John 1:36Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

But when Christ received them, He so disposed them toward Himself that they no longer returned to the one who had entrusted them.

Nor is this the only thing to observe here. When marriages are concluded, the maiden does not come to the bridegroom. Rather, he hastens to her, even if he is a king's son and wishes to take a bride from a poor and lowly rank, even a slave.

So it was here also. Human nature did not ascend into heaven. God Himself came down to it, despised and poor. When the marriage had been accomplished, He no longer allowed it to remain here. Taking it upon Himself, He brought it into the Father's house.

But why does John not take his disciples aside and speak to them privately about Christ, so as to hand them over to Christ? Why does he say before all the people, "Behold, the Lamb of God"?

He does this so that it may not seem to be a contrivance of his own. If they had gone to Christ after being privately persuaded by John, and as though to please him, they might just as quickly have fallen away from Christ.

But now, having resolved to follow Christ through the force of teaching addressed to all, John's disciples remained firm. They followed not to please their teacher, but through their own zeal and for their own profit.

All the prophets and apostles preached Christ in His absence. Some preached before His coming in the flesh, and others after His Ascension. John alone preached Him in His presence.

For this reason he is called the friend of the Bridegroom, because he alone was present at the wedding. He arranged and accomplished all this. He laid the beginning of this work.

"And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God.'" He said this to show that he bore witness not only with his voice, but also with his eyes.

He marveled at Christ in joy and exaltation. He did not immediately address persuasive speech to his disciples. First he simply marvels and gives himself over to astonishment at Christ's appearing.

He shows everyone both the gift with which He came and the manner of redemption. The word "Lamb" expresses both. John did not say, "He will take away," or, "He has taken away," but, "He takes away" the sins of the world.

He speaks as though Christ always does this. Indeed, He did not take sin upon Himself only when He suffered. From that time until now He takes away sins.

This does not mean that He is always being crucified, for He offered one sacrifice for sins. It means that by this one sacrifice He always cleanses sins.

Thus the name Word shows the excellence of His nature, and the name Son expresses His distinction from other beings. So also the words Lamb, Christ, Prophet, true Light, good Shepherd, and other expressions used of Him with the article ho show their great difference from ordinary expressions.

There were many lambs, prophets, christs, and sons. But John presents the great difference between Him and all of them. He confirmed this not only by adding the article, but also by adding the word "Only-begotten," since Christ has nothing in common with creation.

If anyone thinks it untimely that these words were spoken at the tenth hour, for "it was about the tenth hour," Jn 1:39, in my judgment he is gravely mistaken.

For many people enslaved to the flesh, the time after eating is not very suitable for serious matters, because the soul is weighed down by food.

But John was a man who did not even use ordinary food. He spent the evening with the same sobriety with which we spend the morning, or rather with much greater sobriety.

For with us the remains of the evening meal often fill the soul with dreams. But he burdened that vessel with nothing of the kind. It is therefore no wonder that John discussed such matters even in the evening.

Besides, he lived in the wilderness near the Jordan. All came there with great fear to be baptized, caring little at that time for worldly affairs. So too the people remained with Christ for three days without food.

The duty of a zealous preacher, like that of a careful farmer, is not to leave his work until he sees that the implanted word has taken root.

But why did John not go through all Judea preaching Christ? Why did he remain by the river, awaiting His coming, so that when He came he might point Him out to the people?

John wished Christ's works themselves to bear witness to Him. His own special aim was only to proclaim His coming and persuade at least some to listen to eternal Life.

John leaves the greater witness to Christ Himself, namely the witness of works. Christ Himself says, "But I have a witness greater than John's. The works which the Father has given Me to accomplish, these very works that I do, bear witness of Me," Jn 5:36.

See, then, how strong such witness was. John cast only a small spark, and suddenly the flame rose high. Those who formerly paid no attention to John's words finally said, "Everything that John said about Him was true," Jn 10:41.

Otherwise, if John had gone about all Judea preaching, it might have seemed that this was done for human purposes, and the preaching would have been suspect.

He said this to show that he bore witness not only with his voice, but also with his eyes. He marveled at Christ in joy and exaltation. He did not immediately address persuasive speech to his disciples.

First he simply marvels and gives himself over to astonishment at Christ's appearing. He shows everyone both the gift with which He came and the manner of redemption. The word "Lamb" expresses both.

John did not say, "He will take away," or, "He has taken away," but, "He takes away" the sins of the world, Jn 1:29, as though Christ always does this.

Indeed, He did not take sin upon Himself only when He suffered. From that time until now He takes away sins. This does not mean that He is always being crucified. He offered one sacrifice for sins.

It means that by this one sacrifice He always cleanses sins. As the name Word shows the excellence of His nature, and the name Son expresses His distinction from other beings, so also the words Lamb, Christ, Prophet, true Light, good Shepherd, and other expressions used of Him with the definite article ho show their great difference from ordinary expressions.

