Homily 61 — John 10, verses 22 to 42

“And it was at Jerusalem, the Feast of Dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus was walking in the temple, in Solomon’s Porch. Then the Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in doubt?’” [a]

Every virtue is a good thing, but mildness and gentleness most of all. This is what shows us to be human; this is what sets us apart from wild beasts; this is what fits us to rival the angels. That is why Christ constantly spends so many words on this virtue, telling us to be gentle and mild. And he does not merely speak about it; he also teaches it by his actions. At one time he was struck and bore it; at another he was insulted and plotted against; and yet again he came back to the very people who were plotting against him. For the men who had called him a demoniac and a Samaritan, who had often wanted to kill him and had thrown stones at him, were the same men who now surrounded him and asked, “Are you the Christ?” Yet even here, after so many and such great plots against him, he did not reject them, but answered them with great gentleness.

But we should rather examine the whole passage from the beginning.

“It was at Jerusalem,” the Scripture says, “the Feast of Dedication, and it was winter.” This was a great feast, kept by the whole nation. For they celebrated with great zeal the day on which the temple was rebuilt, when they returned from their long captivity in Persia. Christ too was present at this feast, for from now on he stayed continually in Judea, because his suffering was near.

“Then the Jews gathered around him and said, ‘How long will you keep us in doubt?’”

“If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

He did not reply, “Why are you questioning me? You have often called me a demoniac, a madman and a Samaritan. You have taken me for an enemy of God and a deceiver, and just now you said, ‘You bear witness about yourself; your witness is not true.’ How is it, then, that you are asking and wanting to learn from me, when you reject my witness?”

He said nothing of the kind, although he knew that the intention behind their question was evil. Their surrounding him and saying, “How long will you keep us in doubt?” looked as though it came from a kind of longing and desire to learn, but the intention with which they asked was corrupt and deceitful. His works left no room for their slander and insults, but his sayings they could attack by finding in them a sense other than the one in which they were spoken. So they kept putting questions to him, hoping to silence him by means of his own sayings; and since they could find no fault with his works, they wanted to find a handle in his words. That is why they said, “Tell us,” though he had often told them. He had said to the Samaritan woman, “I am he, the one speaking to you” (John 4, verse 26), and to the blind man, “You have both seen him, and it is he who is talking with you” (John 9, verse 37). And he had told them too, if not in the same words, at least in others. Indeed, had they been wise, and had they wanted to inquire in the right way, all that was left for them was to confess him in words, since he had often proved the point in question by his works.

But now notice their perverse and quarrelsome temper. When he speaks to them and teaches them by his words, they say, “What sign do you show us?” (John 6, verse 30). But when he gives them proofs by his works, they say to him, “Are you the Christ? Tell us plainly.” When the works cry aloud, they look for words; and when the words teach, they turn to works, always setting themselves against whatever is in front of them. That they did not ask in order to learn, the outcome showed. The one they now treated as so trustworthy that they would accept his witness about himself, they stoned the moment he had said a few words. So their very surrounding him and pressing in on him was done with ill intent.

The way they put the question, too, was full of hatred: “Tell us plainly, are you the Christ?” Yet he said everything openly. He was always present at their feasts, and he said nothing in secret. But they brought out deceitful words, “How long will you keep us in doubt?”, so that once they had drawn him out they might again find some handle against him. That in every case they questioned him not to learn but to find fault with his words is clear, not from this passage only, but from many others as well. When they came to him and asked, “Is it lawful to pay tribute to Caesar or not?” (Matthew 22, verse 17), when they spoke about divorcing a wife (Matthew 19, verse 3), when they asked about the woman who, they said, had had seven husbands (Matthew 22, verse 23), they were caught bringing their questions to him not from a desire to learn but from evil intent. There, though, he rebuked them, saying, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?”, and so showed that he knew their secret thoughts. Here he said nothing of the kind, teaching us not always to rebuke those who plot against us, but to bear many things with gentleness and mildness.

It was a mark of folly, when the works were proclaiming him aloud, to look for the witness of words. So hear how he answers them. At once he hints to them that their questions were pointless and not asked in order to learn, and at the same time he shows that he had already spoken with a voice plainer than words — the voice of his works.

