St John Chapter viii : Verses 26-34
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| Whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin. J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum. |
27 And they understood not, that he called God his Father.
28 Jesus therefore said to them: When you shall have lifted up the Son of man, then shall you know, that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself, but as the Father hath taught me, these things I speak:
29 And he that sent me, is with me, and he hath not left me alone: for I do always the things that please him.
30 When he spoke these things, many believed in him.
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews, who believed him: If you continue in my word, you shall be my disciples indeed.
32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
33 They answered him: We are the seed of Abraham, and we have never been slaves to any man: how sayest thou: you shall be free?
34 Jesus answered them: Amen, amen I say unto you: that whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin.
26 πολλὰ ἔχω περὶ ὑμῶν λαλεῖν καὶ κρίνειν· ἀλλ’ ὁ πέμψας με ἀληθής ἐστιν, κἀγὼ ἃ ἤκουσα παρ’ αὐτοῦ ταῦτα ⸀λαλῶ εἰς τὸν κόσμον.
26 Multa habeo de vobis loqui, et judicare; sed qui me misit, verax est; et ego quae audivi ab eo, haec loquor in mundo.
27 οὐκ ἔγνωσαν ὅτι τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῖς ἔλεγεν.
27 Et non cognoverunt quia Patrem ejus dicebat Deum.
28 εἶπεν ⸀οὖν ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Ὅταν ὑψώσητε τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, τότε γνώσεσθε ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι, καὶ ἀπ’ ἐμαυτοῦ ποιῶ οὐδέν, ἀλλὰ καθὼς ἐδίδαξέν με ὁ ⸀πατὴρ ταῦτα λαλῶ.
28 Dixit ergo eis Jesus : Cum exaltaveris Filium hominis, tunc cognoscetis quia ego sum, et a meipso facio nihil, sed sicut docuit me Pater, haec loquor :
29 καὶ ὁ πέμψας με μετ’ ἐμοῦ ἐστιν· οὐκ ἀφῆκέν με ⸀μόνον, ὅτι ἐγὼ τὰ ἀρεστὰ αὐτῷ ποιῶ πάντοτε.
29 et qui me misit, mecum est, et non reliquit me solum : quia ego quae placita sunt ei, facio semper.
30 ταῦτα αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος πολλοὶ ἐπίστευσαν εἰς αὐτόν.
30 Haec illo loquente, multi crediderunt in eum.
31 Ἔλεγεν οὖν ὁ Ἰησοῦς πρὸς τοὺς πεπιστευκότας αὐτῷ Ἰουδαίους· Ἐὰν ὑμεῖς μείνητε ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τῷ ἐμῷ, ἀληθῶς μαθηταί μού ἐστε,
31 Dicebat ergo Jesus ad eos, qui crediderunt ei, Judaeos : Si vos manseritis in sermone meo, vere discipuli mei eritis,
32 καὶ γνώσεσθε τὴν ἀλήθειαν, καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια ἐλευθερώσει ὑμᾶς.
32 et cognoscetis veritatem, et veritas liberabit vos.
33 ἀπεκρίθησαν ⸂πρὸς αὐτόν⸃· Σπέρμα Ἀβραάμ ἐσμεν καὶ οὐδενὶ δεδουλεύκαμεν πώποτε· πῶς σὺ λέγεις ὅτι Ἐλεύθεροι γενήσεσθε;
33 Responderunt ei : Semen Abrahae sumus, et nemini servivimus umquam : quomodo tu dicis : Liberi eritis?
34 Ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι πᾶς ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν δοῦλός ἐστιν τῆς ἁμαρτίας·
34 Respondit eis Jesus : Amen, amen dico vobis : quia omnis qui facit peccatum, servus est peccati.
Annotations
26. Many things I have to speak and to judge of you. I have many things to say against you, and to accuse you of. And in the day of judgment I will do so. As S. Cyril says,
➤“I will accuse you not of one thing but of many, and of nothing falsely. For I can condemn you as unbelieving, as arrogant, as insulting, as opposers of God, as impudent, as ungrateful, as malignant, as lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, as courting the praise of men, and not seeking the glory of God.”
But he that sent me, is true: and the things I have heard of him, these same I speak in the world. I will omit many points and will merely say this, in refutation of your unbelief, that the Father who hath sent Me is true, and whatever therefore I say is true, and worthy of belief by all. “I am true” (says S. Augustine) “in judgment, because I am the Son of Truth, and the Truth Itself.” But others explain differently,
(1.) Toletus: “I have many things to say against you. But I will not do so now, for the Father sent Me into the world, not to judge but to save it, and therefore, in obedience to Him, I say only those things which concern its salvation.”
(2.) Maldonatus, as though it were, “Because” He that hath sent Me is true, not “but” He that sent Me, &c.
(3.) Rupertus refers it to what He had said before, that He was the Beginning, “These are not My own words, but what the Father bade Me say of Myself.”
(4.) Ye do not believe in Me as the Messiah, but this is what the Father wishes Me to proclaim.
