7. "But," saith He, "there are some among you that believe not." He said not. There are some among you that understand not; but He told the cause why they under- stand not " There are some among you that believe not," and therefore they under- stand not, because they believe not. For the prophet has said, " If ye believe not, ye shall not understand. ""^ We are united by faith, quickened by understanding. Let us first ad acre to Him through faith, that there may be that which may be quickened by understanding. For he who adheres not resists; he that resists believes not. And how can he that resists be quickened? He is an adversary to the ray of light by which he should be penetrated: he turns not away his eye, but shuts his mind. " There are," then, " some wlio believe not." Let them believe and open, let them open and be illumined. " For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed, and who should betray Him." For Judas also was there. Some indeed, were offended; but he remained to watch his opportunity, not to understand. And because he remained for that purpose, the Lord kept not silence concerning him. He described him not by name, but neither was He silent about him; that all might fear though only one should perish. But after 1 Rom. viii. 9.
Isa. vii, o, LXX.
He spoke, and distinguished those that believe from those that believe not, He clearly showed the cause why they believed not. " There- fore I said unto you," saith He, "that no man can come unto me except it were given to him of my Father." Hence to believe is also given to us; for certainly to believe is something. And if it is something great, re- joice that thou hast believed, yet be not lifted up; for " What hast thou that thou didst not receive?" ^ 8. '' From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him." Went back, but after Satan, not after Christ. For our Lord Christ once addressed Peter as Satan, rather because he wished to precede his Lord, and to give counsel that He should not die, He who had come to die, that we might not die for ever; and He says to him, "Get thee behind me, Satan; for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men."-* He did not drive him back to go after Satan, and so called him Satan; but He made him go behind Himself, that by walking after his Lord he should not be a Satan. But these went back in the same manner as the apostle says of certain women: "For some are turned back after Satan. "s They walked not further with Him. Behold, cut off from the body, for perhaps they were not in the body, they have lost life. They must be reckoned among the unbelieving, notwithstanding they were called disciples. Not a few, but " many went back." This happened, it may be, for our consolation. For sometimes it happens that a man may declare the truth, and that what he says may not be understood, and so they that hear it are offended and go away. Now the man regrets that he had spoken that truth, and he says to himself, " I ought not to have spoken so, I ought not to have said this." Behold, it happened to the Lord: He spoke, and lost many; He remained with few. But yet He was not troubled, because He^new from the beginning who they were that believed and that believed not. If it happen to us, we are sorely perplexed. Let us find comfort in the Lord, and yet let us speak words with prudence.
9. And now addressing the few that re- mained: "Then said Jesus to the twelve" (namely, those twelve who remained), "Will ye also," said He, "go away?" Not even Judas departed. But it was already manifest to the Lord why he remained: to us he was made manifest afterwards. Peter answered in behalf of all, one for many, unity for the : Cor.
4 Matt. xvi. 23.
Tim.
1 KACTATE XXX'li.J Ox\ THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN.
1/7 collective whole: "Then Simon Peter an svvered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go?" Thou drivest us from Thee; give us Thy other self. " To whom shall we go? " If we abandon Thee, to whom shall we go? " Thou hast the words of eternal life." See how Peter, by the gift of God and the renewal of the Holy Spirit, understood Him. How other than because he believed? " Thou hast * the words of eternal life." For Thou hast eternal life in the ministration of Thy body and blood. " And we have believed and have known." Not have known and believed, but " believed and known." For we believed in order to know; for if we wanted to know first, and then to believe, we should not be able either to know or to believe What have we believed and known? " That Thou art Christ, the Son of God;" that is, that Thou art that very eternal life, and that Thou givest in Thy flesh and blood onlv that which Thou art.
