the death of Myself as Messiah by the destruction of the whole Jewish nation.” For S. Peter and the rest of the Apostles were put to death before the destruction of Jerusalem. S. John alone of the Apostles survived it. So those two brethren, James and John, were the beginning and the end of the Apostolic martyrdoms. So Theophylact and others. Some add with Theophylact that S. John remained in Judea until its destruction, and that it was that which was meant by Christ.
Christ willed S. John to survive for so long a time for four reasons. The first was that John might be a foundation and pillar of the Church against the already nascent heretics, and that he might testify to all that the words and deeds of Christ which were written by the other Evangelists, as well as by himself in this Gospel, are most true, yea, that he saw them with his eyes, and heard them with his ears. 2d. That this his longevity might stand in the place of martyrdom, for John greatly desired to die, that he might enjoy Christ, saying as he did at the end of the Apocalypse, Come, Lord Jesus. 3d. That when the destruction of Judea was at hand he might warn the Christians to depart out of it. 4th. That he might testify to all that the destruction of the Jews was caused by their having put Christ to death, and that it had been foretold by Christ, and that he might by this strengthen believers in the faith of Christ and convert the unbelieving Jews.
Lastly, whether you read if, or so, the meaning will be the same if si be understood. Wherefore some read si sic (if so), as if Christ said, “Granted that I wish John to remain, what is it to thee?”
Moreover, S. Cæsarius, the brother of S. Gregory Nazianzen, (Dial. 5), gives this fresh interpretation, “I wish John to remain here by the sea of Galilee;” but this seems too literal and frigid.
Anagogically, the contemplative and beatific and triumphant life in heaven is here represented in St. John, and the active and militant life on earth in S. Peter. Listen to S. Augustine (Tract. 124): “Why did the Lord love John the most when Peter loved the Lord the most? By so much I understand he is better who most loves Christ, but he is happier whom Christ most loves. I think then that two modes of life are here signified, one which is in faith by the Apostle Peter, on account of the primacy of his apostleship; and therefore it is said to him, Follow Me, by imitation, viz., in bearing temporal ills. But the other life, which is in hope, by S. John, concerning whom it is said, So I will him to tarry till I come. when, that is, I am about to give him everlasting blessings. Let perfect action follow Me, being made strong by the example of my Passion: but let contemplation remain in an inchoate condition, i.e., let it look for perfection when I come.”
Both are more briefly stated in the Gloss: “That one should love most is for mercy to be made manifest, and justice hidden. Here two modes of life are commended to the Church. For the government of the storm-tossed Church the keys are given, for binding and loosing sins. For the sake of that quiet rest upon the bosom of Jesus a man lies down where he may drink of truth. And because John is a virgin, he is a type of that life to come, where they neither marry nor are given in marriage.”
Tropologically, virginity, and the incorruption of virgins, integrity, and immortality, as they seem always to remain in the same state living and flourishing, are here represented, since S. John continued a very long time. For chaste souls imitate the holiness and purity of God. Hence they are made like unto God, and are beloved by Him. For this cause the Blessed Peter Damian calls S. John an organ of the Divine mysteries, a ray of heaven, a celestial eagle.
23. This saying therefore went abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die , namely, that S. John would not die, but would remain alive until Christ should come at the day of judgment, and then carry him alive with Him to heaven. And no marvel, for, as I have said a little above, many of the Fathers thought the same.
And Jesus did not say to him: He should not die; but, So I will have him to remain till I come, what is it to thee? This is the correction. John corrects the mistaken opinion of the disciples concerning himself, that he should not die. Whence it may be gathered that the meaning of Christ’s words was different, and that John really died, as I have shown upon verse 22.
24. This is that disciple who giveth testimony of these things, and hath written these things; and we know that his testimony is true: viz. John, who for the sake of modesty speaks of himself in the third person. As though he said, “This is not the testimony of myself alone, but I, and all who have been conversant with Christ, all who have been their hearers and disciples, know that this disciple testifies and writes the truth.” For at that time there were but few survivors of those who had conversed with Christ, but many survived who had heard the same things from them. For John wrote this Gospel against Cerinthus, Meander, Ebion, and other rising heretics, who denied that Christ was God, and therefore detracted from His preaching and Gospel, as though it were false and feigned.
25. But there are also many other things which Jesus did; which, if they were written every one, the world itself, I think, would not be able to contain the books that should be written. After the words the world itself, the Syriac version adds, as I think. First, S. Augustine, Bede, S. Thomas, and others explain the words, the world itself could not contain the books, not of local space, but of the capacity of readers. As it were, “The whole world could not receive, i.e. could not understand, could not penetrate the mysteries of the doctrine and life of Christ, because they are too profound and Divine.” But in this sense who is able to contain, in the sense of thoroughly penetrating, one single sentence of Christ concerning the mysteries of the Holy Trinity, the Incarnation, the Eucharist, &c.?
