Church Fathers Commentary John 16

St. Augustine of Hippo: After the promise of the Holy Spirit, who would inspire them with strength to bear witness, He rightly adds, These things have I spoken to you, that you should not fall away. For when the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us (Romans 5:5), then great peace have they that love God’s law, and they are not offended at it (Psalm 118). What they were about to suffer follows next: They shall put you out of the synagogues.

St. John Chrysostom: For the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed He was the Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But what harm was it to the Apostles to be put out of the Jewish synagogues, which they would have left anyway, even if no one had expelled them? Our Lord wished to make it clear to them that the Jews were not going to receive Him, while the Apostles, on the other hand, were not going to desert Him. There was no other people of God besides the seed of Abraham; if they had acknowledged Christ, the Churches of Christ would have been nothing other than the synagogues of the Jews. But since they refused to acknowledge Him, the only thing left for them to do was to put out of the synagogue those who would not forsake Christ.

He adds: But the time comes that whoever kills you will think that he does God service. Was this intended as a consolation, as if they would be so heartbroken by their expulsion from the synagogues that death would be a positive relief to them afterward? God forbid that those who sought God’s glory, not that of men, should be so disturbed.

The meaning of the words is this: They will put you out of the synagogue, but do not be afraid of being left alone. Separated from their assemblies, you will gather so many in my name that they, fearing the temple and the rites of the old law will be deserted, will kill you and think to do God service by doing so, having a zeal for God but not according to knowledge.

These who kill are the same as those who put you out of the synagogues, namely, the Jews. For Gentiles would not have thought they were offering service to God by killing Christ’s witnesses, but rather to their own false gods. In contrast, every one of the Jews who killed a preacher of Christ thought he was offering service to God, believing that whoever converted to Christ had deserted the God of Israel.

St. John Chrysostom: Then He consoles them: And all these things will they do to you, because they have not known the Father nor Me. It is as if He said, “Let this consolation be sufficient for you.”

St. Augustine of Hippo: He mentions these things beforehand because trials, however soon they pass, are very overwhelming when they come upon people who are unprepared for them. This is why He says, But these things have I told you, that when the hour shall come, you may remember that I told you of them. He is speaking of the hour—the hour of darkness, the hour of night. But the night of the Jews was not allowed to mix with or darken the day of the Christians.

St. John Chrysostom: He also predicted these trials for another reason: so that they could not say He had failed to foresee them, or that He had only spoken to please them and offer false hope. His purpose is in the words, That you may remember that I told you of them.

He then adds the reason why He did not reveal these things sooner: And these things I said not to you at the beginning, because I was with you. This was because you were under My protection, could ask Me whenever you wished, and the entire battle rested on Me. There was no need, then, to tell you these things at first, even though I knew them Myself.

St. Augustine of Hippo: In the other three Gospels, these predictions occur before the supper, but John gives them after. Still, if they relate them as being given very near His Passion, that is enough to explain His statement, These things I said not to you at the beginning. Matthew, however, relates these prophecies as being given long before His Passion, on the occasion of His choosing the twelve. How do we reconcile this with our Lord’s words?

We reconcile it by supposing that His words apply to the promise of the Holy Spirit and the testimony He would give amid their suffering. This was what He had not told them at the beginning, because He was with them, and His presence was a sufficient consolation. But as He was about to depart, it was fitting that He should tell them of the Spirit's coming, through whom the love of God would be poured into their hearts, enabling them to preach the word of God with boldness.

St. John Chrysostom: Alternatively, He had foretold that they would suffer scourgings, but not that their deaths could be considered an act of service to God—which was the most shocking thing of all. Or, in the other accounts, He told them what they would suffer from the Gentiles, while here He tells them what they would suffer from the Jews.

