April 12 – Second Sunday of Easter

WHEN OPPRESSED, TRUST IN GOD’S IMMINENT HELP. PACHOMIUS: When a thought oppresses you, do not be downhearted but put up with it in courage, saying, “They swarmed around me closer and closer, but I drove them back in the name of the Lord.” Divine help will arrive at your side immediately, and you will drive them away from you, and courage will compass you round about, and the glory of God will walk with you; and “you will be filled to your soul’s desire.” For the ways of God are humility of heart and gentleness. It is said indeed, “Whom shall I consider if not the humble and the meek?”

If you move ahead in the ways of the Lord, he will watch over you, will give you strength and will fill you with knowledge and wisdom. Your remembrance will remain before him at all times. He will deliver you from the devil, and in your dying day he will grant you his peace. INSTRUCTIONS 9.

THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH. AUGUSTINE: The strength, the fortitude, of Christ’s martyrs, men and women alike, is Christ. If men alone, you see, stood out as being brave and strong in suffering, their courage would be attributed to their being the stronger sex. The reason the weaker sex, too, had been able to suffer bravely is that God was able to make it possible in people of all sorts. Accordingly, whether they are men or women, in their tribulations they all ought to say, “The Lord is my strength,” and “I will love you, Lord, my might.” Love is itself might, or courage; I mean, if you really know how to love, you can endure anything and everything for what you love. And if the lewd kind of love has persuaded lovers to suffer many things bravely for the sake of their frivolities and delinquencies, and if those who set traps for someone else’s chastity do not take any danger into consideration, how much braver in the charity of God ought those to be who love him, since neither alive nor dead can they be separated from him! The unchaste lover obviously loses what he loves, if he is killed for the sake of his beloved; but the brave and just lover of God not only does not lose what he has loved because he dies, but in fact by dying he finds what he has loved. Finally, the lover of delinquency is afraid to confess it; the lover of God is afraid to deny him. SERMON 299E.1.

THE LIVING HOPE OF THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN BORN AGAIN

Overview: The resurrection of Christ has made it possible for human beings to be born again and to become the heirs of God’s promises. This inheritance is being kept in heaven for us and will be fully revealed at the end of time. Christ rises again in us according to our faith, just as earlier he died in us because of our unbelief (Clement of Alexandria). This is a living hope in an incorruptible inheritance (Oecumenius). His mercy is great enough to be able to forgive every sin committed in thought, word and deed, from the beginning to the end of the world (Hilary of Arles). When God is the giver, the things given are incomparably good (Andreas). He died that we should no longer be afraid of death (Bede). It is an inheritance foreknown (Origen), a blessing that is infinite (Hilary of Arles), incorruptible and never fading (Didymus). The blessed never grow tired of it (Bede). 1 Peter 1:3-9 Meanwhile we must persevere through the trials of this life, which are designed to purify our faith and to make us concentrate more fully on Christ and the joy he brings. Having begun in faith, the Christian continues in hope, which will one day be fulfilled in the perfect love of God. Yet some grow cold thinking of an earthly Jerusalem (Andreas). Your room in heaven is ready, so make yourself ready (Bede). Once you have entered your eternal reward, the time spent suffering here below will seem like no time at all (Bede, Andreas), as when a mother gives birth (Origen). So persevere through this temporary grief (Didymus). Just as gold is tested by fire and becomes useful, so also you who live in the world are tried in it (Hermas). The righteous suffer that they may be crowned with glory, but sinners suffer in order to bring judgment on their sins (Chrysostom). Even now the patience of the saints (Bede) shines like refined gold (Athanasius, Hilary of Arles). If you love him now when you have not seen him, think how much you will love him when you finally do see him, when he appears in his glory (Oecumenius, Hilary of Arles, Bede). It is now by faith that your soul exults already in salvation (Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Cyril of Alexandria).

1:3a Blessed Be God

When God Is the Giver. Andreas: They have received immortality and the hope of eternal life. These good things in heaven are better than human things. For this reason they praise God the Father, who shows his great mercy in doing these things faithfully. When God is the giver, the things given are both better and certain to materialize. The statement also has relevance to the Old Testament, for in it God gave the land of the Canaanites to those who believed in him. Catena.

1:3b By His Great Mercy

His Mercy Great Enough. Hilary of Arles: Peter means that God has acted to redeem us without any help from us. His mercy is great enough to be able to forgive every sin which has been committed in thought, word and deed, from the beginning to the end of the world. Introductory Commentary on 1 Peter.

1:3c Born to a Living Hope Through the Resurrection

The Blessings God Gives. Oecumenius: What exactly are the blessings which God has given us in Christ? First, there is hope, not the kind of hope which he gave to Moses, that the people would inherit a promised land in Canaan, for that hope was temporal and corruptible. Rather God gives us a living hope, which has come from the resurrection of Christ. Because of that, he has given all those who believe in Jesus the same resurrection. This is a living hope and an incorruptible inheritance, not stored up here on earth but in heaven, which is much greater. Commentary on 1 Peter.

Christ Rises in Us. Clement of Alexandria: If God first generated us out of matter, the Father of our Lord later regenerated us into a better life. Christ rises again in us according to our faith, just as earlier he died in us because of our unbelief. It was furthermore said that no soul, whether it is righteous or evil, will ever return to a corruptible body in this life, lest by taking on flesh it should once more acquire the opportunity to sin, but rather that both good and evil souls will return in the resurrection body. For soul and body are joined together each according to its proper nature. They fit together rather like stuffing in food, or a construction of stones. Adumbrations.

Rising with Him. Bede: Peter offers praise to God the Father in such a way as to make it perfectly clear that our Lord and Savior is both God and man. He calls God the Father of our Lord precisely because he does not doubt that our Lord had always existed with him as his Son. It is right for us to bless God because although on the strength of our own merits we deserve nothing but death, he has regenerated us by his mercy to a new life. He has done this by the resurrection of his Son who loved our life so much that he gave himself up to death for our sake. When that death was overcome by his resurrection, he offered it to us as a model which might give us hope of rising again ourselves. For he died in order that we should no longer be afraid of death, and he rose again so that we might have a hope of rising again through him. On 1 Peter.

1:4a To an Inheritance Imperishable

The Inheritance Foreknown. Origen: For God foresaw that the faith and behavior of people would be put right by the teaching of the gospel, and so he chose them in Christ before the foundation of the world, predestinating them to be his children by partaking of the Spirit of sonship. For foreknowledge means no more than seeing what is inside a person. It is now no longer foreknowledge in effect but knowledge of something real which has been foreseen. Those to whom Peter is writing were chosen according to foreknowledge, but the calling does not come to people who are hidden from view, for their innate awareness removes any doubt about their true nature. Catena.

An Inheritance Unfading. Didymus the Blind: In order to show how the inheritance of the blessed will continue forever, Peter calls it incorruptible and unfading, demonstrating by this that it is a pure and divine inheritance which will remain uncontaminated in the eyes of those who care nothing for their present wealth, knowing that they have something better and eternal waiting for them. Commentary on 1 Peter.

Of the Second Adam. Hilary of Arles: An incorruptible inheritance must be an infinite one, since everything finite is corruptible. The inheritance of the first Adam was corrupted by sin, but the inheritance of the second Adam can never be touched by the stain of sin. Introductory Commentary on 1 Peter.

Of the Blessed. Bede: God has revealed the doctrine of truth, enjoined the path of good work and both promised and delivered the blessing of an inheritance that is always unfading and uncorrupted. On the Tabernacle and Its Vessels 1.8.35.

1:4b Kept in Heaven for You

Imperishable, Undefiled, Unfading. Bede: Our inheritance is imperishable because it is a heavenly life which neither age nor illness nor death nor any plague can touch. It is undefiled because no unclean person can enter into it. It is unfading, because the heavenly blessings are such that even after long enjoyment of them the blessed never grow tired, whereas those who live in earthly luxury eventually have their fill of it and turn away from it. On 1 Peter.

1:5a Guarded by Faith

Kept by Faith. Andreas: Peter says that God has blessed us greatly and that he has done so through his Son. Furthermore, he says that those who receive these things are those who are protected in the power of God, as Christ himself prayed: “Holy Father, protect them.” If the inheritance is kept in heaven for believers, some grow cold thinking that it has been left for us in the earthly Jerusalem, assuming that the rewards of the kingdom will be acquired by the appearance of luxury every thousand years. They should be asked why they say that this bodily luxury is immortal and unfading but at the same time they limit it to every thousandth year. They need to be told that these words show that the inheritance is in the kingdom of heaven and that it cannot be known by the senses of mortal beings. We have been assured that we shall receive all these great things by the Father himself, who is the one who gives them. For it is certain by other means also that he will bless us with these things through his own Son, and not simply through the Son but through his resurrection. For if everything has been granted to us, what is there left to give? The inheritance is immortal and unfading, and what is even greater, it is not here on earth but in heaven. Catena.

1:5b A Salvation Ready to Be Revealed

Make Yourself Ready. Bede: Your place in the kingdom of heaven is ready, your room in the Father’s house is prepared, your salvation in heaven awaits you. All you have to do, if you want to receive them, is to make yourself ready. But since no one can do this by his own efforts, Peter reminds us that we are kept in the power of God by faith. Nobody can keep doing good works in the strength of his own free will. So we must all ask God to help us, so that we may be brought to perfection by the One who made it possible for us to do good works in the first place. On 1 Peter.

