Homily 82 — John 17, verses 14 to 26

“I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” [a]

When we have become virtuous and are persecuted by the wicked, or when we long for virtue and are mocked by them, let us not be thrown into confusion or grow angry. This is the natural course of things: everywhere, virtue tends to breed hatred in wicked people. They envy those who want to live rightly, and they think they will have an excuse ready for themselves if they can overthrow the good name of others. So they hate them as people whose pursuits are the opposite of their own, and they use every means to bring shame on their way of life.

But let us not grieve, for this is a mark of virtue. That is why Christ also says, “If you were of the world, the world would love its own” (John 15, verse 19). And again in another place, “Woe to you when all people speak well of you” (Luke 6, verse 26). That is why he says here too, “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them.” Again he gives the reason why they deserved to receive much care from the Father. He says: “They have been hated for your sake, and for the sake of your word.” So they would have a right to every kind of providential care.

Verse 15: “I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil.”

Again he speaks more simply; again he makes his meaning clearer. By praying for them so exactly, he shows nothing other than this: that he cares for them very tenderly. Yet he himself had told them that the Father would do whatever they asked. How, then, does he pray for them here? As I said, for no other purpose than to show his love.

Verse 16: “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” How, then, does he say in another place, “whom you gave me out of the world; they were yours” (verse 6)? There he is speaking of their nature; here, of wicked actions. And he puts together a long tribute to them: first, that “they were not of the world”; then, that the Father himself “had given them”; and that “they had kept his word”; and that for this reason “they were hated.”

And if he says, “just as I am not of the world,” do not be troubled, for the “as” here does not express exact sameness. When “as” is used of him and the Father, it means a great equality, because they are related by nature. In the same way, when it is used of us and him, it means a great gap, because of the great and infinite gap between the two natures. For if he “committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth” (First Peter 2, verse 22), how could the apostles be counted equal to him?

What, then, does he mean by “They are not of the world”? “They look to another world. They have nothing in common with earth; they have become citizens of heaven.” By these words he shows his love, when he commends them to the Father and entrusts them to the one who begot him. When he says, “Keep them,” he is not speaking only of rescuing them from dangers, but also of their continuing in the faith. That is why he adds, Verse 17: “Sanctify them through your truth.” “Make them holy by the gift of the Spirit and by right teaching.”

Just as he said, “You are clean through the word that I have spoken to you” (John 15, verse 3), so now he says the same thing: “Instruct them; teach them the truth.” “And yet he says that the Spirit does this. How, then, does he now ask it from the Father?” So that you may learn once again that they are equal in honor. For right teaching about God makes the soul holy. And if he says that they are made holy by the word, do not be surprised. To show that he is speaking of teaching, he adds, “Your word is truth.”

That is: “There is nothing false in it, and everything said in it must come to pass.” And again, it means nothing done in types, and nothing bodily. So Paul too says of the church that he has made it holy by the word, for the word of God also cleanses (Ephesians 5, verse 26). Moreover, “sanctify them” seems to me to mean something else as well, something like this: “Set them apart for the word and for preaching.” This is made plain from what follows. For he says, Verse 18: “As you have sent me into the world, so I have also sent them into the world.”

As Paul also says, “having placed in us the word of reconciliation” (Second Corinthians 5, verse 19). For the very purpose for which Christ came, these men too took possession of the world. Here again the “as” is not put to show likeness between himself and the apostles; for how else could men have been sent? But it was his custom to speak of the future as though it had already happened.

Verse 19: “And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in the truth.”

What does “I sanctify myself” mean? “I offer you a sacrifice.” All sacrifices are called “holy,” and the things set apart for God are called “holy things” in a special sense. Of old the sanctifying was done in type, by the sheep; but now it is not in type, but by the truth itself. That is why he says, “so that they may be sanctified in your truth.” “For I both dedicate them to you and make them an offering.” He says this either because their Head was being made an offering, or because they too were being sacrificed. For it says, “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy” (Romans 12, verse 1), and, “We were counted as sheep for the slaughter” (Psalm 44, verse 22). And he makes them a sacrifice and an offering without death. For it is clear from what follows that he was pointing to his own sacrifice when he said, “I sanctify.”

Verse 20: “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe.”

He was dying for them, and he had said, “For their sakes I sanctify myself.” So that no one would think he did this for the apostles only, he added, “I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word.” By this again he revived their spirits, showing that there would be many disciples. Because he was making common to others what had been theirs alone, he comforts them by showing that they were being made the cause of salvation for others. [g]

Having spoken this way about their salvation, and about their being made holy by faith and by the sacrifice, he goes on to speak of harmony, and he closes his discourse with it: he began with it, and he ends with it. At the beginning he said, “A new commandment I give you” (John 13, verse 34); and here, Verse 21: “That they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you.”