Verse 25: “I told you often,” he says, “and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness about me.”

That is a remark the more reasonable among them kept making to one another: “A man who is a sinner cannot do such miracles.” And again, “A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind.” And, “No one can do such miracles unless God is with him” (John 3, verse 2). And seeing the miracles he did, they said, “Is this not the Christ?” Others said, “When the Christ comes, will he do greater miracles than those this man has done?” (John 7, verse 31). And these very people, as many as wanted to believe in him at that time, said, “What sign do you show us, that we may see and believe you?” (John 6, verse 30). So when people who had not been persuaded by such great works pretended that they would be persuaded by a bare word, he rebukes their wickedness, saying, “If you do not believe my works, how will you believe my words? So your questioning is pointless.” [e]

Verse 26: “But,” he says, “I told you, and you do not believe, because you are not of my sheep.”

“For my part I have done everything a shepherd ought to do. If you do not follow me, it is not because I am not a shepherd, but because you are not my sheep.”

Verses 27 to 30: “For my sheep hear my voice and follow me, and I give them eternal life, and no one can snatch them out of my hand. The Father who gave them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

Notice how, even as he disowns them, he spurs them on to follow him. He says: “You do not hear me, because you are not sheep either. It is those who follow who belong to the flock.” He said this so that they would strive to become sheep. Then, by mentioning what the sheep would receive, he makes these men jealous, to rouse them and make them want such things.

“What then? Is it through the Father’s power that no one snatches them away? Have you no strength of your own? Are you too weak to guard them?”

Not at all. So that you may learn that the words “The Father who gave them to me” are said for their sake, so that they would not again call him an enemy of God, he first declares, “No one snatches them out of my hand,” and then goes on to show that his hand and the Father’s are one. If this were not so, it would have been natural for him to say, “The Father who gave them to me is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of my hand.” But he did not say that; he said, “out of my Father’s hand.” Then, so that you would not suppose that he himself is weak and that the sheep are safe through the Father’s power, he adds, “I and the Father are one.” It is as though he had said, “I did not say that it is because of the Father that no one snatches them away, as though I were too weak to keep the sheep. For I and the Father are one.”

He is speaking here about power, for his whole discourse was about that; and if the power is the same, it is clear that the being is the same too. The Jews tried countless means, plotting and casting people out of their synagogues, and he tells them that all their schemes are useless and empty: “For the sheep are in my Father’s hand.” As the prophet says, “I have drawn your walls on my hand” (Isaiah 49, verse 16). Then, to show that the hand is one, he sometimes says it is his own and sometimes the Father’s. But when you hear the word “hand,” do not think of anything bodily. Think of the power, the authority.

Again, if it was for this reason that no one could snatch the sheep away — because the Father gave him power — it would have been pointless to add what follows, “I and the Father are one.” If he were inferior to the Father, this would have been a very bold saying, for it declares nothing other than an equality of power. The Jews understood it that way, and took up stones to throw at him (verse 31). Yet not even then did he remove this opinion and suspicion. If their suspicion had been mistaken, he ought to have set them right and said, “Why are you doing this? I did not say this to testify that my power and the Father’s are equal.”

But in fact he does the very opposite. He confirms their suspicion and clinches it, and that at a moment when they were furious. He makes no excuse for what he had said, as though it had been said wrongly; instead he rebukes them for not holding a right opinion about him. For when they said (verses 33 to 36), “We are not stoning you for a good work, but for blasphemy, and because you, being a man, make yourself God,” hear his answer: “If the Scripture called them gods to whom the word of God came, how can you say that I blaspheme, because I said, I am the Son of God?”

What he means is something like this: “If those who received this honor by grace are not blamed for calling themselves gods, how can he who has it by nature deserve to be rebuked?”

Yet he did not say it that way. He proved it later, having first eased off and given ground a little in what he said, with the words, “whom the Father consecrated and sent.” When he had softened their anger, he brings forward the plain statement. For a while, so that his words would be received, he spoke in more lowly terms, but afterward he raised them higher, saying (verses 37 and 38), “If I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works.”