There were many lambs, prophets, christs, and sons. But John presents the great difference between Him and all of them. He confirmed this not only by adding the article, but also by adding the word "Only-begotten," since Christ has nothing in common with creation.

Because John says of the Lord, "Behold, the Lamb of God." Was John himself not a lamb? Was he not a holy man? Was he not the friend of the Bridegroom, cf. Jn 3:29?

Yet he said in a special sense, "Behold, the Lamb of God." For by the blood of this Lamb alone can men be redeemed.

My brethren, if we acknowledge our price, that it is the blood of the Lamb, then what are those who today celebrate the blood of some woman, whoever she may be?

How ungrateful they are! As they say, a golden earring was torn from her ear, and blood flowed. Gold was placed on the scale to balance the blood, and the blood proved far heavier than the gold.

If the blood of a woman had such weight that it outweighed gold, what weight has the blood of the Lamb, which outweighed the world created by that Lamb?

That spirit, unknown to me, was appeased by blood, so that the scales came into balance. The unclean spirits knew that Jesus Christ would come. They had heard this from the angels and from the prophets, and they awaited His coming.

For if they had not awaited Him, why did they cry out, "What have You to do with us? Have You come before the time to destroy us? We know You, the Holy One of God," cf. Mk 1:24; Lk 4:34; Mt 8:29.

They knew that He would come, but they did not know at what time.

But what do we hear in the Psalm concerning Jerusalem? "Because Your servants loved her stones, and pity her dust, You will arise and have mercy on Zion, for the time has come to have mercy on her," cf. Ps 101:14-15.

When the time came for God to show mercy, the Lamb came. What kind of Lamb is this, whom wolves fear? What kind of Lamb is this, who cast down the murdering lion?

For it is said that the devil is a roaming and roaring lion, seeking someone to devour, cf. 1 Pet 5:8. By the blood of the Lamb the lion was overcome. See what a spectacle is given to Christians.

More importantly, those pagans see vanity with the eyes of the flesh. We see truth with the eyes of the heart. Lest you think, brethren, that our Lord God has left us without spectacles, understand this.

If there were no spectacles, why would you have gathered today? See, you beheld what we spoke of, and you cried out. You would not have cried out had you not first seen it.

This is a great thing: to see throughout the whole circle of lands that the lion has been conquered by the blood of the Lamb, and that Christ's members have been torn from the lion's teeth and joined to Christ's Body.

Thus that spirit, unknown to me, was portraying something resembling Christ's sacrifice. Through blood he sought to make himself like Him, knowing that the human race would one day be redeemed at the price of blood.

For evil spirits, in order to be worshiped, create certain likenesses by which they seek to deceive those who follow Christ.

So far does this go, my brethren, that those who seduce by amulets, incantations, and hostile devices weave the name of Christ into their spells.

Because they can no longer seduce Christians otherwise, they add a little honey to the poison, to hide its bitterness beneath sweetness, so that Christians may drink it to their destruction.

So greatly do they strive to deceive that, as I have learned, at one time the priest of Pilleatus was accustomed to say, "Even Pilleatus himself is a Christian." Why was this done, brethren, except because otherwise they cannot seduce Christians?

Therefore seek Christ nowhere except where Christ Himself wished to be preached. Receive Him as He wished to be preached to you. So write Him upon your heart.

He is a wall against all assaults and all snares of the enemy. Do not fear, and the enemy will not tempt you unless he has been permitted.

It is known that he does nothing unless it has been allowed and sent beforehand. He is sent by the Lord's authority as an evil angel. Something is permitted to him if he asks it, but only to test the righteous and punish the unrighteous.

Why then do you fear? Abide in the Lord your God. Be faithful. What He does not will you to suffer, you will not suffer. What He permits you to suffer is a scourge for correction, not a punishment for condemnation.

We are being instructed so as to obtain the eternal inheritance. And do we think ourselves unworthy to undergo scourging?

My brethren, if a boy despised his father's punishment by blows and scourging, would he not be called proud, incorrigible, and contemptuous of paternal training?

And why does a human father train his human son? So that he may not lose the passing things which the father acquired and gathered for him, things he did not wish him to lose.

Yet the man who leaves them as an inheritance cannot himself possess them forever. He teaches his son not to possess what he acquired together with him, but to possess it after him.

My brethren, if a father teaches his son as his heir, and teaches him to pass through the same things through which he himself had to pass, how do you wish our Father to teach us?

We do not strive to repeat His path, but to be joined to Him, so that we may abide with Him forever, possessing an inheritance that cannot wither, be destroyed, or be struck by hail.

He Himself is both the inheritance and the Father. Shall we inherit Him and yet not be trained? Let us therefore receive the Father's training.

When our head aches, let us not hurry to enchanters and diviners, nor turn to the help of other vain means. My brethren, shall I not weep over you? I encounter such things every day.