Here again the “as” does not mean exact likeness in their case, for that was not possible for them to so great a degree. It means only as far as was possible for human beings. It is just as when he says, “Be merciful, as your Father is” (Luke 6, verse 36).

But what does “in us” mean? In the faith that rests on us. Nothing makes everyone stumble so much as divisions, so he makes provision that they should be one. “Well then, did he bring this about?” Certainly he did. All who believe through the apostles are one, though some from among them were torn away. Nor did this escape his knowledge. He even foretold it, and showed that it came from people’s own slackness of mind.

“So that the world may believe that you have sent me.” As he said at the beginning, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” And how would they come to believe from this? “Because you are a God of peace. So if they keep to the same way as those they learned from, their hearers will know the teacher by the disciples. But if they quarrel, people will deny that they are disciples of a God of peace, and will not accept that I have been sent from you, since I would not be a man of peace.” Do you see how, right to the end, he proves that he is of one mind with the Father?

Verse 22: “And the glory that you gave me, I have given them.” The glory that comes by miracles, by teaching, and by their being of one soul. For this is glory: that they should be one. And it is greater even than miracles. People marvel at God because there is no strife or discord in that nature, and this is his greatest glory. “So let these too become glorious for this reason.” “And how does he ask the Father to give this to them, when he says that he himself gives it?” Whether his words are about miracles, or oneness of mind, or peace, he is plainly seen to have given these things to them himself. So it is clear that the request is made for the sake of their comfort.

Verse 23: “I in them, and you in me.” How did he give the glory? By being in them, and having the Father with him, so as to weld them together. But in another place he does not speak this way. He does not say that the Father comes through him, but, “that he and the Father come and make their home with him” (John 14, verse 23). There he removes the suspicion of Sabellius; here, that of Arius.

“That they may be perfected into one, and that the world may know that you have sent me.” He says these words immediately after the others to show that peace has more power to draw people than a miracle. For as it is the nature of strife to divide, so it is the nature of agreement to weld together.

“And I have loved them as you have loved me.” Here again the “as” means as far as it is possible for a human being to be loved. And the sure proof of his love is that he gives himself for them. He has told them that they will be kept safe, that they will not be overthrown, that they will be holy, that many will believe through them, that they will enjoy great glory, and that not he alone loves them, but the Father too. Next he tells them what will come after their stay here: the prizes and crowns stored up for them.

Verse 24: “Father,” he says, “I want those also whom you have given me to be with me where I am.” “So you obtain it by prayer? Do you not yet possess the thing they kept asking about when they said, ‘Where are you going?’ What are you saying? How, then, did you tell them, ‘You will sit on twelve thrones’ (Matthew 19, verse 28)? How did you promise them other things, more and greater?” Do you see that he says all of this by stooping down to meet them? Otherwise how would he have said, “You will follow afterward” (John 13, verse 36)? But he speaks this way to convince them more fully and to show his love more plainly.

“That they may see my glory, which you have given me.” This again is a sign that he is of one mind with the Father, and of a higher kind than those earlier sayings, for he says, “before the foundation of the world.” Yet it too has a certain stooping down, for he says, “you have given me.” Now if this is not so, I would gladly ask those who contradict us a question. One who gives, gives to someone who already exists. Did the Father, then, first beget the Son and afterward give him glory, having left him without glory before? How could that be reasonable? Do you see that “he gave” means “he begot”?

But why did he not say, “That they may share my glory,” instead of, “That they may see my glory”? Here he implies that the whole of that rest is to look on the Son of God. This is surely what causes them to be glorified, as Paul says, “With face uncovered, mirroring the glory of the Lord” (Second Corinthians 3, verse 18). Those who look on the sun’s rays and enjoy very clear air draw their enjoyment from the sight; so then too, and in a much greater degree, this will give us pleasure. At the same time he also shows that what they would see was not the body they saw then, but some awe-inspiring being. [l]

Verse 25: “Righteous Father, the world has not known you.” What does this mean? How does it connect with what came before? He is showing here that no one knows God except those who have come to know the Son. What he says amounts to this: “I wanted everyone to be like this, yet they have not known you, though they had no complaint against you.” That is the meaning of “righteous Father.” And here, it seems to me, he speaks these words as one distressed that they would not know one so just and good.

The Jews had said that they knew God, but that he did not know him. He aims at this when he says, “For you loved me before the foundation of the world,” and so he builds up a defense against the charges of the Jews. How could he who had received glory, who was loved before the foundation of the world, who wanted to have them as witnesses of that glory — how could he be opposed to the Father? “So what the Jews say is not true, that they know you and that I do not know you. On the contrary, I know you, and they have not known you.”