1:6 For a Little While You Suffer Various Trials

In Suffering You Give Birth. Origen: Read “grieve” in this verse in the sense of “suffer,” as in “in grief you shall bring forth children.” For a woman experiences grief not in bearing children but rather in suffering before birth. Exhortation to Martyrdom 39.

Perseverance to the End. Didymus the Blind: Those who are afflicted in various ways because of Christ and who persevere to the end have their faith tested and proved. They ought therefore to rejoice, even if some of their labor appears to be involuntary. Peter calls this kind of labor grief, a word which he uses in one of the two meanings described by the apostle Paul, who said that there is one grief which leads to death and another which leads to repentance. Obviously it is the second of these which is meant here. Commentary on 1 Peter.

Relief Is Near. Andreas: Right now we have to suffer for the sake of the preaching, but relief for those who toil is near. Catena.

Trials for a Time. Bede: Peter says that we must still suffer for a little while, because it is only through the sadness of the present age and its afflictions that it is possible to reach the joys of eternity. He stresses the fact that this is only “for a little while,” because once we have entered our eternal reward, the years we spent suffering here below will seem like no time at all. On 1 Peter.

1:7 Genuine Faith Tested by Fire

Gold Tried by Fire. Hermas: Just as gold is tried by fire and becomes useful, so also you who live in the world are tried in it. So then, you who remain in it and pass through the flames will be purified. For just as gold casts off its dross, so also you will cast off all sorrow and tribulation, becoming pure and useful for the building of the tower. Shepherd, Visions 3.1.

The Saints Shine Like Refined Gold. Athanasius: Because the saints saw that the divine fire would cleanse them and benefit them, they did not shrink back from or get discouraged by the trials which they faced. Rather than being hurt by what they went through, they grew and were made better, shining like gold that has been refined in a fire. Festal Letters 10.

Not All Suffer Now. Chrysostom: The righteous suffer so that they may be crowned with glory, but sinners suffer in order to bring judgment on their sins. But not all sinners pay the price of their sins in this life, but await the resurrection. And not all the righteous suffer now, lest you think that evil is to be praised and you come to hate the good. Catena.

Faith More Precious Than Gold. Hilary of Arles: The glory of the redeemed will never fade after they have been raised from the dead, for it will have withstood the fire of temptation, whereas the gold of this world is said to rust. Introductory Commentary on 1 Peter.

Patience Like Gold. Bede: It is appropriate that Peter should compare Christian patience with gold, because just as there is no metal more precious than that, so patience is worthy of all honor in the sight of God. On 1 Peter.

1:8a Without Having Seen Him You Love Him

When He Appears. Oecumenius: If you love him now when you have not seen him but have only heard about him, think how much you will love him when you finally do see him and when he appears in his glory! For if his suffering and death have drawn you to him, how much more will you be attracted by his incredible splendor, when he will grant you the salvation of your souls as your reward. Commentary on 1 Peter.

1:8b With Unutterable Joy

The Sweetness of Heavenly Blessing. Hilary of Arles: Not even a thousand ironclad tongues can sound out the sweetness of the heavenly blessings. Introductory Commentary on 1 Peter.

Exalted Joy. Bede: To ask joy of this sort is not to plead only with your words for entry into the heavenly fatherland but also to strive with labor to receive it. Homilies on the Gospels 2.12.

1:9 The Outcome of Faith

Made Incorruptible by Grace. Clement of Alexandria: It appears from this that the soul is not naturally incorruptible but is made so by the grace of God, through faith, righteousness and understanding. Adumbrations.

The Soul Prays and Sings. Origen: If it is the mind which prays and sings in the spirit and the mind which receives perfection and salvation, how is it that Peter says: “As the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvation of your souls”? If the soul neither prays nor sings with the spirit, how shall it hope for salvation? On First Principles 2.8.3.

The Harbinger of Salvation. Cyril of Alexandria: Unbelief is a horrible and wicked thing, but faith is the highest good, for it is the harbinger of our entire salvation. Catena.

OVERVIEW: John records that it was evening, which indeed was the case for minds darkened with grief (PETER CHRYSOLOGUS). But Jesus does not delay in comforting his disciples with his presence (CHRYSOSTOM). He appeared through doors that were locked, which shows the extent of the disciples’ terror, their fear having caused them to lock not only their house but also their hearts (PETER CHRYSOLOGUS). And yet, Christ still appears among the disciples through those locked doors, giving us a foretaste of what our resurrected bodies will be like (AUGUSTINE). He entered through those closed doors with the same body that entered through the closed door of the Virgin’s womb (GREGORY THE GREAT). What happened with Christ’s body after the resurrection is no more amazing than what happened in the miracles he did before the resurrection, such as walking on the water (CAESARIUS).

Jesus stands among them as true God (GREGORY OF NYSSA) with death’s power banished from his body (CYRIL). In his greeting of peace he breathes into them a tranquility as well as a sharing in the Holy Spirit (MAXIMUS). The peace he gave was himself, since his presence always brings tranquility of soul (CYRIL). He shows them his hands and his side, demonstrating that what has occurred is a true, bodily resurrection (IRENAEUS). When Jesus showed the disciples the scars from his wounds, he proved to us all that the resurrected body is the same body that had died (THEODORET), although now glorified (JEROME). The wounds that brought us healing also heal unbelieving hearts (LEO). Jesus proved he was both human and divine after the resurrection (LEO). Jesus’ earlier prophecy that no one would take their joy away is now fulfilled in his presence among them (CHRYSOSTOM).

20:19a Evening of the First Day and Locked Doors

AN EVENING MORE BY GRIEF THAN BY TIME. PETER CHRYSOLOGUS: It was evening more by grief than by time. It was evening for minds darkened by the somber cloud of grief and sadness because although the report of the resurrection had given the slight glimmer of twilight, nevertheless the Lord had not yet shone through with his light in all its brilliance. SERMON 84.2.

JESUS DOES NOT DELAY. CHRYSOSTOM: It was likely that when the disciples heard these things from Mary they would either not believe the woman—or if they did believe her, they would be sad that he had not considered them worthy of such a vision even though he promised to meet them in Galilee. Since this was so, he did not let a single day pass so that they might not dwell on this and become distracted. Rather, he brought them to a state of longing by their knowledge that he was risen and by what they heard from the woman. And when they were thirsting to see him and were greatly afraid (which especially made their yearning greater), he then, when it was evening, presented himself before them. And he did so in a very marvelous way. And why did he appear in the “evening”? Because that was probably when they would be especially fearful. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 86.2.

DOORS AND HEARTS ARE LOCKED. PETER CHRYSOLOGUS: The extent of their terror and the disquiet caused by such an atrocity had simultaneously locked the house and the hearts of the disciples and had so completely prevented light from having any access that for their senses, overwhelmed more and more by grief, the murkiness of night increased and became more pervasive. No darkness of night can be compared with the gloom of grief and fear because they are incapable of being tempered by any light of either consolation or counsel. SERMON 84.2.

THE STATE OF OUR RESURRECTED BODIES. AUGUSTINE: But since you have repeatedly asked me what I thought about the resurrection of bodies and the future functions of the members in that incorruptibility and immortality, listen briefly to what could with the Lord’s help be further discussed. We must hold most firmly that point on which the statement of the holy Scripture is truthful and clear, namely, that these visible and earthly bodies that are now called natural will be spiritual in the resurrection of the faithful and righteous. But I do not know how the character of a spiritual body, unknown as it is to us, can be either comprehended or taught. Certainly there will be no corruption in them, and for this reason they will not then need this corruptible food that they now need. They will, nonetheless, be able to take and really consume such food, not out of need. Otherwise, the Lord would not have taken food after his resurrection. And he offered us an example of bodily resurrection so that the apostle says of him, “If the dead will not rise, neither has Christ risen.” When he appeared with all the members of his body and used their functions, he also displayed the places of his wounds.

I have always taken these as scars, not as actual wounds, and saw them as the result of his power, not of some necessity. He revealed the ease of this power, especially when he either showed himself in another form or appeared as his real self to the disciples gathered in the house when the doors were closed. LETTER 95.7.

INCORRUPTIBLE BUT TOUCHABLE. GREGORY THE GREAT: The Lord’s body that made its entrance to the disciples through closed doors was the same as that which issued before the eyes of people from the Virgin’s closed womb at his birth. Is it surprising if he who was now going to live forever made his entrance through closed doors after his resurrection, who on his coming in order to die made his appearance from the unopened womb of a virgin? But because the faith of those who beheld it wavered concerning the body they could see, he showed them at once his hands and his side, offering them the body that he brought in through the closed doors to touch. By this action he revealed two wonderful, and according to human reason quite contradictory, things. He showed them that after his resurrection his body was both incorruptible and yet could be touched. . . . By showing us that it is incorruptible, he would urge us on toward our reward, and by offering it as touchable he would dispose us toward faith. He manifested himself as both incorruptible and touchable to show us that his body after his resurrection was of the same nature as ours but of a different sort of glory. FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 26.

