THEOSISJohn Chrysostom
What I have said many times, I will say now as well. Christ does not look so much to His own dignity as to our salvation. He is not concerned to say something great, but to say what can draw us.
For this reason there is little that is exalted and great in His words, and even that is veiled. But there is very much that is humble and ordinary. Since the latter drew men more, He speaks of it more often.
Yet He does not always speak humbly, lest He harm future hearers of His teaching. Nor does He keep silence about it, lest He scandalize those then present.
People freed from low notions can understand everything from a single exalted doctrine. But those who always held low notions would not have come at all if they had not often heard humble words.
Indeed, it is known that even after this the Jews do not desist. They stone Him, persecute Him, try to kill Him, and call Him a blasphemer.
When He presents Himself as equal to God, they say, "He blasphemes," Mk 2:7; Jn 10:33, 36. When He says, "Your sins are forgiven," Mk 2:9, they even call Him possessed.
They do the same when He says that the one who keeps His words is above death, Jn 8:51. Likewise, they leave Him when He says, "The Father is in Me and I am in Him," Jn 10:38.
They are scandalized when He says of Himself that He came down from heaven. If they could not bear such words even when they were spoken rarely, they would certainly have paid still less attention if His speech were always exalted and composed entirely of such sayings.
Meanwhile, when He says, "As My Father commanded Me, so I speak," Jn 8:28, and again, "I have not come of Myself," Jn 7:28, then they believe.
That this happened then is clear from the Evangelist's words, for he marks it by saying, "As He spoke thus, many believed in Him," Jn 8:30.
Therefore, if humble words drew them to faith, while exalted words drove them away, is it not utter madness not to think that the whole reason for the humble words was accommodation to the hearers?
In another place He wished to say something great, but kept silence, indicating this reason with the words, "But, lest we scandalize them, go to the sea, cast a hook," Mt 17:27.
He does the same here. After saying, "I knew that Thou always hearest Me," He added, "But I said this for the sake of the people standing here, that they may believe," Jn 11:42.
Are these our words? Is this a human conjecture? If someone could not be persuaded from what is written that they were scandalized by exalted words, can he still think otherwise when he hears Christ Himself testify?
Christ says that He speaks humbly so that they may not be scandalized. Can anyone still think that His humble words belonged to His nature, and not to condescension?
So also in another place, when a voice was heard from above, He said, "This voice has come not for My sake, but for the people's sake," Jn 12:30.
One who is great can say many humble things about himself. But it is not fitting for one who is lowly to proclaim anything great and exalted about himself.
The first is done by condescension and has its cause in the weakness of the hearers. Or rather, it is done to dispose them to humility, to persuade them that He is clothed in flesh, and to teach the hearers not to say anything great about themselves.
It is also because the hearers considered Him an adversary of God. They did not believe that He came from God. They thought He destroyed the Law, and they envied and opposed Him because He called Himself equal to God.
But when someone insignificant in himself says something great about himself, there is no reason for it, either plausible or implausible. It is only madness, shamelessness, and inexcusable audacity.
Why, then, does Christ speak humbly, though His being is ineffable and great? He does so for the reasons already given, and also so that He not be considered unbegotten.
Paul also seems to have feared something of this kind, and therefore said, "except Him who put all things under Him," 1 Cor 15:27. Indeed, it is impious even to think this.
On the other hand, if He were less than the One who begot Him, and of another essence, yet were considered equal, would He not have done everything to prevent men from thinking this?
But He does the opposite, saying, "If I am not doing the works of My Father, then do not believe Me," Jn 10:37.
Likewise, when He says, "I am in the Father and the Father in Me," Jn 14:10, He shows us equality. If He were lesser, He ought to have refuted this with all force.
He ought never to have said, "I am in the Father and the Father in Me," or, "I and the Father are one," Jn 10:30, or, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father," Jn 14:9.
Yet when He spoke of power, He said, "I and the Father are one," Jn 10:30. When He spoke of authority, He again said, "As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life to whom He will," Jn 5:21.
He could not do this if He were of another essence. Even if He could, He ought not to have said it, lest they think that They have one and the same essence.
If He often says even what is not proper to Him in order that He not be considered an adversary of God, He should have done this much more in that case.
But by the words, "that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father," Jn 5:23, and by saying, "Whatever He does, the Son does likewise," Jn 5:19, He shows that He is equal to Him who begot Him.
He shows the same by calling Himself the resurrection and the life, Jn 11:25, and the light of the world, Jn 8:12. He confirms the very opinion that the Jews had formed.
Do you see how much He said to defend Himself from the charge that He was destroying the Law? Yet the opinion concerning His equality with the Father He not only does not refute, but confirms.
So also when they said, "You blaspheme, because You make Yourself God," Jn 10:33, He confirmed this by pointing to the equality of His works.
Why do I speak of the Son acting in this way, speaking humbly about Himself, when the Father, who did not assume flesh, does the same? For the sake of the hearers' salvation, He allowed many humble things to be said about Himself.
