John 8:26Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Therefore, if He sent Me for this, and He “is true” (Jn 8:26), then I rightly judge no one now. Rather, I speak what serves for salvation, not for condemnation. He says this so that they would not think He failed to avenge Himself through weakness, although He heard everything they said. Nor should they think that He did not understand their thoughts and mockeries.

You are not worthy, He says, to hear My words fully or to know who I am. You say everything in order to test Me, and do not wish to heed anything from My teaching.

I could both expose you in this and not only expose you, but punish you. He hints at this when He says, “I have many things to say and to judge concerning you.”

By the word “say” He indicates reproof. By the word “judge” He indicates condemnation and punishment.

But, He says, He who sent Me did not send Me in order to judge and reprove. “For God did not send His Son to judge the world, but to save the world” (Jn 3:17).

Since My Father sent Me to save, and He is true, for this very reason I now judge no one. I only speak what I heard from My Father, that is, what serves salvation, not reproof.

"I have many things to say and to judge concerning you."

Since the Jews judged Him very rashly and had absolutely nothing for which to accuse Him, they were puffed up against Him only because of the simplicity of His lineage according to the flesh. For this reason they despised Him.

He gently put them to shame and had already said more plainly: "You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one" (Jn 8:15). To judge according to the flesh, in my opinion, has precisely this meaning. Being carried away by earthly things alone, they do not see the heavenly goods at all. Gazing only at the splendor of this life, they revere wealth or pride themselves on similarly empty things.

You remember that He says, "I judge no one" (Jn 8:15). Yet He has just said, "I have many things to say and to judge concerning you." But "I do not judge" is one thing, and "I have to judge" is another. "I do not judge" He said concerning the present. For He came to save the world, not to judge the world. But when He says, "I have many things to say and to judge concerning you," He speaks of the future judgment. For He ascended into heaven in order to come and judge the living and the dead.

"I have many things," He says, "to say and to judge concerning you; but He who sent Me is true." It is as though He said, "I judge truly because I am the Truth, the Son of the True One." The Son is Truth; the Father is true. I ask, "Which is greater?" and I find equality. For the true Father is true, not because He has a part of Truth in Himself, but because He begot Truth in all Her fullness.

The words of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He addressed to the Jews, were read today in the Holy Gospel. He spoke in such a way that the blind did not see, while the eyes of believers were opened. These are the words: "Then the Jews said, 'Who are You?'" (cf. Jn 8:25). For the Lord had said shortly before, "If you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins" (Jn 8:24). To this they said, "Who are You?" It was as though they wished to learn in whom they must believe, lest they die in their sins. He answered those who asked Him, "Who are You?" by saying, "The Beginning, because I also speak to you" (cf. Jn 8:25).

If the Lord said that He is the Beginning, one may ask whether the Father also is the Beginning. For if the Son is the Beginning who has the Father, how much more readily should God the Father be understood as the Beginning? He has the Son, yet He has no one from whom He Himself is. For the Son is the Son of the Father, and the Father is certainly the Father of the Son. Yet the Son is called God from God, and the Son is called Light from Light. The Father is called Light, but not from Light. The Father is called God, but not from God. Therefore the Beginning is God from God, Light from Light. How much more readily should He be understood as the Beginning who is the Light from whom is Light, and the God from whom is God? Therefore it seems absurd, beloved, that we call the Son the Beginning and do not call the Father the Beginning.

But what shall we do? Were there two Beginnings? We must beware of such words. What then? If the Father is the Beginning and the Son is the Beginning, why are there not two Beginnings? In the same way, we say God the Father and God the Son, yet we do not speak of two Gods. For it is not permissible to say that there are two Gods. It is not permissible to say that there are three Gods. And yet He who is the Father is not the Son. He who is the Son is not the Father. The Holy Spirit of the Father, who is also the Spirit of the Son, is neither the Father nor the Son. Catholic ears in the bosom of Mother Church have been taught this. He who is the Father is not the Son. He who is the Son is not the Father. The Holy Spirit of the Father and the Son is neither the Son nor the Father. Yet we do not say that there are three Gods.

But if we are asked about any one of Them individually, we must confess Him to be God, whichever of Them is in question. All this seems absurd to those who transfer known things to unknown things, visible things to invisible things, and who make creation equal to the Creator. Indeed, unbelievers sometimes ask us, saying, "The one whom you call Father, do you call Him God?" We answer, "He is God." "The one whom you call Son, do you call Him God?" We answer. "He is God." "The one whom you call Holy Spirit, do you call Him God?" We answer, "He is God." "Then," he says, "the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three Gods?" We answer, "No."