RESURRECTION WAS ONE MORE MIRACLE. CAESARIUS OF ARLES: You ask me and say, If he entered through closed doors, where is the bulk of his body? And I reply, If he walked on the sea, where was the weight of his body? But he [walked on the sea] as the Lord. Did he, then, because he arose, cease to be the Lord? What about the fact that he also made Peter walk upon the sea? What divinity could do in the one, faith fulfilled in the other. Christ was able to do it, and Peter could because Christ willed it. Therefore, when you begin to examine the reasonableness of miracles by your human senses, fear that you may lose your faith. Do you not know that nothing is impossible for God? So when anyone tells you, If he entered through closed doors there was no body, answer him on the contrary, No, if he was touched there was body, and if he ate there was a body. The one thing he did by a miracle, the other by nature. SERMON 175.2.

JESUS IS TRULY GOD. GREGORY OF NYSSA: He did not remain in death’s power. The wounds that his body had received from the iron of the nails and spear offered no impediment to his rising again. After his resurrection he showed himself whenever he wanted to his disciples. When he wished to be present with them, he was in their midst without being seen, needing no entrance through open doors. . . . All of these occurrences, and whatever other similar facts we know about his life, require no further argument to show that they are signs of deity and of a sublime and supreme power. THE GREAT CATECHISM 32.

DEATH’S POWER BANISHED FROM THE BODY. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: By his unexpected entry through closed doors Christ proved once more that by nature he was God and also that he was none other than the one who had lived among them. By showing his wounded side and the marks of the nails, he convinced us beyond a doubt that he had raised the temple of his body, the very body that had hung on the cross. He restored that body that he had worn, destroying death’s power over all flesh, for as God, he was life itself. Why would he need to show them his hands and side if, as some perversely think, he did not rise again bodily? And if the goal was not to have the disciples think about him in this way, why not appear in another form and, disdaining any likeness of the flesh, conjure up other thoughts in their minds? But he obviously thought it was that important to convince them of the resurrection of his body that, even when events would have seemed to call for him to change the mode of his body into some more ineffable and surpassing majesty, he nonetheless resolved in his providence to appear once more as he had been in the past [i.e., in the flesh] so that they might realize he was wearing no other form than the one in which he had suffered crucifixion. Our eyes could not have endured the glory of his holy body, if he had chosen to reveal it to his disciples before he ascended to the Father. Anyone who reflects on the transfiguration will easily infer this is the case. . . . since, it says, they could not endure the sight but fell on their faces. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 12.1.

20:19b Peace Be With You

THE SPIRIT BREATHES TRANQUILITY. MAXIMUS THE CONFESSOR: Through his greeting of peace he breathes on them and bestows tranquility as well as a sharing in the Holy Spirit. CHAPTERS ON KNOWLEDGE 2.46.

THE PEACE OF CHRIST. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: When Christ greeted his holy disciples with the words “peace be with you,” by peace he meant himself, for Christ’s presence always brings tranquility of soul. This is the grace Paul desired for believers when he wrote, “The peace of Christ which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds.” The peace of Christ which passes all understanding is in fact the Spirit of Christ, who fills those who share in him with every blessing. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 12.1.

20:20 Jesus’ Hands and Side and the Disciples’ Rejoicing

A TRUE BODILY RESURRECTION. IRENAEUS: As Christ rose in the substance of flesh and pointed out to his disciples the mark of the nails and the opening in his side (now these are the tokens of that flesh that rose from the dead), so “shall he also,” it is said, “raise us up by his own power.” What, then, are mortal bodies? Can they be souls? Not at all, for souls are incorporeal when compared with mortal bodies. . . . We must therefore conclude that it is in reference to the flesh that death is mentioned. This [flesh], after the soul’s departure, becomes breathless and inanimate and is decomposed gradually into the earth from which it was taken. This, then, is what is mortal. And it is concerning this that [Paul] says, “He shall also enliven your mortal bodies.” AGAINST HERESIES 5.7.1.

THE MARKS OF THE NAILS. THEODORET OF CYR: And so the reason why the Lord stood in the midst of the disciples, even though the doors were closed, after the passion but not before it, was that you might know that your body was sown as a physical body but raised as a spiritual body. But in order that you might not think that what rises is something different, when Thomas did not believe in the resurrection, he shows him the marks of the nails. He shows him the scars of the wounds. He who healed everybody even before the resurrection could have healed himself—especially after the resurrection, could he not? Yes, but through the marks of the nails that he shows he teaches that it is this [body], while through the closed doors by which he enters, he reveals that it is not such a [body as it was]. It was this [body], in order that he might fulfill the goal of the divine plan by raising that which had died, but it was such a body [as it was], in order that it might not lapse into corruption again and not be subject to death again. DIALOGUE 2.56.

A GLIMPSE OF GLORIFIED RESURRECTED BODIES. JEROME: The substance of our resurrection bodies will certainly be the same as now, though of higher glory. For the Savior after his descent into hell had the same body in which he was crucified. He showed the disciples the marks of the nails in his hands and the wound in his side. AGAINST JOVINIANUS 1.36.

HEALING WOUNDS OF UNBELIEVING HEARTS. LEO THE GREAT: He offers to the doubters’ eyes the marks of the cross that remained in his hands and feet and invites them to handle him with careful scrutiny. He does this because the traces of the nails and spear had been retained to heal the wounds of unbelieving hearts, so that not with wavering faith but with the most certain conviction they might comprehend that the nature that had been lain in the sepulcher was to sit on God the Father’s throne. SERMON 73.3.

JESUS IS HUMAN AND DIVINE AFTER THE RESURRECTION. LEO THE GREAT: He showed the wound in his side, the marks of the nails and all the signs of his quite recent suffering, saying, “See my hands and feet, that it is I. Handle me and see that a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see me have,” in order that the properties of his divine and human nature might be acknowledged to remain still inseparable. He also did this so that we might know the Word was not different from the flesh so that we can also confess that the one Son of God is both the Word and flesh. LETTER 28.5.

JESUS’ PROPHECY OF JOY COMES TRUE. CHRYSOSTOM: Do you see the words issuing in deeds? For what he said before the crucifixion, that “I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you,” this he now accomplished in deed. But all these things led them to a most exact faith. For since they had an endless war with the Jews, he continually repeated “Peace be to you,” giving them consolation to counterbalance the strife. And so this was the first word that he spoke to them after the resurrection. (Similarly Paul keeps on saying, “Grace be to you and peace.”). To the women, however, he gives good news of joy, because they were in sorrow and had received this as the first curse. Therefore he gives good news to each in their own situation: to the men he gave peace because of their war; to the women he gave joy because of their sorrow. Then having put away all painful things, he tells of the victory of the cross, and this was the “peace.” HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 86.2-3.

OVERVIEW: Jesus reiterates his comfort for the troubled minds of the disciples (PETER CHRYSOLOGUS). He commissions the disciples in love (PETER CHRYSOLOGUS), sending them on a mission to preach his message of repentance and forgiveness. They were in no way to follow their own will but the will of him that sent them (CYRIL). As the Father had sent his Son in love, so now he sends his disciples, who may undergo the same persecution Jesus did (GREGORY THE GREAT). He gradually prepares them to receive more and more of the Spirit (GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS). Christ gives his Spirit to the disciples more than once after the resurrection: He first gave it while he was on earth and later from heaven when the Spirit descended on the disciples at Pentecost, where they manifested the Spirit’s power (AUGUSTINE). This was the second breath of the Spirit, the first breath in Genesis having been stifled by willful sin (CYRIL OF JERUSALEM), while the second would enliven their faith to be bold in the preaching of the Gospel (THEODORE). The Spirit, which is the breath of God (CYRIL), is the Son’s to give (ATHANASIUS). He prepares the apostles for being sent by breathing his Spirit on them, giving them the spiritual power to remit sins (CHRYSOSTOM). The authority that the apostles have is found in Christ, and their unity, and that of the church that grew from them, is traced back to their one Lord, who binds them together through the Spirit (CYPRIAN).

Forgiveness is given by the Spirit through all of Christ’s apostles who receive his authority (THEODORE) to both forgive and retain sins. Both binding and loosing sin are allowed to the church; neither is allowed to heresy (AMBROSE). Christ gave this authority to all of the apostles (JEROME) and confirms the sentence they pronounce (CHRYSOSTOM). They can only forgive what God forgives (ORIGEN). The transformative power of ordination given by the Spirit to the apostles provided them with the strength they needed to fulfill their calling (CYRIL). But those who receive such power through the gift of ordination should understand that with great power comes great responsibility (GREGORY THE GREAT, CHRYSOSTOM).

20:21 Peace Again, and the Disciples’ Commissioning

PEACE REITERATED TO COMFORT TROUBLED MINDS. PETER CHRYSOLOGUS: What does this repetition in bestowing peace mean, except that he wants the tranquility that he had announced to their minds individually also to be kept collectively among them by granting peace repeatedly? He knew, at any rate, that they were going to have far from insignificant struggles in the future stemming from his delay, with one boasting that he had persevered in faith and another in grief because he had doubted. . . . Peter denies, John flees, Thomas doubts, all forsake him: unless Christ had granted forgiveness for these transgressions by his peace, even Peter, who was the first in rank of all of them, would have been considered inferior and undeserving of his subsequent elevation to the primacy. SERMON 84.5.

HE SENDS THEM IN LOVE. PETER CHRYSOLOGUS: The mention of his having been sent does not diminish him as Son but declares that what he wants to be understood here is not the power of the one who sends but the charity of the one who has been sent. This is why he says, “Just as the Father,” not the Lord, “has sent me, so I send you.” In other words, I send you no longer with the authority of a Master but with all the affection of someone who loves you. I send you to endure hunger, to suffer the burden of chains, to the squalor of prison, to bear all kinds of punishments and to undergo bitter death for all: all of which charity, and not power, enjoins on human minds. SERMON 84.6.