Do you see how he proves what I said, that he is in no way inferior to the Father, but in every way equal to him? Since it was impossible to see his being, he gives proof from the equality and sameness of the works that there is no difference at all in power. And what, tell me, are we to believe?

“That I am in the Father, and the Father is in me.” [i]

“For I am nothing other than what the Father is, yet I remain Son; he is nothing other than what I am, yet he remains Father. Anyone who knows me knows the Father, and anyone who knows the Father has learned the Son as well.” Now if the power were less, then what he says about knowing would also be false, for it is not possible to come to know one essence or power by means of another.

Verses 39 to 41: “So they tried again to seize him, but he escaped out of their hands and went away again across the Jordan, to the place where John had first baptized. And many came to him and said, ‘John did no miracle, but everything John said about this man was true.’”

Whenever he has said something great and lofty, he quickly withdraws, giving way to their anger, so that their fury may die down and cease while he is away. And that is what he did then. But why does the evangelist mention the place? So that you may learn that he went there to remind them of what John had done and said there, and of his testimony. At any rate, as soon as they came there they remembered John. That is why they said, “John did no miracle.” Why else should they add this, unless the place had brought the Baptist back to mind and they had come to remember his testimony?

And see how they build arguments that cannot be answered: “John did no miracle.” Then one of them says, “But this man does, so his superiority is proven. If people believed John, who did no miracles, much more must they believe this man.” Then, since it was John who had borne the witness, and so that his having done no miracle would not seem to prove him unfit to be a witness, they added, “Even if he did no miracle, still everything he said about this man was true.” So they were no longer proving Christ trustworthy by means of John, but John trustworthy by means of what Christ had done.

Verse 42: “So many believed in him.”

Many things drew them. They remembered the words John had spoken, calling Christ “mightier than himself,” and “light,” and “life,” and “truth,” and all the rest. They remembered the voice that came down from heaven, and the Spirit that appeared in the form of a dove and pointed him out to all. And along with this they recalled the proof given by the miracles, and looking to it they were made firm from then on. Someone says, “If it was right to believe John, much more ought we to believe this man. If we believed John without miracles, much more this man, who besides John’s testimony has also the proof of the miracles.”

Do you see how much it benefited them to stay in this place and to be free from the presence of evil men? That is why Jesus is constantly leading them and drawing them away from the company of such people, as he seems to have done under the old covenant too, forming and ordering the Jews in every respect in the desert, far away from the Egyptians.

And he advises us to do the same now, telling us to avoid public places, crowds and commotion, and to pray in peace in the inner room. For a ship free of turmoil sails with a fair wind, and a soul set apart from worldly business rests in harbor. That is why women ought to have more true wisdom than men, since for the most part they are fixed at home. Jacob, for instance, was a simple man because he lived at home and was free from the bustle of public life. It is not without reason that the Scripture adds, “dwelling in a house” (Genesis 25, verse 27).

But some woman says, “Even in a house there is a great deal of confusion.” Yes, when you want it so, and bring a crowd of cares on yourself. The man who spends his time in the marketplaces and the law courts is swamped by troubles from outside, as if by waves. But the woman who sits in her house as in a school of true wisdom, and gathers her thoughts within herself, will be able to give herself to prayer, to reading, and to the rest of heavenly wisdom. And just as those who live in the desert have no one to disturb them, so she, being always at home, can enjoy an unbroken calm. Even if she does need to go out at times, there is no cause for confusion then either. For a woman’s necessary occasions for leaving her house are to come here, or to wash the body at the baths. For the most part she sits at home. There she can be truly wise herself, and when her husband comes in agitated, she can calm and settle him, soften the excess and fierceness of his thoughts, and send him out again having put off all the harm he gathered in the marketplace and carrying with him whatever good he learned at home.

For nothing, nothing is more powerful than a devout and sensible woman to bring a man into proper order and to shape his soul as she wishes. He will not bear with friends, or teachers, or rulers as he will bear with his partner advising and counseling him, since her advice even brings some pleasure with it, because the one who gives it is dearly loved. I could name many hard and unyielding men who have been softened in this way. She shares his table, his bed and his embraces, his words and his secrets, his comings in and goings out, and much else besides. She is entirely given to him and joined to him, as a body is naturally joined to its head. If she happens to be sensible and in tune with him, she will go beyond and surpass everyone else in guiding her husband.