2. S. Jerome and others interpret capere by to receive by faith, to believe this. As it were, “If so many, and such unheard-of, and stupendous miracles of Christ were related, worldly men could not bear them, but would think either that the eyes of men were deluded by magic arts, or else that all were dreams and fables, and that so many and such great things could not be done by any one.” Therefore the Evangelists say but little concerning the greatest miracles. But to this is opposed that the unbelieving would believe not one single miracle of Christ, whilst the faithful would have believed them all. Observe, moreover, the Evangelist says books, not miracles.
3. And giving the true meaning, the words are an hyperbole. As though it were said, If every one of the words and deeds of Christ were written down, so many and so great things would have to be written, that the world would be filled with books—so many books would require to be written, that they would be, so to say, innumerable. Thus it is commonly said, In such a library there are books innumerable, that is very many. Such is the expression in chap. xii. 19, “The whole world is gone after Him,” meaning, very many follow Jesus. So Cyril, Chrysostom, Bede, Theophylact, Jansen, Toletus, and others From hence it is plain that the Evangelists have omitted very many of the words and deeds of Christ, and recorded comparatively few, that from them we might acknowledge Christ to be both God and man, and might, as the proverb goes, estimate the power of a lion by his claw.
You may say, This hyperbole seems extravagant, for the whole world could contain innumerable myriads of books. I reply, it is not too bold an hyperbole, yea, it is too feeble if we take into account the greatness, the excellence, and the majesty of the things to be written. For observe that there were in Christ two natures, the Divine and the human therefore His actions had a twofold, yea a threefold, character. First, in that they were Divine, He knew all things, and comprehended all things, He loved the Father with an infinite love, He breathed the Holy Spirit, and so on. Which things, were they to be written about in accordance with their worthiness, infinite books must be written, which the world could not contain. For however many might be written by men, they could not adequately set forth, much less exhaust, one single Divine, and therefore altogether infinite, action of Christ. So Christ by one word and conception of His mind, knows all things, comprehends them, saith and speaks them. Moreover, one such word of His is so fruitful and sublime that all angels and men could not adequately and fully express it in an infinite number of words and books. Indeed, one of the Seraphim knows more, says and does more, in a single act than the infirm angels and men in many acts. Much more is this so with Christ, who far surpasses all the Seraphim. This second sort of Christ’s actions were human acts, such as to speak, to eat, to walk. If these be regarded merely as human acts, they might be written in a few books. But if they be regarded as they were done by Christ, and directed by the interior spirit of prudence, charity, and the other virtues, they could not be worthily described by any human pen, because no one could by writing adequately express the spirit and virtues of Christ. For Christ did all His works with all their accompaniments so perfectly, so angelically, that no authors could perfectly set them forth before the eyes of men. For each several action of Christ contained in itself so many virtues, excellences, and perfections, that it could not be equalled by any number of our actions.
The third kind of the actions of Christ were mixed, i.e. partly human, and partly Divine. These therefore are called by S. Dionysius theandric, i.e. Divinely-human actions. Such are to preach the Gospel, to raise the dead, to institute the Eucharist and the other Sacraments, things which Christ did as man, but in which He was directed by the Deity, hypostatically united to Himself. Far less then can these actions, regarded as to their worthiness, be adequately unfolded and set forth by all the writers who are, have been, or ever will be. For they are actions directly emanating from God, and therefore containing in themselves a Divine power and excellency, which far surpass the genius and ability of all authors to write them, according to the words in Job (xi.7), “Canst thou comprehend the footsteps of God, and find out the Almighty to perfection? He is higher than heaven, what wilt thou do? Deeper than hell, whence wilt thou know? The measure is longer than the earth, broader than the sea.”
Lastly, the truth of this hyperbole is made plain by the event and experience. For we see every year so many discourses, lectures, sermons, concerning the life and deeds of Christ, so many books written, so many commentaries, that to enumerate them would be impossible. And so, if the world were to endure for ever, the same thing would go on from year to year. If all were to be gathered in one (at last), the world could not contain them. Wherefore S. Leontius (Serm. de Nativ. 9) saith, “The greatness of the Divine working exceeds the capacity of human speech. Never therefore will subjects of thanksgiving fail, because the abundance of them that praise will never cease.”
Tropologically: From hence learn of Christ to fulfil thy years with virtues. Be continually occupied in the doing of many great and heroic works of virtue. Go from virtue to virtue until thou shalt see the God of gods in Sion. As Zeuxis the illustrious painter said, “I paint for eternity,” so say thou, “I live for eternity.” Say to thyself, I am painting the picture of a holy life. I am painting a portrait which I may show to God and the angels in heaven, to be for ever before their eyes, that the blessed ones may admire it, and praise it through all eternity.