Thus the words, "The Lord God called to Adam and said to him, 'Where are you?'" Gen 3:9; "I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry," Gen 18:21; and, "Now I know that you fear God," Gen 22:12.
So also, "Whether they hear or refuse to hear," Ezek 3:11, and, "Oh, that they had such a heart as this always, to fear Me and keep all My commandments, that it might go well with them and with their children forever," Deut 5:29.
And again, "There is none like Thee among the gods, O Lord," Ps 85:8. These and many other similar sayings found in the Old Testament are plainly unworthy of the majesty of God.
It is also said concerning Ahab, "Who will entice Ahab for Me?" 2 Chr 18:19. He also always sets Himself above the pagan gods by comparing Himself with them.
All these things are unworthy of God, but worthy in other respects. He is so full of love for mankind that, for our salvation, He disregards expressions befitting His dignity.
It is itself unworthy that He became man, took the form of a servant, uttered humble words, and clothed Himself in lowly garments. It is unworthy if one looks at His majesty, but worthy if one considers the ineffable wealth of His love for mankind.
There is also another reason for the humility of His words. What is it? The Father was known and confessed, but He Himself was not known.
Therefore He often turns to the Father, since the Father was already confessed, while He Himself seemed not yet worthy of faith. This was not because of His own weakness, but because of the lack of understanding and weakness of the hearers.
For this reason He both prays and says, "Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me." If He "gives life to whom He will," Jn 5:21, and gives life in the same way as the Father, why does He turn in prayer?
But it is time now to come to the subject itself. "They took away the stone from the cave where the dead man lay. And Jesus lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, 'Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me. I knew that Thou hearest Me always; but I said this for the sake of the people standing by, that they may believe that Thou hast sent Me,'" Jn 11:41-42.
Let us ask the heretic: did He receive power by prayer and raise the dead man? How, then, did He perform other deeds without prayer, saying, for example, "I command you, demon, come out of him," Mk 9:25?
Again He says, "I will; be cleansed," Mk 1:41; "Take up your pallet and walk," Jn 5:8; "Your sins are forgiven," Mt 9:2; and to the sea, "Peace, be still," Mk 4:39.
And in what respect would He be greater than the Apostles, if He Himself works miracles through prayer? Besides, they did not do everything by prayer. Often they acted without prayer, invoking the name of Jesus.
If His name had such power, how could He Himself need prayer? If He needed prayer, then His name would not have had power.
Did He need any prayer when He created man? Was there not great equality of honor there? For it is said, "Let Us make man," Gen 1:26.
What could be weaker, if He needed prayer? But let us see what kind of prayer this is: "Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me." Who has ever prayed in this way?
Before saying anything, He says, "I thank Thee," showing thereby that He has no need of prayer. "I knew that Thou hearest Me always." He said this not because He Himself could not act, but because Their will is one.
Why, then, did He assume the appearance of one praying? Do not listen to me, but to Him Himself. He says, "For the sake of the people standing by, that they may believe that Thou hast sent Me."
He did not say, "that they may believe" that I am lesser, that I need help from above, or that without prayer I cannot act. He said, "that Thou hast sent Me."
Yet prayer signifies all this, if we understand it simply. He did not say, "Thou hast sent Me weak, familiar with servitude, doing nothing by My own power."
He leaves all this aside, so that you may suppose nothing of the kind. He presents the true reason for the prayer: that they may not consider Me an adversary of God, and that they may not say that I am not from God.
He also wishes to show that this work is done according to Thy will. If I were an adversary of God, He says, as it were, this miracle would not have followed.
The expression, "Thou hast heard Me," is also used of friends and of those equal in honor. "I knew that Thou hearest Me always" means this: in order that My will be accomplished, I do not need prayer.
Prayer is needed so that they may be persuaded that Thou and I have one will. Why, then, do You pray? For the weak and the foolish.
Lazarus, raised today from the dead, gives us the resolution of many and various perplexities. I do not know how this Gospel reading has given both heretics and Jews an occasion for contradiction.
This certainly is not because of the reading's own essence, for that cannot be. It is because of the wickedness of their soul.
Many heretics say that the Son is not like the Father. Why? Because, they say, Christ needed prayer to raise Lazarus. If He had not prayed, He would not have raised Lazarus.
How, they say, can the one who prays be like the one who receives the prayer? Here one prays, and the other receives prayer from the one praying.
But they blaspheme, not understanding that the prayer was an act of condescension and was offered because of the weakness of those present.
Tell me, who is greater: the one who washes feet, or the one whose feet are washed? Certainly, you will say, the one whose feet another has washed is greater.
But the Savior washed the feet of the traitor Judas, who was also together with the disciples. Who, then? Is Judas the traitor greater than the Master Christ because Christ washed his feet? May it never be.
Which is lower: to wash feet, or to pray? Certainly, to wash feet. Therefore, if He did not refuse to do the lower thing, how would He refuse to do the higher?