“And these have known that you sent me.” Do you see that he is pointing at those who said he was not from God, and that everything is finally summed up to meet this argument?

Verse 26: “And I have made your name known to them, and will make it known.” “Yet you say that perfect knowledge comes from the Spirit.” “But the things of the Spirit are mine.”

“So that the love with which you have loved me may remain in them, and I in them.” “For if they learn who you are, then they will know that I am not separated from you, but one greatly loved, a true Son, and closely joined to you. And those who are rightly persuaded of this will keep both faith in me and perfect love; and while they love as they should, I remain in them.” Do you see how he has come to a good end, closing his discourse with love, the mother of all blessings?

So let us believe and love God, so that it may not be said of us, “They profess that they know God, but in their works they deny him” (Titus 1, verse 16). And again, “He has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever” (First Timothy 5, verse 8). For when the unbeliever helps his household and relatives and strangers, while you do not even help those related to you by family, what excuse will you have from now on, when God is blasphemed and insulted because of you? [o]

Think what opportunities for doing good God has given us. “Have mercy on one,” he says, “as a relative; on another as a friend; on another as a neighbor; on another as a fellow citizen; on another as a human being.” And if none of these things holds you, but you break through every bond, hear from Paul that you are “worse than an unbeliever.” For the unbeliever has heard nothing of almsgiving or of heavenly things, and yet he has outdone you in kindness to others. But you, who are commanded to love even your enemies, look on your friends as enemies, and you take more care of your money than of their bodies. Yet money suffers no harm by being spent, while your brother, if neglected, will perish. What madness, then, to take care of money and be careless about one’s own kin! Where did this craving for riches burst in on us from? Where did this inhumanity and cruelty come from?

Suppose someone could look down on the whole world as though seated on the highest bench of a theater — or rather, if you like, let us for now take a single city. If a man seated on a high place could take in at a glance everything the people there are doing, think what folly he would condemn, what tears he would weep, what laughter he would laugh, what hatred he would feel! For the things we do deserve laughter, and the charge of folly, and tears, and hatred.

One man keeps dogs to hunt animals without reason, and sinks to their unreason himself. Another keeps oxen and donkeys to haul stones, but neglects people wasting away with hunger. He spends gold without limit to make men of stone, but neglects real men, who are turning to stone through their wretched condition. Another gathers whole quarries of gold with great effort and puts them on his walls, but when he sees the bare bellies of the poor, he is not moved. Some again devise clothes to wear over their very clothes, while their brother does not even have enough to cover his naked body.

Again, one man has swallowed up another in the lawcourts; another has spent his money on women and hangers-on; another on actors and theater troupes; another on splendid buildings, and on buying fields and houses. Again, one man is counting interest, another interest on interest; another is drawing up written bonds full of many deaths, and does not rest even at night, lying awake to do others harm. Then, when day comes, they run off, one to his unjust gain, another to his extravagant spending, others to robbing the public.

There is great zeal for things that are superfluous and forbidden, but no account is taken of the things that are necessary. Those who decide cases at law have the name of jurors, but in reality they are thieves and murderers. And if someone looked into lawsuits and wills, he would find ten thousand evils there as well: frauds, robberies, plots. All our time is spent on these things. But for spiritual things there is no care, and they all trouble the church only in order to look on. But this is not what is required. We need works, and a pure mind.

If you spend the whole day grasping after riches and then come in and say a few words, you have not only failed to appease God; you have made him even angrier. Do you want to win over your Lord? Show him works. Get to know the great mass of suffering. Look on the naked, the hungry, the wronged. He has cut out ten thousand paths for you to show kindness to others.

So let us not deceive ourselves by living aimlessly and to no purpose, and let us not be overconfident because we are healthy now. Let us remember that often, when we have fallen sick and reached the last extreme of weakness, we have been as good as dead with fear and with the expectation of what was to come. Let us expect to fall into that same state again; let us take on that same fear again, and become better people. For what is being done now deserves infinite condemnation.

Those in the courts of justice are like lions and dogs; those in the public squares, like foxes. And those who lead a life of leisure do not use their leisure as they should either, but spend all their time on theaters and the evils that come from them. No one rebukes what is being done. Instead, many envy it and are annoyed that they are not in the same position, so that these in turn are punished, though they do not actually do the wicked things. For they “not only do these things, but also take pleasure in those who do them.” What belongs to their will is equally corrupt, and from this it is plain that the intention too will be punished.

I say these things every day, and I will not stop saying them. If anyone listens, it is gain. But if no one pays attention, you will hear these things then, when it will do you no good, and you will blame yourselves, and we will be free of blame. But may it never happen that this should be our only excuse. May you rather be our boast before the judgment seat of Christ, so that together we may enjoy the blessings, through the grace and love for humankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to the Father and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.