Such unbelievers are troubled because they are not enlightened. Their heart is closed because they do not possess the key of faith. Therefore, brothers, through faith which goes before us and heals the eye of the heart, let us accept without wavering what we understand. Let us believe without doubting what we do not understand. Let us not depart from the foundation of faith, and then we shall come to the summit of perfection. God is the Father. God is the Son. God is the Holy Spirit. Yet the Father is not the Son, and the Son is not the Father. The Holy Spirit of the Father, who is also the Spirit of the Son, is not the Father and not the Son. The Trinity is one God. The Trinity is one eternity, one power, one majesty. There are Three, but not three Gods.

Let no slanderer answer me, "What, then, does three mean? For if there are three, you must say three what." I answer, "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." "See," he says, "you have said three. But say clearly: three what?" Count for yourself, for I utter three when I say Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For the Father is God with respect to Himself, and with respect to the Son He is Father. The Son is God with respect to Himself, and with respect to the Father He is Son.

You can understand what I am saying from similar things that occur daily. Here is one man, and another man. One is a father, and the other is a son. The first is a man with respect to himself, and he is a father with respect to his son. The son is a man with respect to himself, and he is a son with respect to his father. For the name "father" is used in relation to one, and the name "son" in relation to another. But both are two men. So also God the Father is Father in relation to another, namely to the Son. And God the Son is Son in relation to another, namely to the Father. But They are not two Gods as those are two men. Why is it not so here? Because there it is one thing, and here another. For here there is the divine essence.

Here there is something ineffable, which cannot be expressed in words, so that there is number and yet there is no number. See whether there is not number here: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Trinity. If three, then three whom? Here number fails. Therefore God withdraws from number and cannot be grasped through number. Since They are Three, number seems in some way present. If you ask, "Three whom?" you will not find number. Hence it is said, "Great is our Lord and great is His strength, and of His wisdom there is no number" (cf. Ps 146:5). When you begin to reason, you begin to count. When you begin to count, you cannot answer what you have counted.

The Father is the Father. The Son is the Son. The Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit. What then are these Three, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? Are They three Gods? No. Are They three Almighties? No. Are They three Creators of the world? No. Is the Father almighty, then? Certainly He is almighty. But is the Son not almighty? Of course, the Son also is almighty. Then is the Holy Spirit not almighty? He too is almighty. So are there three Almighties? No. Rather, the One is almighty. Individually They introduce number in relation to one Another, but not in relation to Themselves. For although God the Father is God with respect to Himself together with the Son and the Holy Spirit, nevertheless there are not three Gods. Although He is Almighty with respect to Himself together with the Son and the Holy Spirit, nevertheless there are not three Almighties. For He is Father not with respect to Himself, but with respect to the Son. And the Son is Son not in relation to Himself, but in relation to the Father. And the Spirit is not Spirit in relation to Himself, since He is called the Spirit of the Father and of the Son. I have no name for the Three except Father and Son and Holy Spirit, one God, one Almighty. Behold the one Beginning.

Take examples from the Holy Scriptures, through which you can understand to some extent what is being said. After our Lord Jesus Christ rose and, when He willed, ascended into heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit from there after ten days. Filled with Him, those who were in one room began to speak in the tongues of all nations (cf. Acts 2:4). The Lord's murderers, frightened by the miracle, repented and began to grieve. In their grief they were changed. Being changed, they believed. Three thousand persons were joined to the Body of the Lord, that is, to the number of believers. Likewise, when another miracle was performed, another five thousand were added. One great community was formed. All had received the Holy Spirit, through whom spiritual love was kindled. Through this very love and the fervor of the Spirit, they were merged into one. In this unity of community they began to sell all they had and bring the price to the apostles' feet. It was then distributed to each according to his need. And Scripture says of them that they had one soul and one heart in God (cf. Acts 4:32).

Listen then, brothers, and recognize in this the mystery of the Trinity. We say that the Father is, and the Son is, and the Holy Spirit is, and yet there is one God. See how many thousands those believers were, and there was one heart. See how many thousands there were, and there was one soul. But where? In God. How much more is God Himself one? Do I err in speech when I call two men two souls, three men three souls, and many men many souls? Certainly I speak correctly. Let them turn to God, and all will have one soul. If many souls, turning to God, become one soul through love, and many hearts become one heart, what does the very source of love accomplish in the Father and the Son? Is not the Trinity there much more one God? For from there, from the Holy Spirit Himself, love comes to us, as the apostle says: "The love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (Rom 5:5). If the love of God, poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us, made many souls into one soul and many hearts into one heart, then how much more are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit one God, one Light, and one Beginning!

Therefore let us listen to the Beginning who says to us, "I have many things to say and to judge concerning you" (Jn 8:26). You remember that He said, "I judge no one" (Jn 8:15). And now He has just said, "I have many things to say and to judge concerning you." But "I do not judge" is one thing. "I have to judge" is another. He said, "I do not judge," with reference to the present. For He came to save the world, and not to judge the world (cf. Jn 12:47). But when He said, "I have many things to say and to judge concerning you," He spoke of the coming Judgment. For this reason He ascended, to judge the living and the dead. No one will judge more justly than He who was unjustly judged.