THE APOSTOLIC MISSION. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Christ says that he sent the apostles even as the Father had sent him, that they might fully comprehend their mission: to call sinners to repentance and to minister to those who were caught up in evil, whether of body or soul. In all their dealings on this earth, they were not in any way to follow their own will but the will of him who sent them. They were also called to save the world by their teaching, so far as was possible. And in truth we shall find that holy disciples were eager to show the utmost enthusiasm in performing all these things. It is not difficult for people to see this, if they give their attention to the Acts of the Apostles and the words of the holy Paul. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 12.1.

THE FATHER SENDS THE SON, THE SON SENDS YOU. GREGORY THE GREAT: The Father sent his Son, appointing him to become a human person for the redemption of the human race. He willed him to come into the world to suffer—and yet he loved his Son whom he sent to suffer. The Lord is sending his chosen apostles into the world, not to the world’s joys but to suffer as he himself was sent. Therefore as the Son is loved by the Father and yet is sent to suffer, so also the disciples are loved by the Lord, who nevertheless sends them into the world to suffer. FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 26.

20:22 The Breath of the Spirit Given and Received

THE GRADUAL MANIFESTATION OF THE SPIRIT. GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS: [Christ’s disciples] were able to receive [the Spirit] on three occasions: before he was glorified by the passion, after he was glorified by the resurrection and after his ascension. . . . Now the first of these manifests him—the healing of the sick and casting out of evil spirits and so does that breathing on them after the resurrection, which was clearly a divine inspiration. And so too the present distribution of the fiery tongues. But the first manifested him indistinctly, the second more expressly, this present one more perfectly, since he is no longer present only in energy but . . . substantially, associating with us and dwelling in us. ON PENTECOST, ORATION 41.11.

TWOFOLD GIVING OF THE SPIRIT. AUGUSTINE: But the reason why, after his resurrection, he both gave the Holy Spirit, first on earth, and afterward sent him from heaven, is in my judgment this: that “love is shed abroad in our hearts,” by that gift itself, whereby we love God and our neighbors, according to those two commandments, “on which hang all the law and the prophets.” And Jesus Christ signified this by giving them the Holy Spirit once on earth because of the love of our neighbor and a second time from heaven because of the love of God. And if some other reason may perhaps be given for this double gift of the Holy Spirit, at any rate we ought not to doubt that the same Holy Spirit was given when Jesus breathed on them, of whom he says, “Go, baptize all nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” where this Trinity is especially commended to us. It is therefore he who was also given from heaven on the day of Pentecost, that is, ten days after the Lord ascended into heaven. ON THE TRINITY 15.26.46.

RECEIVING THE SPIRIT DISTINGUISHED FROM BEING CLOTHED IN IT. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM: This was the second time he breathed on human beings—his first breath having been stifled through willful sins. . . . But though he bestowed his grace then, he was to lavish it yet more bountifully. And he says to them, I am ready to give it even now, but the vessel cannot yet hold it. For awhile therefore receive as much grace as you can bear. And look forward for yet more. “But stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high.” Receive it in part now. Then, you shall wear it in its fullness. For the one who receives often possesses only a part of the gift. But the one who is clothed is completely enfolded by his robe. CATECHETICAL LECTURES 17.12.

THE LIFE-GIVING POWER OF THE SPIRIT. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: With these words he teaches them the identity of the giver and the distributor of all these goods. His “breathing” convinces them to have no doubt about this because the body was created in the beginning as immobile and inanimate but then received life, which it did not have in itself when the soul entered into it through “breathing,” as the blessed Moses said. After Jesus breathed for the first time, he mentioned the Spirit in order to show that, as then nothing prevented the body from living even though it did not by nature possess [life], which the soul by entering gave it, so now they had to believe that the body of human beings was made imperishable through resurrection, because the Spirit who gives it this strength is powerful. Therefore he said to them, You must truly believe in what has been said to you and must have no doubts about the resurrection. You must not reject the honor of the apostolate because you are scared of being sent as messengers of a new doctrine into the world. You will indeed receive the effect of the Spirit, which, at the right time, will confer on you resurrection and immortality.

Through the Spirit, you will receive in this life an amazing, supernatural strength to perform unheard-of miracles by a mere word. You will be able to face easily any afflictions that may befall you because of those who oppose your preaching. And even though there were many other things to be accomplished in them through the Spirit, without mentioning them, he mentioned the most important argument of all. Here, he says, is what will clearly demonstrate to you the strength of the Spirit. Indeed, as soon as you receive it, you will be able to absolve the sins of whomever you want, as well as to pronounce a sentence of condemnation against anyone. If you, who are human, after receiving the gift of the Spirit, will be able to do all those things that are of God—indeed, only he has the power to judge—I leave to you to consider what the effectiveness of the Spirit is. Once you have received it, you must no longer doubt. COMMENTARY ON JOHN 7.20.22.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE BREATH OF GOD. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: The Son, sharing the same nature as God the Father, has the Spirit in the same manner that the Father would be understood to have the Spirit. In other words, the Spirit is not something added or which comes from without, for it would be naïve—even insane—to hold such an opinion. But God the Father has the Spirit, just as each one of us has our own breath within us that pours forth from the innermost parts of the body. This is why Christ physically breathed on his disciples, showing that as the breath proceeds physically from the human mouth, so too does Christ, in a manner befitting God, pour forth the [Spirit] from the divine essence. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 9.1.

THE SPIRIT IS THE SON’S TO GIVE. ATHANASIUS: [He gave the Spirit] to the disciples, demonstrating his Godhead and his majesty and intimating that he was not inferior but equal to the Spirit. And so, he gave the Spirit, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” and “I send him,” and “he shall glorify me,” and “Whatever he hears is what he shall speak.” . . . Through whom then and from whom is it that the Spirit should be given but through the Son, to whom also the Spirit belongs? And when were we enabled to receive it, except when the Word became man? DISCOURSES AGAINST THE ARIANS 1.12.50.

PREPARED TO RECEIVE THE SPIRIT. CHRYSOSTOM: How is it that he says elsewhere, “If I do not go away, he will not come,” and yet he gives them the Spirit here? Some say that by breathing he did not give them the Spirit but prepared them to receive the Spirit by breathing on them. For if Daniel’s senses were so overpowered by the sight of the angel, how would they have been overwhelmed in receiving that unutterable gift, if he had not first prepared them for it! . . . It would not be wrong, however, to say that they received then the gift of a certain spiritual power, not to raise the dead and do miracles but to remit sins. For the gifts of the Spirit are of different kinds. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 86.3.

THE BEGINNING PROCEEDS FROM UNITY. CYPRIAN: To all the apostles, after his resurrection, he gives an equal power and says, “As the Father has sent me, even so send I you: Receive the Holy Spirit. Whoever’s sins you remit, they shall be remitted to him. And whoever’s sins you retain, they shall be retained.” And yet, that he might promote unity, he arranged by his authority the origin of that unity, as beginning from one . . . so that the beginning proceeds from unity. And this one church, also, the Holy Spirit in the Song of Songs designated in the person of our Lord, saying, “My dove, my spotless one, is but one. She is the only one of her mother, elect of her that bore her.” THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH 4.

20:23 The Breath of the Spirit and Forgiveness

THE APOSTLES RECEIVE CHRIST’S AUTHORITY. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: What truly wonderful gifts! Indeed, it does not only give the power over the elements and the faculty to make signs and wonders but also concedes that God may name them [judges], and therefore the servants receive from him the authority that is proper to him. The prerogative to absolve and retain sins only belongs to God, and the Jews sometimes raised this objection with the Savior, saying, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” The Lord generously gave this authority to those who honored him. COMMENTARY ON JOHN 7.20.22-25.

THE CHURCH FORGIVES AND RETAINS SIN. AMBROSE: They affirm that they are showing great reverence for God, to whom alone they reserve the power of forgiving sins. But in truth no one does him greater injury than those who choose to prune his commandments and reject the office entrusted to them. For the Lord Jesus himself said in the Gospel, “Receive the Holy Spirit; whoever’s sins you forgive they are forgiven to them, and whoever’s sins you retain, they are retained.” Who is it that honors him most, the one who obeys his bidding or the one who rejects it?

The church holds fast its obedience on either side by both retaining and remitting sin. Heresy is on the one side cruel and on the other disobedient. It wishes to bind what it will not loosen and will not loosen what it has bound, whereby it condemns itself by its own sentence. For the Lord willed that the power of binding and of loosing should be the same, and he sanctioned each by a similar condition. So whoever does not have the power to loose does not have the power to bind. For as, according to the Lord’s word, the one who has the power to bind also has the power to loose, their teaching destroys itself, inasmuch as those who deny that they have the power of loosing ought also to deny that of binding. For how can the one be allowed and the other disallowed? It is plain and evident that either each is allowed or each is disallowed in the case of those to whom each has been given. Each is allowed to the church; neither is allowed to heresy. For this power has been entrusted to priests alone. It is only right, therefore, that the church, which has true priests, claims it. Heresy, which does not have the priests of God, cannot claim it. And by not claiming this power heresy pronounces its own sentence, that not possessing priests it cannot claim priestly power. CONCERNING REPENTANCE 1.2.6-7.