(5.) Ye do not believe Me now, but My Father is true. He will fulfil His own word that I shall be your judge, and reward you according to your deeds. But the first meaning is the best. Which I have heard of Him, both as God and as man. The Interlinear Gloss says, “To hear from Him, is the same as though being from Him.” “The co-equal Son gives glory to the Father, why then dost thou set thyself against Him, being only His servant?” So S. Augustine.
27. And they understood not, that he called God his Father. For Jesus spake covertly and obscurely, for fear of exciting the hatred of the Pharisees. But some of the more acute of them began to suspect the true meaning of His words, though they did not clearly understand them, and could not refute Him. None of them fully knew it. And God so ordered it, that the Passion of Christ, and the consequent redemption of the world, might not be hindered. (See 1 Cor. ii .8.) “I withhold the knowledge of Myself,” says S. Augustine, “that My Passion may be effected” by your hands.
28. Jesus therefore said to them: When you shall have lifted up the Son of man, then shall you know, that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself, but as the Father hath taught me, these things I speak: When ye have lifted Me up on the Cross. He calls it His exaltation, for though it seemed to be His greatest degradation and disgrace, yet it was made to be, by God’s Providence, His greatest exaltation and glory, that all nations should adore Christ crucified, and hope for pardon from Him. For this Christ won for Himself by His great humility (see Phil. ii. 8 seq.) And thus does God deal with every follower of Christ who humbles himself for Christ’s sake, as He says, “Every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled,” &c.
Then shall you know that I am Messiah, the Son of God, whom I declare Myself to be, and not a mere man, as ye now think Me. For many of the Jews, when they saw in the Cross, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, such patience, charity, zeal, and such great prodigies and miracles, were moved with compunction to believe in Him. Christ had obtained all this by His Cross, and obtained it from His Father (see Acts ii. 41). As S. Augustine says, “He saw that many would believe after His Passion. And this He says that no one who is conscious of guilt should despair, when even His own murder was condoned.” See S. Cyril, and others.
I do nothing of myself, but as the Father hath taught me, these things I speak. Christ frequently inculcates the same truth, both in order to speak humbly of Himself, and to gain authority for His doctrine from God the Father. “But the Father,” says S. Augustine, “did not so teach the Son, as though He were ignorant when He begat Him; but His teaching Him, was His begetting Him full of knowledge.” For with the Son His being is His knowledge. And therefore the Father by begetting gave Him both existence and knowledge.
29. And he that sent me, is with me, and he hath not left me alone: for I do always the things that please him. He adds this (says S. Chrysostom) lest He should be accounted inferior to the Father who taught Him. The one relates to the Incarnation (dispensationem), the other to the Godhead. “The Father,” says S. Augustine, “sent the Son, but did not leave Him.” Moreover, the Father is ever with the Son, not only by the inseparable essence of Deity, which continues ever in number the same, but also by the special providence and guidance vouchsafed to the manhood which He assumed, the Godhead guiding and directing it in every work, to make all His work perfect and divine.
30. When he spoke these things, many believed in him; i.e., many of the simple-minded, candid and teachable people, but few or none of the proud Pharisees. And they believed, not only as convinced by the force of His arguments, but charmed by the grace and power of His words. “Never man spake like this man.”
31. Then Jesus said to those Jews, who believed him: If you continue in my word, you shall be my disciples indeed. He wished to confirm them in the faith they had accepted. If ye are so faithful and constant as to follow Me through persecutions and crosses, even to heaven itself, ye will be worthy not only of the name and title of My disciples, but also of their deserts and reward.
32. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. The Greek Fathers understand by the Truth, Christ Himself; meaning ye shall know Me to be the Truth, shadowed forth by the figures of the old Law, from which I will set you free, that ye may serve God not with bodily ceremonies, but in the Spirit and truth of faith, hope, and charity (see above, iv. 23).
(2.) Hence, in accordance with the mind of Christ, If ye abide in My doctrine, ye shall taste by experience how sweet it is, and it will free you from the yoke of sin (see below, verse 34). For faith in Me will lead you to penitence, contrition, and charity, which does away with all sin. “If the Truth pleaseth thee not, let liberty please thee.” He clearly restored liberty, and took away iniquity.
Analogically: My doctrine will deliver you from the corruption of this place of mortality, change, and exile, because it will bring you to the liberty of a blessed immortality, and the glory of the children of God. Thus S. Augustine on this passage: “What doth He promise to those who believe? Ye shall know the truth. But did they not know it, when the Lord spake? for if they knew it not, how did they believe? They believed, not because they knew, but that they might know; for what is faith but believing that we see not? But the truth is, to see that which thou hast believed.” There is a fourfold bondage which Christ did away with, and a fourfold liberty which He bestowed.
(1.) The bondage of the Law which Christ did away with by the liberty of the Gospel.
(2.) Bondage under sin, which He took away by the liberty of righteousness.
(3.) Bondage under the dominion of concupiscence, which He took away by the liberty of the Spirit, and the dominion of charity and grace.