lo. Then said the Lord Jesus: " Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? " Therefore, should He have said, " I have chosen eleven:" or is a devil also chosen, and among the elect? Persons are wont to be called " elect " by way of praise: or was man elected because some great good was done by him, without his will and know- ledge? This belongs peculiarly to God; the contrary is characteristic of the wicked. For as wicked men make a bad use of the good works of God; so, on the contrary, God makes a good use of the evil works of wicked men. How good it is that the m^embers of the body are, as they can be disposed only by God, their author and framer! Nevertheless what evil use doth wantonness make of the eyes? What ill use doth falsehood make of the tongue? Does not the false witness first both slay his own soul with his tongue, and then, after he has destroyed himself, endeavor to injure another? He makes an ill use of the tongue, but the tongue is not therefore an evil thing; the tongue is God's work, but iniquity makes an ill use of that good work of God. How do they use their feet who run into crimes? How do murderers employ their hands? And what ill use do wicked men make of those good creatures of God that lie outside of them? With gold they corrupt judgment and oppress the innocent. Bad men make a bad use of the very light; for by evil living they employ even the very light with whicli they see into the service of their villanies. A bad man, when going to do a l)ad deed, wishes the light to shine for him, lest he stumble; he who has already stumbled and fallen within; that which he is afraid of in his body has already befallen him in his heart. Hence, to avoid the tediousness of running through them separately, a bad man makes a bad use of all the good creatures of God: a good man, on the contrary, makes a good use of the evil deeds of wicked men. And what is so good as the one God? Since, indeed, the Lord Himself said, " There is none good, but the one God."' By how much He is better, then, by so much the better use He makes of our evil deeds. What worse than Judas? Among all that adhered to the Master, among the twelve, to him was committed the common purse; to him was allotted the dispensing for the poor. Unthankful for so great a favor, so great an honor, he took the money, and lost righteous- ness: being dead, he betrayed life: Him whom he followed as a disciple, he persecuted as an enemy. All this evil was Judas's; but the Lord employed his evil for good. He endured to be betrayed, to redeem us. Be- hold, Judas's evil was turned to good. How many martyrs has Satan persecuted! If Satan kft off persecuting, we should not to-day be celebrating the very glorious crown of Saint Laurence. If then God emplo)'s the evil works of the devil himself for good, what the bad man effects, by making a bad use, is to hurt himself, not to contradict the goodness of God. The Master makes use of tliat man. And if He knew not how to make use of him, the Master contriver would not have permitted him to be. Therefore, He saith, "One of you is a devil,'' whilst I have chosen you twelve. This saying, " I have chosen you twelve," may be understood in this way, that twelve is a sacred number. For the honor of that number was not taken away because one was lost, for another was chosen into the place of the one that perished. = The number remained a sacred number, a number contain- ing twelve: because they were to make known the Trinity throughout the whole world, that is, throughout the four quarters of the world. That is the reason of the three times four. Judas, then only cut himself oif, not j'tro- faned the number twelve: he abandoned his Teacher, for God appointed a successor to take his place.
II. All this that the Lord spoke concerning His flesh and blood; — and in the grace of that distribution He promised us eternal life, and that He meant those that eat His flesh and drink His blood to be understood, from the fact of their abiding in Him and He in them; and that they understood not who believed not; and that they were offended through their understanding spiritual things ' M.->rk.\. la.
- Acts i. 26.
178 THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN.
[Tractate XXVIII.
in a carnal sense; and that, while these were offended and perished, the Lord was present for the consolation of the disciples who remained, for proving whom He asked, " Will ye also go away?" that the reply of their steadfastness might be known to us, for He knew that they remained with Him; — let all this, then, avail us to this end, most beloved, that we eat not the flesh and blood of Christ merely in the sacrament, as many evil men do, but that we eat and drink to the participation of the Spirit, that we abide as members in the Lord's body, to be quickened by His Spirit, and that we be not offended, even if many do now with us eat and drink the sacraments in a temporal manner, who shall in the end have eternal torments. For at present Christ's body is as it were mixed on the threshing- floor: " But the Lord knoweth them that are His."' If thou knowest what thou threshest, that the substance is there hidden, that the threshing has not consumed what the winnow- ing has purged; certain are we, brethren, that all of us who are in the Lord's body, and abide in Him, that He also may abide in us, have of necessity to live among evil men in this world even unto the end. I do not say among those evil men who blaspheme Christ; for there are now few found who blaspheme with the tongue, but many who do so by their life. Among those, then, we must necessarily live even unto the end.
12. But what is this that He saith: " He that abideth in me, and I in him "? What, but that which the martyrs heard: " He that persevereth unto the end, the same shall be 2 Tim. ii. ig.