THE CHURCH FOUNDED ON ALL OF THE APOSTLES. JEROME: But you say the church was founded on Peter, although elsewhere the same is attributed to all the apostles, and they all receive the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and the strength of the church depends on them all alike, yet one among the twelve is chosen so that when a head has been appointed, there may be no occasion for schism. AGAINST JOVINIANUS 1.26.

THE MASTER CONFIRMS THE SENTENCE OF THE SERVANTS. CHRYSOSTOM: Anyone who considers how much it means to be able, in his humanity still entangled in flesh and blood, to approach that blessed and immaculate Being will see clearly how great the honor is that the grace of the Spirit has bestowed on priests. It is through them that this work is performed, and other work no less than this in its bearing on our dignity and our salvation.

For earth’s inhabitants, having their life in this world, have been entrusted with the stewardship of heavenly things, and they have received an authority that God has not given to angels or archangels. Not to them was it said, “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose, shall be loosed.” Those who are lords on earth have indeed the power to bind, but only people’s bodies. But this binding touches the very soul and reaches through heaven. What priests do on earth, God ratifies above. The Master confirms the decisions of his servants. Indeed, he has given them nothing less than the whole authority of heaven. For he says, “Whoever’s sins you forgive are forgiven, and whoever’s sins you retain, they are retained.” What authority could be greater than that? “The Father has given all judgment to the Son.” But I see that the Son has placed it all in their hands. For they have been raised to this prerogative, as though they were already translated to heaven and had transcended human nature and were freed from our passions.

Again, if a king confers on one of his subjects the right to imprison and release again at will, that person is the envy and admiration of all. But although the priest has received from God an authority as much greater than that, as heaven is more precious than earth and souls than bodies, some people think he has received so slight an honor that they can imagine someone entrusted with it actually despising the gift. God save us from such madness! For it is patently mad to despise this great office without which we cannot attain to salvation or God’s good promises. For if one “cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven unless he is born again of water and the Spirit,” and anyone who does not eat the flesh of the Lord and drink his blood is excluded from eternal life, and all these things can happen through no other agency except their sacred hands (the priests’, I mean), how can anyone, without their help, escape the fire of Gehenna or win his appointed crown? ON THE PRIESTHOOD 3.5.

WHEN TO FORGIVE, WHEN TO RETAIN. ORIGEN: Consider the person inspired by Jesus as the apostles were and who can be known by his fruits as someone who has received the Holy Spirit and become spiritual by being led by the Spirit as a son of God to do everything by reason. This person forgives whatever God forgives and retains sins that cannot be healed, serving God like the prophets by speaking not his own words but those of the divine will. So he, too, serves God, who alone has authority to forgive. ON PRAYER 28.8.

TRANSFORMING POWER OF ORDINATION. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: After dignifying the holy apostles with the glorious distinction of the apostleship and appointing them ministers and priests of the divine altar, as I have just said, he at once sanctifies them by promising his Spirit to them through the outward sign of his breath, that we might be firmly convinced that the Holy Spirit is not alien to the Son but consubstantial with him and through him proceeding from the Father. He shows that the gift of the Spirit necessarily attends those who are ordained by him to be apostles of God. And why? Because they could have done nothing pleasing to God and could not have triumphed over the snares of sin if they had not been “clothed with power from on high” and been transformed into something other than they were before. . . . [Jesus] consecrates by actual sanctification, making people partakers in his nature, through participation in the Spirit and in some sort strengthening the nature of humanity into a power and glory that is superhuman. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 12.1.

WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY. GREGORY THE GREAT: It is pleasant to observe the disciples, lifted up to a height of glory equal to the burden of humility to which they were called. You see how they not only acquire peace of mind concerning themselves but even receive the power of releasing others from their bonds. They share in the right of divine judgment so that as God’s vicars they may withhold forgiveness of sins from some and grant it to others. So it was fitting that only those who had consented to be humbled for the sake of God be raised up by him. Those who feared God’s strict judgment were made judges of hearts. Those who were themselves fearful of being condemned condemn some and set others free. Their place in the church is now held by the bishops. Those who obtain the position of governing receive authority to loose and to bind. It is a great honor, but the burden is heavy. In truth it is difficult for one who does not know how to exercise control over his own life to become the judge of someone else’s life. FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 26.

IMPORTANCE OF PRIESTLY VIGILANCE. CHRYSOSTOM: You should hold your pastor in high honor. You care about your own affairs, and if you care for them well you won’t have to give an account to anyone else. But your pastor, even if he orders his own life well, if he does not have an anxious concern for your life as well, yes and of all those around him, he is sent to hell with the evildoers. . . . Therefore, knowing the greatness of their danger, give them a large measure of your goodwill. . . . They should receive your most favorable attention. But if you join with the rest in trampling on them . . . and throw them into despondency, you weaken their hands and render them, as well as yourselves, an easy prey to the waves, no matter how courageous they are. . . . You have respect for secular authorities, but when God appoints do we despise him who is appointed and abuse him and besmirch him with ten thousand reproaches, and though forbidden to judge our brothers, do we sharpen our tongue against our pastors? . . . I am not saying that I approve of those who exercise their pastorate unworthily, but I do greatly pity them and weep for them. . . . And even if there is much to say against the way they have lived their lives, this in no way invalidates what they do by commission from God. . . . But why am I speaking only of pastors? Not even an angel or archangel can do anything on its own. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit do it all while the pastor only furnishes the tongue and the hand. For it would not be right that the salvation of those who come to the sacraments in faith should be endangered by another’s wickedness. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 86.4.

OVERVIEW: Thomas, a twin not only in name but also in how he writes of divine things, is absent when Christ appears (ORIGEN). His absence is not contradicted by Luke’s account of the Emmaus disciples’ return to the Eleven (BEDE). His return was for our benefit since his questioning helped confirm our belief (GREGORY THE GREAT). Even though Thomas was absent, he still received the gift of the Spirit, just as Eldad and Medad did when they were absent from the seventy elders who had received the Spirit under Moses (CYRIL).

Thomas’s request to see Jesus’ wounds is what the other apostles would have liked to do as well, but he also exhibits precision and carefulness in his request (ORIGEN). He believes the disciples concerning Jesus’ death but not his resurrection (AMMONIUS). Jesus shows Thomas his pierced hands and feet, showing Israel its only ever crucified king (JUSTIN). Jesus also proves to the disciples that it is a bodily resurrection he has undergone. The disciples were assembled on the eighth day when Jesus appeared among them, a practice that still continues as the church gathers on the eighth day to receive its risen Lord in the Eucharist (CYRIL). Jesus delays his appearance eight days to allow Thomas to be instructed by the other disciples as well as increasing his desire and future faith (CHRYSOSTOM). Although Jesus’ appearance despite the locked doors is difficult to understand, we should also admit the limits of our senses in understanding things beyond our comprehension (HILARY).

Jesus condescends to our senses in order to prove he is truly resurrected (CHRYSOSTOM) with a body that has real flesh and bones (THEODORET) and is witnessed to by those who handled the Word of life (TERTULLIAN). The wounds evidence the fact that it is the same body raised that had died (HIPPOLYTUS), albeit more glorious (JEROME). He chose not to wipe away the traces of the wounds, which also causes one to wonder whether martyrs will retain their wounds (AUGUSTINE). Jesus then tells Thomas to put his hand in his side to further prove the resurrection—but how could Thomas’s hand survive such an encounter with the living God unless God’s grace enabled him (ROMANUS)? This act, and all the other resurrection evidences, proves beyond a doubt the fact of the resurrection (GREGORY OF NYSSA) so that those of us who were absent, like Thomas, should take to heart Jesus’ imperative to stop doubting and believe (GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS). Jesus led Thomas to a confession of his divinity (ATHANASIUS, AMBROSE). When Thomas touched Christ’s flesh, he believed he touched God (CASSIAN, AUGUSTINE). In a minority opinion, Theodore expresses his own doubts that Thomas knew that Jesus was God. He rather believes Thomas was only praising God for the accomplished miracle (THEODORE). But the consensus of patristic opinion is that while Thomas did indeed see Christ’s flesh, he confessed the divinity, which he could not see (GREGORY THE GREAT).

Throughout this account, Christ shows his patience with Thomas’s lack of faith, and ours (CYRIL), since he knows that many blessings that lead to resurrection are indeed hidden under the outward veil of suffering (AMBROSE). It is comforting then to know that our faith rests on more than the eyes can see (LEO, JOHN OF CARPATHUS).

20:24 Thomas, Called Didymus, Is Absent

A TWIN IN WORD. ORIGEN: “Thomas” is called Didymus, which means “Twin,” because he was a kind of twin in word, writing the divine things in two ways and copying Christ, who spoke to those outside of his circle in parables, but to his own disciples he spoke privately about everything. And it is not improper to say that Christ’s genuine disciples achieve this double equipment in word that Thomas perhaps had already but even more so afterward. But it may be said that the interpretation of this alone has been recorded because the Evangelist was concerned that Greeks coming into contact with the gospel should notice the peculiarity of the interpretation of the only name specially interpreted, so as to find the cause of his name being set forth also in Greek. FRAGMENT 106 ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN.