"I have many things," He says, "to say and to judge concerning you; but He who sent Me is true" (Jn 8:26). See how the Son, equal to the Father, gives glory to the Father. For He gives us an example, and speaks, as it were, in our hearts: "O believing man, if you hear My Gospel, your Lord God says to you, the Gospel where I am in the beginning the Word of God with God (Jn 1:1). Equal to the Father and coeternal with Him who begot Me, and if I give glory to Him whose Son I am, how can you be proud before Him whose servant you are?"

“I have many things to say and to judge concerning you.” I can say many things against you for your condemnation and condemn you to punishment, but I do not wish to do so, because My Father does not wish it.

Above, Jesus Christ said that God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him (Jn 3:17).

“But He who sent Me is true.” He sent Me not to judge now, but to save. Or else: He who called Me the light of the world is true.

For it is said, “Behold, I have given You as a light to the nations” (Isa 49:6), as was shown above.

“And I speak in the world those things which I heard from Him.” Among other things, I heard from Him that I am the light of the nations.

Among other things, I said that I am the light of the world. What I heard, that I also said.

“Who then are You, who call Yourself from above?” the Jews asked Him with contemptuous mockery.

“I am what I told you about Myself from the beginning.” During His first visit to Jerusalem, in the temple itself, He called this temple His Father’s house, and therefore called Himself the Son of God.

“But I would have to say many things about you and judge you, if I began to say about you everything I think and know about you. Let us leave this aside.

He who sent Me is true. He will tell you fully both about Me and about yourselves, through the Spirit, who, when He comes, will convict concerning righteousness and sin.

From Him you will learn that I do not speak from Myself, but speak what I have heard and what I know from Him.

After all the testimonies of Jesus Christ about Himself, His hearers apparently wished Him to name Himself directly, not figuratively as “the source of the water of life” or “the light of the world.”

They wanted Him to call Himself by a name familiar to them. Therefore they ask Him, “Who are You?” in the same sense as in Jn 10:24.

If He had satisfied this desire, Jesus Christ would have had to call Himself the Messiah. But He does not answer the question so directly.

This is partly because the Jews attached incorrect ideas to this name of the Savior promised to them. It is also partly because such a direct declaration would have enraged His stubbornly unbelieving enemies.

Continuing the discourse, interrupted by the Pharisees’ question, about the Jews dying in their sins if they did not believe in Him, Jesus said: “I have many things to say and to judge concerning you. Although it is unpleasant for you to hear My rebukes of your stubborn unbelief, I must say this, because I have heard it from Him who sent Me.”

“I have many things to say,” and so forth. The saying of the preceding verse was occasioned by the question of the Jews, which interrupted the Lord’s discourse.

After answering the question put to Him, the Lord continues the discourse begun earlier in Jn 8:21-24. He had expressed a grave truth about the people’s sorrowful moral state and disposition.

He also said where this would lead them (Jn 8:21-24). Now He continues this discourse by saying that He has much to say about the moral state of the people and to judge concerning it (Jn 8:16).

He must reveal before their eyes the whole abyss of their moral fall, and the whole weight of their responsibility before the judgment of God.

“After so long a time, after signs and wonders, they still ask, Who are You?” (Chrysostom). The Savior’s answer, την αρχην, ο τι καὶ λαλῶ υμῖν, is not easy to understand.

First, some translate: “the beginning, even as I speak to you.” So also blessed Augustine. But this is the least successful explanation.

The text has την αρχην, not αρχη. The following words of the translation are unclear and not wholly faithful to the original.

Second, others explain it thus: “I am what I said in the beginning,” or, “I am the same as before.” Here the translation of την αρχην agrees with the usage of the LXX in Gen 13:4; 41:21; 43:18, 20.

Yet the Savior says, “I speak,” not “I said.” Third, the best translation is: “Above all, I am what I also say to you,” or, “Truly, I am what I also say to you.”

“I have many things to say and to judge concerning you,” says the Lord to the unbelieving Jews. He who believes in the Lord Jesus is not judged (Jn 3:18) and does not come into judgment (Jn 5:24).

Therefore the Lord’s words here refer to the murmurers, blasphemers, and embittered men who disputed with the Lord and sought to kill Him.

It is fearful to come into the judgment of the living God (Heb 10:31), and to stand before the eternal Judge without a Defender and Justifier.

He took our sins upon Himself and offered Himself as a sacrifice for them. Therefore the Lord points out to the Jews that He has “to judge concerning them.”

He says, “He who sent Me is true, and what I have heard from Him I speak to the world.” Meanwhile Scripture explains that they did not know that He was speaking to them of the Father. Yet they certainly ought to have known that the words of the Father are in the Son, reading in Jeremiah: “And the Lord said to me, ‘Behold, I have put My words in your mouth’” (Jer 1:9).