(4.) Bondage under death and mortality, which He will take away by the liberty and glory of the resurrection. It does not refer to the liberty of the will, as though sinners were so entirely the slaves of sin as not to have any free-will, and that Christ gives it them back when He justifies them. For a sinner sins by free-will, and a penitent repents and is justified only by his free-will, aided by the grace of God.
Calvin foolishly denies free-will both to sinners and to the righteous. “Let us who are conscious of our own bondage glory only in Christ our deliverer.” For he thinks that we are not intrinsically free, just as we are not intrinsically just by inherent righteousness, but only by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. Each of which opinions is not only an impious, but also a foolish heresy.
33. They answered him: We are the seed of Abraham, and we have never been slaves to any man: how sayest thou: you shall be free? Christ in what He had said indirectly charged the Jews with ignorance and bondage. But as glorying in their descent from Abraham, they felt wounded; and putting aside the charge of ignorance, they proudly deny the charge of bondage, and say that they had no need of the liberty of Christ. We are slaves neither by birth, nor by condition. “And in like manner,” says S. Chrysostom, “men when charged with impurity and wickedness put it aside, but when their family and work are impugned, they start up, as if they were mad.” But the Jews did not understand Christ, for He spake not of civil, but of spiritual bondage, and that He would set them free from the bondage of sin by the liberty of grace. But did the Jews say truly that they were never in bondage to any man? S. Chrysostom and others say that they spoke too boastfully, but that they veiled their falsehood, because though often conquered they had never been sold as slaves.
(2.) Cajetan, Toletus, Jansen, and others reply to the charge by saying that though the Jews had formerly been in bondage, yet that the present generation of Jews had never been so, for they were merely the subjects, not the slaves, of the Romans. And this seems to be the most satisfactory meaning; for to say that their fathers had never been in bondage would have been a falsehood at which the sun itself would have blushed, and Christ would have at once confuted it. All they meant to say was that their race was a free and noble one, and that their subjection to the Romans was not slavery.
34. Jesus answered them: Amen, amen I say unto you: that whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin. Most assured, i.e., the saying is, and specially commended to their notice. But our Lord speaks to them modestly and becomingly, using only general terms and the third person. He might have said, Ye commit many sins, and are therefore the servants of sin, and from this bondage no one but Myself can deliver you. “A miserable bondage,” exclaims S. Augustine in loc., and adds the reason.
➤“A man slave, when worn out by his master’s cruel treatment, can at length escape and be at rest. But whither can the servant [slave] of sin flee? He carries with him himself, whithersoever he flies. A wicked conscience cannot fly from itself; it has no place to go to, it follows itself. It cannot withdraw from itself; for the sin which causes it is within.”
(2.) S. Peter (II. ii. 19) gives a further reason. ➤“Of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.”
(3.) ➤ He who committeth sin is the servant [slave] of the devil, who instigates to sin, and he is a cruel tyrant, who drives on sinners, as though they were his slaves, ever drawing them on from one sin to another, and in the end to hell.
(4.) ➤Every sin leaves behind it a desire and inclination to repeat the sin, and this concupiscence remains, even after the sin has been given up, for our punishment and temptation. Whence the Apostle says that he was sold under sin, that he did what he would not (as feeling against his will the motives of concupiscence), and that he cannot do the things he would.
(5.) ➤Because the sinner is bound by the chains of the sin he has committed, so that he cannot free himself, unless Christ sets him free by His grace, according to the saying (Prov. v. 22), “His own iniquities take the wicked himself, and he is bound with the cords of his sins.” In these passages, to sin, which is inanimate, is ascribed the character of a master, or tyrant, to signify (1.) the tyrannical power of sin and concupiscence, and (2.) because by sin is understood the devil, who holds sway in the realm of sin, and holds stern dominion over sinners.
St. Ambrose, on the words of Psalm 1cxviii. 94,
“I am thine, O save me,” says strikingly, “the worldling cannot say to Him, I am Thine, for he has many masters. Lust comes, and says, Thou art mine, for thou desirest the things of the body. Avarice comes, and says, Thou art mine, for the silver and gold thou hast is the price of thy bondage. Luxury comes and says, Thou art mine, for one day’s feasting is the price of thy life. Ambition comes, and says, Thou art clearly mine, for knowest thou not that I have set thee over others that thou mightest serve me? knowest thou not that I have conferred power on thee, in order to subject thee to mine own power? All the vices come, and say severally, Thou art mine. What a vile bond-slave is he whom so many compete for? And moreover the sinner who cannot say to God, I am Thine, hears from the devil, Thou art mine.”
For as S. Ambrose adds, “Satan came and entered into him, and began to say, he (Judas) is not thine, O Jesus, but mine. He thinks those things that are mine, he ponders my thoughts in his heart; he feasts with Thee, and feeds with me; he receives bread from Thee, and money from me; he drinks with me, and sells me Thy Blood; he is Thy Apostle, but my hireling.”
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SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.
The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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