DOES JOHN CONTRADICT LUKE? BEDE: But why does John say that Thomas was not with them, when Luke writes that two disciples, one of whom was Cleopas, on their return to Jerusalem [from Emmaus] found the Eleven assembled and those who were with them? We must understand that Thomas had gone out and that in the interval of his absence, Jesus came and stood in the midst. EXPOSITION ON THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 6.24.36.

THOMAS ABSENT FOR US. GREGORY THE GREAT: It was not an accident that that particular disciple was not present. The divine mercy ordained that a doubting disciple should, by feeling in his Master the wounds of the flesh, heal in us the wounds of unbelief. The unbelief of Thomas is more profitable to our faith than the belief of the other disciples. For the touch by which he is brought to believe confirms our minds in belief, beyond all question. FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 26.

DID ABSENT THOMAS RECEIVE THE SPIRIT? CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: How, then, someone may not unreasonably inquire, if Thomas was absent, was he in fact made partaker in the Holy Spirit when the Savior appeared to the disciples and breathed on them, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit”? We reply that the power of the Spirit pervaded every person who received grace and fulfilled the aim of the Lord who gave him to them. And Christ gave the Spirit not to some only but to all the disciples. Therefore, if any were absent, they also received him, the munificence of the giver not being confined to those only who were present but extending to the entire company of the holy apostles. And that this interpretation is not strained, or our idea extravagant, we may convince you from holy Scripture itself, bringing forward as a proof a passage in the books of Moses. The Lord God commanded the all-wise Moses to select seventy elders from the assembly of the Jews and plainly declared, “I will take of the Spirit that is on you and will put it on them.” Moses, as he was asked, brought them together and fulfilled the divine decree. Only it happened that two of the men who were included in the number of the seventy elders were left behind and remained in the assembly, that is, Eldad and Medad. Then when God put on them all the divine Spirit, as he had promised, those whom Moses had collected together immediately received grace and prophesied. But none the less also the two who were in the assembly prophesied, and, in fact, the grace from above came on them first. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 12.1.

20:25 Thomas Has to See and Feel for Himself

REOPENING OLD WOUNDS. PETER CHRYSOLOGUS: Why does the hand of a faithful disciple in this fashion retrace those wounds that an unholy hand inflicted? Why does the hand of a dutiful follower strive to reopen the side that the lance of an unholy soldier pierced? Why does the harsh curiosity of a servant repeat the tortures imposed by the rage of persecutors? Why is a disciple so inquisitive about proving from his torments that he is the Lord, for his pains that he is God, and from his wounds that he is the heavenly Physician? . . .

Why Thomas, do you alone, a little too clever a sleuth for your own good, insist that only the wounds be brought forward in testimony to faith? What if these wounds had been made to disappear with the other things? What a peril to your faith would that curiosity have produced? Do you think that no signs of his devotion and no evidence of the Lord’s resurrection could be found unless you probed with your hands his inner organs that had been laid bare with such cruelty? Brothers, his devotion sought these things, his dedication demanded them so that in the future not even godlessness itself would doubt that the Lord had risen. But Thomas was curing not only the uncertainty of his own heart but also that of all human beings. And since he was going to preach this message to the Gentiles, this conscientious investigator was examining carefully how he might provide a foundation for the faith needed for such a mystery.

. . . For the only reason the Lord had kept his wounds was to provide evidence of his resurrection. SERMON 84.8.

THOMAS IS A PRECISE PERSON. ORIGEN: Thomas seems to have had some precision and carefulness about him, which is shown also by what he said. He most likely did not believe those who said they had seen the Lord. It could have been an apparition, like what had happened in Matthew. I think this was the feeling of the other apostles too, but especially of Thomas. That the other apostles had some such thought on seeing Jesus is clear from there being written, “They supposed it was an apparition, and he answered and said to them, “Handle me and see, for a spirit does not have bones and flesh as you see me having.” FRAGMENT 106 ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN.

THOMAS BELIEVES THE DEATH BUT NOT THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS. AMMONIUS: Thomas was charged with being a real curiosity seeker because he thought the resurrection was impossible. Thus, he not only said “unless I see” but also “unless I touch,” lest somehow what he saw turned out to be an illusion. Therefore, when Thomas had heard from the disciples that Christ had been injured by a spear, Thomas believed them, even though he had not seen it. However, he did not believe their report of the resurrection, as if it were beyond reason. He did not say this so much out of unbelief but out of grief, because he himself had not been deemed worthy of seeing the risen Christ. It fit God’s purpose that Thomas did not believe, so that we all might know through him that the body that had been crucified had been raised. Since Thomas wanted to see the wounds all around Christ’s flesh, as well as his flesh itself, to see if he had risen, Thomas was searching for him. FRAGMENTS ON JOHN 633.

JESUS IS THE ONLY CRUCIFIED KING. JUSTIN MARTYR: David refers to Jesus’ suffering and to the cross in a parable of mystery in Psalm 22[:16-18], “They pierced my hands and my feet.” . . . But you still maintain that this very psalm does not refer to Christ because, in your blindness, you fail to realize that no one in [the Jewish] nation who has been called king or Christ has ever had his hands or feet pierced while alive or has died in this mysterious fashion—that is, by the cross—except this Jesus alone. DIALOGUE WITH TRYPHO 97.

THE PHYSICAL RESURRECTION. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: We are taught by the slight lack of faith shown by the blessed Thomas that the mystery of the resurrection is effected on our earthly bodies and in Christ as the firstfruits of the human race. He was no phantom or ghost, fashioned in human shape, simulating the features of humanity, nor yet, as others have foolishly surmised, a spiritual body that is compounded of a subtle and ethereal substance different from the flesh. For some attach this meaning to the expression “spiritual body.” Since all our expectation and the significance of our irrefutable faith, after the confession of the holy and consubstantial Trinity, centers in the mystery concerning the flesh, the blessed Evangelist has very pertinently put this saying of Thomas side by side with the summary of what preceded. For observe that Thomas does not simply desire to see the Lord but looks for the marks of the nails, that is, the wounds on his body. For he affirmed that then, indeed, he would believe and agree with the rest that Christ had indeed risen again, and risen in the flesh. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 12.1.

20:26 Jesus’ Appearance to Thomas on the Eighth Day

THE EUCHARISTIC ASSEMBLY. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: With good reason, then, are we accustomed to have sacred meetings in churches on the eighth day. And, to adopt the language of allegory, as the idea necessarily demands, we indeed close the doors, but Christ still visits us and appears to us all, both invisibly as God and visibly in the body. He allows us to touch his holy flesh and gives it to us. For through the grace of God we are admitted to partake of the blessed Eucharist, receiving Christ into our hands, to the intent that we may firmly believe that he did in truth raise up the temple of his body. . . . Participation in the divine mysteries, in addition to filling us with divine blessedness, is a true confession and memorial of Christ’s dying and rising again for us and for our sake. Let us, therefore, after touching Christ’s body, avoid all unbelief in him as utter ruin and rather be found well grounded in the full assurance of faith. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 12.1.

WHY THE DELAY? CHRYSOSTOM: And why does he not appear to him immediately, instead of “after eight days”? He does so in order that, in the meantime, being continually instructed by the disciples and hearing the same thing repeated, he might be inflamed with more eager desire and be more ready to believe for the future. But where did he learn that his side had been pierced? He heard it from the disciples. How then did he believe that but not believe the other story? Because the latter was very strange and wonderful. But observe the truthfulness of the disciples and how they hide no faults, either their own or others’, but record them with great veracity. Jesus again presents himself to them and does not wait to be asked by Thomas or to hear any such thing. Rather, before Thomas could even speak, Jesus prevented him and fulfilled his desire, showing that even when Thomas spoke those words to the disciples, he was present. For he used the same words, though in a reproachful manner, and added instruction for the future. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 87.1.

ADMIT THE LIMITS OF YOUR SENSES TO UNDERSTAND. HILARY OF POITIERS: The Lord stoops to the level even of our feeble understanding. He works a miracle of his invisible power in order to satisfy the doubts of unbelieving minds. Explain, my critic, the ways of heaven—explain his action if you can. The disciples were in a closed room. They had met and held their assembly in secret since the passion of the Lord. The Lord presents himself to strengthen the faith of Thomas by meeting his challenge. He gives him his body to feel, his wounds to handle. He, indeed, who would be recognized as having suffered wounds must necessarily produce the body in which those wounds were received. I ask at what point in the walls of that closed house the Lord bodily entered. The apostle has recorded the circumstances with careful precision: “Jesus came when the doors were shut and stood in the midst.” Did he penetrate through bricks and mortar or through stout woodwork—substances whose very nature it is to bar progress? For there he stood in bodily presence; there was no suspicion of deceit. Let the eye of your mind follow his path as he enters. Let your intellectual vision accompany him as he passes into that closed dwelling. There is no breach in the walls; no door has been unbarred. Yet, see how he stands in the midst whose might no barrier can resist. You are a critic of things invisible; I ask you to explain a visible event. Everything remains firm as it was. No body is capable of insinuating itself through the interstices of wood and stone. The body of the Lord does not disperse itself, to come together again after a disappearance. Yet where does the one who is standing in their midst come from? Your senses and your words are powerless to account for it. The fact is certain, but it lies beyond the region of human explanation. If, as you say, our account of the divine birth is a lie, then prove that this account of the Lord’s entrance is a fiction. If we assume that an event did not happen, because we cannot discover how it was done, we make the limits of our understanding into the limits of reality. But the certainty of the evidence proves the falsehood of our contradiction. The Lord did stand in a closed house in the midst of the disciples; the Son was born of the Father. Deny not that he stood, because your puny wits cannot ascertain how he came there; renounce instead a disbelief in God the only-begotten and perfect Son of God the unbegotten and perfect Father that is based only on the incapacity of sense and speech to comprehend. ON THE TRINITY 3.20.