So I urge women to make this their work and to give fitting counsel. For just as they have great power for good, so they have it for evil too. A woman destroyed Absalom; a woman destroyed Amnon; a woman came near to destroying Job; a woman rescued Nabal from slaughter. Women have saved whole nations: Deborah and Judith achieved successes worthy of men, and so have thousands of other women. That is why Paul says, “For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband?” (First Corinthians 7, verse 16). And in those times we see Persis and Mary and Priscilla sharing in the labors of the apostles (Romans 16). We too must imitate them, and bring into order the one who lives with us, not by words only but by actions as well. [l]

But how are we to teach him by our actions? When he sees that you are not ill-natured, not fond of spending or of ornaments, not demanding lavish sums of money but content with what you have, then he will bear with your counsel. But if you are wise in your words and do the opposite in your actions, he will condemn you for talking great nonsense. When, along with words, you also give him teaching by your works, he will accept you and obey you all the more readily. That is, when you do not want gold, or pearls, or expensive clothes, but instead modesty, self-restraint and kindness; when you show these virtues yourself and ask them of him.

If you must do something to please your husband, you should adorn your soul, not adorn your body and so spoil it. The gold you put on will not make you as lovely and desirable to him as modesty, kindness toward him, and a readiness to die for your partner. These things win men over most of all. In fact, that splendor of dress even displeases him, since it strains his means and causes him much expense and worry. But the things I have named will bind a husband fast to his wife, for kindness and friendship and love cause no worries and bring no expense — quite the opposite. Outward adornment grows stale with use, but the adornment of the soul blooms day by day and kindles a stronger flame.

So if you want to please your husband, adorn your soul with modesty, devotion to God and good management of the household. These things win him over more, and they never come to an end. Age does not destroy this adornment; sickness does not waste it. The adornment of the body is usually undone by the passing of time and wasted by sickness and many other things, but what belongs to the soul is above all that. That adornment causes envy and kindles jealousy; this one is free of that sickness and clear of all empty glory. In this way things at home will go more easily, and your income will come without trouble, when the gold is not laid on your body or wrapped around your arms, but goes to necessary uses: feeding the servants, the needful care of the children, and other useful purposes.

But if this is not so — if the wife’s face is covered with ornaments while the husband’s heart is weighed down with anxiety — what good is it, what advantage is there? The grief of the one keeps the wonderful beauty of the other from being seen. You know, you know that even if a man sees the most beautiful woman of all, he cannot take pleasure in the sight while his soul is sorrowful, because to feel pleasure a man must first be glad and cheerful. And when all his gold is heaped up to adorn a woman’s body while there is distress in his home, her partner can have no pleasure. So if we want to be pleasing to our husbands, let us give them pleasure; and we will give them pleasure if we take off our ornaments and finery. All these things seem to bring some delight at the time of the wedding itself, but afterward it fades with time. For if we admire the sky less, beautiful as it is, and the sun, so bright that you cannot name any body to equal it, because we see them all the time, how will we admire a body decked out with trinkets?

I say these things because I want you to be adorned with that wholesome adornment Paul commanded: “not with gold, or pearls, or expensive clothing, but, as is fitting for women who profess godliness, with good works” (First Timothy 2, verses 9 and 10). But do you want to please strangers and be praised by them? That, certainly, is not the desire of a modest woman. Still, if you want it, by doing as I have said you will have strangers too loving you greatly and praising your modesty. For no virtuous and self-controlled person will praise the woman who adorns her body, only the undisciplined and the lustful. No, not even they will praise her; they will speak foully of her, because their eyes have been inflamed by the loose living on display about her. But the other woman everyone will approve, both the one kind of person and the other, because they receive no harm from her, and even gain instruction in heavenly wisdom. Great will be her praise from people, and great her reward with God.

So let us strive after this adornment, so that we may live here without fear and obtain the blessings to come. May we all obtain them through the grace and love for humankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.