saved"?- How did Saint Laurence, whose feast we celebrate to-day, abide in Him? He abode even to temptation, abode even to tyrannical questioning, abode even to bit- terest threatening, abode even to destruction; — that were a trifle, abode even to savage torture. For he was not put to death quickly, but tormented in the fire: he was allowed to live a long time; nay, not allowed to live a long time, but forced to die a slow, lingering death. Then, in that lingering death, in those torments, because he had well eaten and well drunk, as one who had feasted on that meat, as one intoxicated with that cup, he felt not the torments. For He was there who said, "It is the Spirit that quickeneth." For the flesh indeed was burning, but the Spirit was quickening the soul. He shrunk not back, and he mounted into the kingdom. But the holy martyr Xystus, whose day we celebrated five days ago, had said to him, " Mourn not, my son;" for Xystus was a bishop, he was a deacon. "Mourn not," said he; "thou shalt follow me after three days." He said three days, meaning the mterval between the day of Saint Xystus's suffering and that of Saint Laurence's suffer- ing, which falls on to-day. Three days is the interval. What comfort! He says not, " Mourn not, my son; the persecution will cease, and thou wilt be safe;" but, "do not mourn: whither I precede thou shalt follow; nor shall thy pursuit be deferred: three days will be the interval, and thou shalt be with me." He accepted the oracle, vanquished the devil, and attained to the triumph.
2 Matt. xxiv. 13.
TRACTATE XXVIII.
Chapter VII. 1-13.
I. In this chapter of the Gospel, brethren, our Lord Jesus Christ has most especially commended Himself to our faith in respect of His humanity. For indeed He always keeps in view, both in His words and deeds, that He should be believed to be God and man: God who made us, man who sought us; with the Father, always God; with us, man in time. For He would not have sought man whom He had made if Himself had not become that which He had made. But re- member this, and do not let it slip from your hearts, that Christ became man in such manner that He ceased not to be God. While re- maining God, He who made man took man- hood. While, therefore, as man He con- cealed Himself, He must not be thought to have lost His power, but only to have offered an example to our infirmity. For He was detained when He willed to be, and He was put to death when he willed to be. But since there were to be His members, that is. His faithful ones, who would not have that power which He, our God, had; by His being hid, by His con- Tractate XXVIII.]
ON THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN, 179 cealing Himself as if He would not be put to death, He indicated that His members would do this, in which members He Himself in fact was. For Christ is not simply in the head and not in the body, but Christ whole is in the head and body. What, therefore, His members are, that He is; but what He is, it does not necessarily follow that His members are. For if His members were not Himself, He would not have said, "Saul, why per- secutest thou me? '' ' For Saul was not per- secuting Himself on earth, but His members, namely, His believers. He would not, how- ever, say, my saints, my servants, or, in short, my brethren, which is more honorable; but, mcy that is, my members, whose head I am. 2, With these preliminary remarks, I' think that we shall not have to labor much for the meaning in this chapter; for that is often betokened in the head which was to be in the body. " After these things," saith he, "Jesus walked in Galilee: for He would not walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him." This is what I have said; He offered an example to our infirmity. He had not lost power, but He was comforting our Aveakness. For it would happen, as I have said, that some believer in Him would retreat into concealment, lest he should be found by the persecutors; and lest the concealment should be objected to him as a crime, that occurred first in the head, which should after- wards be confirmed in the member. For it is said, " He would not walk in Judea, be- use the Jews sought to kill Him," just as if Christ were not able both to walk among the Jews, and not be killed by them. For He manifested this power when He willed; for when they would lay hold of Him, as He was now about to suffer, " He said to them. Whom seek ye? They answered, Jesus. 'I'hen, said He, I am He," not concealing, but manifesting Himself. That manifesta- tion, however, they did not withstand, but " going backwards, they fell to the ground."- And yet, because He had come to suffer, they rose up, laid hold of Him, led Him away to the judge, and slew Him. But what was it they did? That which a certain scrip- ture says: " The earth was delivered into the hands of the ungodly." ^ The fiesh was given into the power of the Jews; and this ihat thereby the bag, as it were, miglit be rent asunder, whence our purchase-price might run out.
3. " Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand." What the feast of tabernacles is. they who read the Scriptures know. Tiiey used on the holy day to make tabernacles, in likeness of the tabernacles in which they dwelt while they sojourned in the wilderness, after being led out of Egypt. This was a holy day, a great solemnity. The Jews were celebrating this, as being mindful of the Lord's benefits — they who were about to kill the Lord. On this holy day, then (for there were several holy days; but it was called a holy day with the Jews, though it was not one day, but several), "' His brethren " spoke to the Lord Christ. ■ Understand the phrase, " His brethren," as you know it must be taken, for it is not a new thing you hear. The blood relations of the Virgin Mary used to be called the Lord's brethren. For it was of the usage of Scripture to call blood rela- tions and all other near kindred by the term brethren, which is foreign to our usage, and not within our manner of speech. For who would call an uncle or a sister's son "brother "? Yet the Scripture calls relatives of this kind " brothers." For Abraham and Lot are called brothers, while Abraham was Lot's uncle.-' Laban and Jacob are called brothers, while Laban was Jacob's uncle. ^ When, therefore, you hear of the Lord's brethren, consider them the blood relations of Mary, who did not a second time bear children. For, as in the sepulchre, where the Lord's body was laid, neither before nor after did any dead lie; so, likewise, Mary's womb, neither before nor after conceived anything mortal.