20:27 Put Your Finger Here, and See My Hands

THE SIGNS OF THE RESURRECTION. CHRYSOSTOM: It is worth inquiring how an incorruptible body showed the prints of the nails and was tangible to a mortal hand. But do not be disturbed. What took place was a matter of condescension. For that which was so subtle and light as to enter in when the doors were shut was entirely lacking all density. But this marvel was shown so that the resurrection might be believed and so that people might know that it was the crucified one himself and not another who rose instead of him. This is why he arose bearing the signs of the cross, and it is also why he eats. At least the apostles repeatedly made this a proof of the resurrection, saying “we, who did eat and drink with him.” As, therefore, when we see him walking on the waves before the crucifixion, we do not say that his body is of a different nature but the same as our own. So after the resurrection, when we see him with the prints of the nails, we do not say that he is therefore still mortal. It was for the sake of the disciple that he appeared in this way. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 87.1.

HE HAS REAL FLESH WITH BONES. THEODORET OF CYR: Before the passion he predicted his bodily death each time, saying that he would be handed over to the high priest’s followers and proclaiming the trophy of the cross. But after the passion, when he rose from the dead on the third day and, since the disciples doubted that he had been raised, he appeared to them in his actual body. [He] declares that he has real flesh with bones, presents his wounded side to their eyes and shows them the marks of the nails. DIALOGUE 2.18.

WITNESSES WHO HANDLED THE WORD OF LIFE. TERTULLIAN: Marcion chose to believe that Jesus was a phantom, denying to him the reality of a perfect body. Now, not even to his apostles was his nature ever a matter of deception. He was truly both seen and heard on the mount. True and real was the draught of wine at the marriage of [Cana in] Galilee. True and real also was the touch of the then believing Thomas. Read the testimony of John: “That which we have seen, which we have heard, which we have looked on with our eyes and our hands have handled, of the Word of life.” False, of course, and deceptive must have been that testimony, if the witness of our eyes and ears and hands by nature is a lie. ON THE SOUL 17.

THE SAME BODY RAISED THAT DIED. HIPPOLYTUS: He calls him, then, “the firstfruits of them that sleep,” as the “first-begotten of the dead.” For he, having risen and wanting to show that that same [body] had been raised that had also died, when his disciples were in doubt, called Thomas to him and said, “Reach here. Handle me, and see. For a spirit does not have bone and flesh, as you see me have.” In calling him the firstfruits, he testified to that which we have said, that is, that the Savior, taking to himself the flesh out of the same lump, raised this same flesh and made it the firstfruits of the flesh of the righteous, in order that all we who have believed in the hope of the risen one may have the resurrection in expectation. FRAGMENT 3.

THE SAME FLESH, BUT MORE GLORIOUS. JEROME: After the resurrection we shall have the same members that we now use, the same flesh and blood and bones, for it is not the nature of these that is condemned in Holy Scripture but their works. . . . The true confession of the resurrection declares that the flesh will be glorious, but without destroying its reality. And so, when the apostle says, “This [flesh] is corruptible and mortal,” his words denote this very body, in other words, the flesh that was then seen. But when he further adds that it “puts on incorruption and immortality,” he is not saying that what was put on [i.e., the clothing] does away with the body that it adorns in glory. Rather, it makes that body glorious that previously lacked glory. When the more worthless robe of mortality and weakness is laid aside, then we can be clothed with the gold of immortality and the blessedness of strength as well as virtue. AGAINST JOHN OF JERUSALEM 28-29.

WILL MARTYRS RETAIN THEIR WOUNDS? AUGUSTINE: The love we bear for the blessed martyrs causes us—how, I do not know—to desire to see in the heavenly kingdom the marks that they received for the name of Christ. And possibly we shall see them. For this will not be a deformity but a mark of honor and will add luster to their appearance as well as a spiritual (if not a bodily) beauty. . . . For even though the blemishes of the body will not be found in any resurrected body, the evidences of virtue can hardly be called blemishes. CITY OF GOD 22.19.

WHO PROTECTED THOMAS’S HAND? ROMANUS MELODUS: Who protected the hand of the disciple which was not melted at the time when he approached the fiery side of the Lord? Who gave it daring and strength to probe the flaming bone? Certainly the side was examined. If the side had not furnished abundant power, how could a right hand of clay have touched sufferings which had shaken Heaven and earth? It was grace itself which was given to Thomas to touch and to cry out, “Thou art our Lord and God.” Truly the bramble which endured fire was burned but not consumed. From the hand of Thomas I have faith in the story of Moses. For, though his hand was perishable and thorny, it was not burned when it touched the side which was like burning flame. Formerly fire came to the bramble bush, but now, the thorny one hastened to the fire; and God, Himself, was seen to guard both. Hence I have faith; and hence I shall praise God, Himself, and man, as I cry, “Thou art our Lord and God.” For truly the boundary line of faith was subscribed for me by the hand of Thomas; for when he touched Christ he became like the pen of a fast-writing scribe which writes for the faithful. From it gushes forth faith. From it, the robber drank and became sober again; from it the disciples watered their hearts; from it, Thomas drained the knowledge which he sought, for he drank first and then offered drink to many who had a little doubt. He persuaded them to say, “Thou art our Lord and God.” KONTAKION ON DOUBTING THOMAS 30.1-3.

NO ONE NOW CAN DOUBT THE RESURRECTION’S POWER. GREGORY OF NYSSA: Once he had accustomed people to seeing the miracle of resurrection in other bodies, he confirmed his word in his own humanity. You already received a glimpse of that word working in others—those who were about to die, the child who had just ceased to live, the young man at the edge of the grave, the putrefying corpse, all alike restored by one command to life. . . . Now look at him whose hands were pierced with nails, look at him whose side was transfixed with a spear. Pass your fingers through the print of the nails, thrust your hand into the spear wound. You could surely guess how far within your hand would reach by the breadth of the external scar since the wound that gives admission to the hand shows to what depth the iron entered. If he then has been raised, well may we utter the apostle’s exclamation, “How do some say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” Since, then, every prediction of the Lord is shown to be true by the testimony of events—in fact, we not only learned this from his words but also received the proof in his deeds from the very same people who returned to life by resurrection—what other occasion is left for those who do not believe? Let us rather bid farewell to those who pervert our simple faith by “philosophy and vain deceit.” Let us instead hold on to our confession [of the resurrection] in its purity, a confession that we have learned through the gracious words of the prophet, “You shall take away their breath, and they shall fail and turn to dust. You shall then send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth.” ON THE MAKING OF MAN 25.12-13.

AN IMPERATIVE TO BELIEVE. GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS: If, like a Thomas, you were left out when the disciples were assembled to whom Christ shows himself, when you do see him do not be faithless. And if you do not believe, then believe those who tell you. And if you cannot believe them either, then have confidence in the print of the nails. ON HOLY EASTER, ORATION 45.24.

20:28 My Lord and My God!

THE CRUCIFIED WAS GOD. ATHANASIUS: Let them therefore confess, even they who previously denied that the crucified was God, that they have erred. For the divine Scriptures bid them, and especially Thomas, who, after seeing upon him the print of the nails, cried out, “My Lord and my God.” LETTER 59.10, TO EPICTETUS.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON. AMBROSE: You have read that the Father is both Lord and God: “O Lord my God, I will call on you, hear me.” You find the Son to be both Lord and God, as you have read in the Gospel, that, when Thomas had touched the side of Christ, he said, “My Lord and my God.” So just as the Father is God and the Son Lord, so too the Son is God and the Father Lord. The holy designation changes from one to the other. The divine nature does not change, but the dignity remains unchangeable. For they are not [as it were] contributions gathered from bounty but free-will gifts of natural love. For unity has its special property, and the special properties are bound together in unity. ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 3.15.108.

THOMAS TOUCHES GOD. JOHN CASSIAN: Thomas, when he touched the flesh, believed that he had touched God, saying, “My Lord and my God.” For they all confessed but one Christ, so as not to make him two. Do you therefore believe him? And do you believe in such a way that Jesus Christ the Lord of all, both Only Begotten and firstborn, is both creator of all things and preserver of humanity and that the same person is first the framer of the whole world and afterward redeemer of humankind? ON THE INCARNATION OF THE LORD AGAINST NESTORIUS 6.19.

TOUCHING THE FLESH, HE INVOKES THE WORD. AUGUSTINE: But when Jesus showed Thomas the very places where he had his doubts, Thomas exclaimed, “My Lord and my God.” He touched his flesh, he proclaimed his divinity. What did he touch? The body of Christ. Was the body of Christ the divinity of Christ? The divinity of Christ was the Word; the humanity of Christ was soul and flesh. Thomas could not touch the soul, but he could perceive it, because the body that had been dead was moving about alive. But that Word is subject neither to change nor to contact, it neither regresses nor progresses, neither fails nor flourishes, because in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” That is what Thomas proclaimed. He touched the flesh, he invoked the Word, because “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” SERMON 145A.