What then am I to do? Do I not teach Christians daily that hope must be placed in Christ? Consider this. If the one who took a remedy dies, with what face will his soul enter before God?

How many have died after remedies! And how many live on without taking remedies! That soul has lost the sign of Christ and received the sign of the devil.

Or perhaps it will say that it has not lost the sign of Christ? Then it bore the sign of Christ together with the sign of the devil.

But Christ does not wish co-ownership. He alone wishes to possess what He has purchased. He paid so much to be the sole owner, and you make Him a co-owner with the devil, to whom you sold yourself through sin.

Woe to the double-hearted, cf. Sir 2:12, who give part of their heart to God and part to the devil. God will be angered that a part belongs to the devil. He will withdraw, and the devil will possess all.

Not in vain does the Apostle say, "Give no place to the devil," Eph 4:27. Let us recognize the Lamb, brethren. Let us recognize our price.

"John was standing with two of his disciples," Jn 1:35. See, two of John's disciples were there. John was such a friend of the Bridegroom that he did not seek glory for himself, but bore witness to the truth.

Did he want his disciples to remain with him and not follow the Lord? Rather, he himself showed his disciples whom to follow.

For they regarded him as the lamb, but he said to them, "Why do you heed me? I am not the Lamb. Behold, the Lamb of God," Jn 1:36.

He had also said earlier, "Behold, the Lamb of God," Jn 1:29. "And what profit is the Lamb of God to us?" See what he says: "He takes away the sin of the world," Jn 1:29.

When the two who were with John heard this, they followed Him. Let us consider the saying, "Behold, the Lamb of God," Jn 1:29, 36. John uttered this.

For this reason John is called His friend, as one present at the wedding and arranging everything for the Bridegroom. Having received from him the Church betrothed to Him, Jesus Christ so disposed her toward Himself that she immediately forgot everything former. At a wedding, the bride does not come to the bridegroom, but he to her, even if he is a king's son and she is altogether lowly. So it was here also. The great Bridegroom Himself came to the most humbled bride. Having united Himself to her, He no longer allowed her to remain here, but took her and led her to the Father's house, that is, to heaven.

Were there other disciples of the Forerunner present, since he had many? John the Evangelist does not mention others. The others give no hint of it. Therefore it is more than probable that on this occasion only two listened to John. Where, then, were the others? Certainly they had gone away because of household needs, lacking the love and patience to listen to the teacher that these two had. The time also inclined them to this: "It was about the tenth hour," already after midday, the fourth hour in the afternoon.

He was not the guide of the people. A higher and most holy power drew mankind to itself. John's disciples, having heard his cry and having seen the Lord appear a second time at the Jordan, understand the meaning of John's words. Drawn by their own heart, enlightened at that moment by the Spirit of God, they leave their former teacher and go to the Lord Jesus.

We think that verse 35, "Again John stood, and two of his disciples," means that they were not standing there by chance. In all likelihood, together with the people surrounding them, they stood awaiting the Lord. They probably hoped that the divine, meek image of the Lord Jesus, drawing all to itself by irresistible power, would appear again at the Jordan. Their expectation was justified.

Then John the Baptist, on this second day also, by command of the Spirit of God, repeats the words he had spoken about the Lord the previous day, verse 29: "Behold the Lamb of God!" It may even have been a direct indication to the disciples that from then on they were to follow Him.

This was not an order from John. It was a revelation for the one who, through faith and love, could receive and understand the spoken word, and fulfill what it implied. Two of John's disciples followed the Lord, drawn by grace. Who these disciples were we shall see in verse 40.

The time of the Lord's coming to preach is determined very closely and precisely by the Gospel of John. In chapter 2, from verses 1 to 13, there are two indications. The first is that, three days after these events, there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee. The second is that "the Passover of the Jews was near."

The Jewish Passover, as is known, was on the fifteenth day of Nisan, that is, at the full moon of the spring equinoctial month. Our Church celebrates the baptism of the Lord under the name Theophany on January 6. After His baptism the Lord was forty days in the wilderness, and His appearance at the Jordan was probably around March 1.

Then came the wedding in Cana of Galilee, and after that "the Passover of the Jews was near." On the establishment of the celebration of the Christian Pascha, which was never to coincide with the Jewish Passover, and on the dispute over this matter, compare the Canonical Chronicle of Eusebius of Caesarea of Palestine, book V, chapters 23 and 24. See also The Book of Rules of the Holy Apostles and Holy Councils, published by the Holy Governing Synod, 1862: Rule of the Holy Apostles, section 7, and the decree of the Council of Nicaea in the decrees of the local Council of Antioch, section 1, and others.

We point this out to draw the reader's attention to how the Orthodox Church, holding unchanged and in succession to the customs and reckonings of the most ancient Apostolic Church. Inherited and sacredly preserved with love and reverence in her ecclesiastical statutes the remembrance not only of the events, but also of the exact season of the year in which they occurred.