4, We have said who the brethren were, let us hear what they said: " Pass over hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may see thy work which thou doest. " The Lord's works were not hid from the disciples, but to these men they were not apparent. They might have Christ for a kinsman, but through that very relationship they disdained to believe on Him. It is told us in the Gospel; for we dare not hold this as a mere opinion, you have just now heard it. They go on advising Him: " l'"or no man doeth anything in secret, and he hiniself seeketh to be known openly: if thou do these things, show thyself to the world." And directly after it says: ''■']''or neither did His brethren believe in Him." Why did they not believe in Him? Because they sought human glory. For as to what His brethren appear to advise Him, they consult for His glory. Thou doest marvellous works, make thyself known; that is, appear to all, that thou mayest be praised by all. The flesh spoke to the flesh; but the flesh without God, to the flesh with God. It was the wisdom of the flesh speak- » Acts ix. 4.
- John xviii. (,.
ijubix..4- 4 C.
I'll. XI..'7.
5 Hen. xxviii. 2.
i8o THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN.
[Tractate XXVIII.
ins: to the Word which became flesh and dwelt among us.
5 What did the Lord answer to these things? Then saith Jesus to them: "My time is not yet come; but your time is always ready." What is this? Had not Christ's time yet come? Why then was Christ come, if His time had not yet come? Have we not heard the apostle say, " But when the fullness of time came, God sent His Son"?' If, therefore, He was sent in the fullness of time. He was sent when He ought to be sent, He came when it behoved that He should come. What means then, "My time is not yet come "? Understand, brethren, with what intention they spoke, when they appeared to advise Him as their brother. They were giv- ing Him counsel to pursue glory; as advising in a worldly manner and with an earthly dis- position, that He should not be unknown to fame, nor hide Himself in obscurity. This is what the Lord says in answer to those who were giving Him counsel of glory, " My time is not yet come;" — the time of my glory is not yet come. See how profound it is: they were advising Him as to glory; but He would have loftiness preceded by humility, and willed to prepare the way to elevation itself through humility. For those disciples, too, were of course seeking glory who wished to sit, one at His right hand and the other at His left: they thought only of the goal, and saw not by what way it must be reached; the Lord recalled them to the way, that they might come to their fatherland in due order. For the fatherland is on high, the way thither lies low. That land is the life of Christ, the way is Christ's death; that land is the habitation of Christ, the way is Christ^s suffering. He that refuses the way, why seeks he the father- land? In a word, to these also, while seeking elevation. He gave this answer: " Can ye drink the cup which I am about to drink 7^' ^ Behold the way by which you must come to that height which you desire. The cup He made mention of was indeed that of His humility and suffering.
6. Therefore also here: " My time is not yet come; Init your time," that is the glory of the world, "is always ready." This is the time of which Christ, that is the body of Christ, speaks in prophecy: " When I shall have received the fit time, I will judge right- eously." ^ For at present it is not the time of judging, but of tolerating the wicked. Therefore, let the body of Christ bear at present, and tolerate the wickedness of evil livers. Let it, however, have righteousness I Gal.
Matt. XX. 22.
3 Ps. Ixxv. 2.
now, for by righteousness it shall come to judgment. And what saith the Holy Scrip- ture in the psalm to the members, — namely, that tolerate the wickedness of this world? " The Lord will not cast olf His people." For, in fact, His people labors among the un- worthy, among the unrighteous, among blas- phemers, among murmurers, detractors, per- secutors, and, if they are allowed, destroyers. Yes, it labors; but " the Lord will not cast off His people, and He will not forsake His inheritance until justice is turned into judg- ment."'* "Until the justice," which is now in His saints, "be turned into judgment;" when that shall be fulfilled which was said to them, "Ye shall sit upon twelve thrones, ■judging the twelve tribes of Israel. "^ The apostle had righteousness, but not yet that judgment of which he says, " Know ye not that we shall judge angels?"* Be it now, therefore, the time for living rightly; the time for judging them that have lived ill shall be hereafter. "Until righteousness," saith he, " is turned into judgment." The time of judgment will be that of which the Lord has here said, " My time is not yet come." For there will be a time of glory, when He who came in humility will come in loftiness; He who came to be judged will come to judge;