THOMAS PRAISES GOD FOR THE MIRACLE. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: And [Thomas] touched him carefully, and when he discovered the truth, confessed his fault by saying, “My Lord and my God!” What does this mean? While Thomas did not believe before that the Savior had resurrected from the dead, now he calls him Lord and God? This is not likely. Thomas, the doubtful disciple, does not call Lord and God the one whom he touched—in fact, the knowledge of the resurrection did not teach him that the resurrected one was God. Rather, he praised God for the accomplished miracle, being astonished for the miracles that he saw. COMMENTARY ON JOHN 7.20.27-29.

20:29 Seeing Is Not Believing

THOMAS SEES ONE THING, BELIEVES ANOTHER. GREGORY THE GREAT: When the apostle Paul says that “faith is the ground of things to be hoped for, the proof of things that are not evident,” it is clear that faith is the proof of those things that cannot be made evident. Things that are evident no longer involve faith but recognition. Why then, when Thomas saw and when he touched, was it said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed”? Because he saw one thing, and he believed another; divinity could not be seen by a mortal person. He saw a human being, and he confessed him as God. . . . But we also rejoice at what follows, “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” Certainly this saying refers to us who keep in our minds one whom we do not see in his body. It refers to us, but only if we follow up our faith with our works. That person truly believes who expresses his faith in his works. FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 26.

CHRIST’S PATIENCE WITH THOMAS AND US. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen me, Thomas, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” These words were wonderfully pertinent, and they can be of very great help to us. They demonstrate once again how much he cares for our souls, for he is good, and as Scripture says, “He wants everyone to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” Even so, this saying of his may surprise us. As always, Christ had to be patient with Thomas when he said he would not believe and with the other disciples too when they thought they were seeing a ghost. Because of his desire to convince the whole world, he most willingly showed them the marks of the nails and the wound in his side. Because he wanted those who needed such signs as a support for their faith to have no possible reason for doubt, he even took food, although he had no need for it. . . . But when anyone accepts what he has not seen, believing on the word of his teacher, the faith by which he honors the one his teacher proclaims to him is worthy of great praise. Blessed, therefore, is everyone who believes the message of the holy apostles who, as Luke says, were eyewitnesses of Christ’s actions and ministers of the word. If we desire eternal life and long for a dwelling place in heaven, we must listen to them. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 12.1.

BLESSING HIDDEN IN SUFFERING. AMBROSE: There are some . . . who think a blessed life is impossible in this body, weak and fragile as it is. For we have to suffer pain and grief, weeping, illness—all in this body. . . . It is not a blessing to be in the midst of suffering. But it is a blessing to be victorious over it and not to be bullied by the power of temporal pain. Suppose that things come that are considered terrible because of the grief they cause, such as blindness, exile, hunger, violation of a daughter, loss of children. Who will deny that Isaac was blessed, who did not see in his old age, and yet gave blessings with his benediction? Was not Jacob blessed who, leaving his father’s house, endured exile as a shepherd for pay, and mourned for the violated chastity of his daughter and suffered hunger? Were they not blessed on whose good faith God received witness, as it is written: “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob”? A wretched thing is slavery, but Joseph was not wretched. In fact, clearly he was blessed when, while a slave, he checked the lusts of his mistress. What shall I say of holy David, who bewailed the death of three sons, and, what was even worse than this, his daughter’s incestuous connection? How could he be unblessed from whom the author of blessedness himself sprung who has made many blessed? For “blessed are they who have not seen yet have believed.” All these felt their own weakness, but they bravely prevailed over it. What can we think of as more wretched than holy Job, either in the burning of his house, or the instantaneous death of his ten sons or his bodily pains? Was he less blessed than if he had not endured those things whereby he really showed himself approved?

It is true that in these sufferings there is something bitter and that we cannot use mind over matter to hide this pain. I should not deny that the sea is deep because in shore it is shallow, or that the sky is clear because sometimes it is covered with clouds, or that the earth is fruitful because in some places there is only barren ground or that the crops are rich and full because they sometimes have wild oats mingled with them. So, too, count it as true that the harvest of a happy conscience may be mingled with some bitter feelings of grief. In the sheaves of the whole of a blessed life, if by chance any misfortune or bitterness has crept in, is it not as though the wild oats were hidden or as though the bitterness of the tares was concealed by the sweet scent of the corn? DUTIES OF THE CLERGY 2.5.19-21.

SALVATION RESTS ON MORE THAN EYES CAN SEE. LEO THE GREAT: It is the strength of great minds and the light of firmly faithful souls unhesitatingly to believe what is not seen with the bodily sight and to focus your affections where you cannot direct your gaze. And from where should this godliness spring up in our hearts or how should someone be justified by faith, if our salvation rested on those things only that lie beneath our eyes? And so, our Lord said to Thomas, who seemed to doubt Christ’s resurrection until he had tested by sight and touched the traces of his passion in his very flesh, “because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” SERMON 74.1.

COURAGEOUS ENDURANCE. JOHN OF CARPATHUS: Blessed are those who, when grace is withdrawn, find no consolation in themselves but only continuing tribulation and thick darkness, and yet they do not despair. Rather, strengthened by faith, they endure courageously, convinced that they do indeed see him who is invisible. TEXTS FOR THE MONKS IN INDIA 71.

OVERVIEW: When he speaks of the many other signs, John here intimates that he did not include everything the other Evangelists recorded (THEODORE). Many signs that he did include, both before and after the resurrection, were needed so that the disciples might truly believe that Jesus was the Son of God (CHRYSOSTOM). John wrote this Gospel because he foresaw the blasphemous heresies that would follow (IRENAEUS). He intended that his readers would believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (TERTULLIAN, HILARY). We believe in his name, that is, we believe through him because he is the life (CHRYSOSTOM). John inserts this ending here, as a sort of preface to the ensuing narrative, in order to give a special prominence to the last chapter that follows (AUGUSTINE).

20:30 Many Other Signs in the Disciples’ Presence

OTHER EVANGELISTS’ ACCOUNTS SUFFICIENT. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: With these words the Evangelist shows that there were countless signs that the Savior performed before the disciples. In addition, he testifies that the words of the Gospels are true, namely, those scattered accounts composed accurately by the other [Evangelists] but were omitted by him. With his words here he demonstrates that he did not report those words without any polemical intention, but he shows that the words of the other [Evangelists] are true and are sufficient for the one who comes in faith and considers, reads and understands them. COMMENTARY ON JOHN 7.20.30-31.

MANY SIGNS BEFORE AND AFTER THE RESURRECTION. CHRYSOSTOM: For as before the resurrection it was necessary that many signs should be done, in order that they might believe that he was the Son of God, so it was also necessary after the resurrection, in order that they might admit that he had arisen. Another reason why he added “In the presence of his disciples” is because he conversed with them alone after the resurrection. Therefore he also said, “The world sees me no more.” HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 87.2.

20:31 Believing in Christ the Son of God

JOHN FORESAW HERESIES. IRENAEUS: The Gospel knew no other Son of man but him who was of Mary, who also suffered. There was no Christ who flew away from Jesus before the passion. The Gospel knew about him who was born as Jesus Christ the Son of God and that this same person suffered and rose again, as John, the disciple of the Lord verifies, saying, “But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” [He foresaw] blasphemous systems that divide the Lord, as far as lies in their power, saying that he was formed of two different substances. AGAINST HERESIES 3.16.5.

THE REASON FOR THE GOSPEL ACCOUNT. TERTULLIAN: Why does this Gospel, at its very termination, intimate that these things were ever written unless, to use its own words, it is so “that you might believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God”? Whenever, therefore, you take any of the statements of this Gospel and apply them to demonstrate the identity of the Father and the Son, supposing that they serve your views there, you are contending against the definite purpose of the Gospel. For these things certainly are not written that you may believe that Jesus Christ is the Father but the Son. AGAINST PRAXEAS 25.

WHAT IS TRUE FAITH? HILARY OF POITIERS: The one reason that he alleges for writing his Gospel is that all may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. If it is sufficient for salvation to believe that he is the Christ, why does he add “the Son of God”? But if the true faith is nothing less than the belief that Christ is not merely Christ but Christ the Son of God, then assuredly the name of Son is not attached to Christ as a customary appendage due to adoption, seeing that it is essential to salvation. If then, salvation consists in the confession of the name, must not the name express the truth? If the name expresses the truth, by what authority can he be called a creature? It is not the confession of a creature but the confession of the Son that shall give us salvation. To believe, therefore, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God is true salvation, is the acceptable service of an unfeigned faith. For we have no love within us toward God the Father except through faith in the Son. ON THE TRINITY 6.41-42.

JESUS IS LIFE. CHRYSOSTOM: He speaks in general to humankind, showing that it is not the one who we believe in but on ourselves that he bestows a very great favor “in his name,” that is, “through him.” For he is the Life. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 87.2.

AN ENDING AND A PREFACE. AUGUSTINE: This paragraph indicates, as it were, the end of the book. But afterward, there is still the account of how the Lord manifested himself at the sea of Tiberias and in the draught of fishes where special reference is made to the mystery of the church and its future character in the final resurrection of the dead. I think, therefore, it is arranged in this way in order to give special prominence to the fact that the end of the book has, as it were, been interposed, and that this ending was meant to be a kind of preface to the narrative that was to follow, in order in some measure to give it a position of greater eminence. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 122.1.