St. John Chrysostom: The disciples, not yet perfected and being overcome by sorrow, were rebuked and corrected by our Lord. He said, But now I go My way to Him that sent Me; and none of you asks Me, Where do you go? They were so struck down at hearing that whoever killed them would think he was doing God service that they could say nothing. For this reason, He adds, But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. It was no small consolation for them to know that the Lord was aware of their overwhelming sorrow—sorrow because He was leaving them and because of the evils they heard they were to suffer, though they did not know if they could endure it courageously.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, since they had asked Him earlier where He was going and He had replied that He was going where they could not come, now He promises that He will go in such a way that no one will ask Him where He is going: and none of you asks Me, Where do you go? As He ascended to heaven, they did not question Him with words but followed Him with their eyes. Our Lord, however, saw the effect His words would have on their minds. Not yet having the inner consolation that the Holy Spirit would impart, they were afraid of losing the outward presence of Christ. So, when they could no longer doubt from His own words that they were going to lose Him, their human affections were filled with sadness at the loss of their visible object. Therefore, it follows, But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. But He knew it would be for their good, since that inner sight with which the Holy Spirit would console them was far better: Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away.

St. John Chrysostom: It is as if He said, "However great your grief may be, you must hear how it is profitable for you that I go away." He then shows what this benefit is: For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come to you.

St. Augustine of Hippo: He says this not because of any inequality between the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, but because the physical presence of the Son of Man among them would hinder the coming of the Spirit. For the Holy Spirit did not humble Himself as the Son did by taking on the form of a servant. Therefore, it was necessary for the form of a servant to be removed from their eyes, because as long as they looked upon that form, they thought Christ was nothing more than what they saw Him to be. So it follows: But if I depart, I will send Him unto you.

But could He not send Him while He was here—He who, we know, came and remained on Him at His baptism, and indeed, from whom we know He could never be separated? What, then, does If I go not away, the Comforter will not come to you mean, except that you cannot receive the Spirit as long as you know Christ according to the flesh? When Christ departed in the body, not only the Holy Spirit, but the Father and the Son also came spiritually.

St. Gregory the Great: It is as if He said plainly, "If I do not withdraw My body from your eyes, I cannot lead you to understand the Invisible One through the Comforting Spirit."

St. Augustine of Hippo: The Holy Spirit, the Comforter, brought about this result: once the form of a servant—which our Lord had received in the Virgin's womb—was removed from their physical sight, Christ was revealed to their purified spiritual vision. He was revealed in the very form of God, in which He remained equal to the Father even while He chose to appear in the flesh.

St. John Chrysostom: What do those say here who hold unworthy ideas about the Spirit? Is it beneficial for the master to leave so that a servant may come? He then shows the good the Spirit will accomplish: And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But how is it that Christ did not convict the world? Is it because Christ spoke only among the Jews, while the Holy Spirit, poured into His disciples throughout the whole world, convicted not just one nation, but the world? But who would dare to say that the Holy Spirit convicted the world through Christ's disciples, but that Christ Himself did not, when the Apostle exclaims, Do you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me? (2 Corinthians 13:3). Therefore, those whom the Holy Spirit convicts, Christ convicts also. He will reprove the world means He will pour love into your hearts so that, with fear cast out, you will be free to convict others. He then explains what He has said: Of sin, because they believed not in Me. He mentions this as the sin above all others, because while it remains, the other sins are retained; when it departs, the others are forgiven.

However, it makes a great difference whether one believes in Christ or only believes that He is the Christ. For even the demons believed that He was the Christ, but the one who truly believes in Christ is the one who both hopes in Christ and loves Christ.

The world is convicted of sin because it does not believe in Christ, and it is convicted concerning the righteousness of those who do believe. The very contrast presented by believers is a condemnation of unbelievers. Of righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you see Me no more. This relates to the common objection of unbelievers: "How can we believe what we do not see?" So the righteousness of believers lies in this very statement: Because I go to the Father, and you see Me no more. For blessed are they which see not, and believe. The faith of even those who saw Christ is praised, not because they believed what they saw (that is, the Son of Man), but because they believed what they did not see (that is, the Son of God). When the form of a servant was withdrawn from their sight completely, only then was the scripture, The just live by faith (Hebrews 10:38), fulfilled in its completeness. It will be your righteousness, therefore, of which the world will be convicted: that you believe in Me without seeing Me. And when you do see Me, you will see Me as I will be, not as I am now with you; that is, you will not see Me as mortal, but as everlasting. For in saying, you see Me no more, He means that they would no longer see Him in His mortal state.

Or, to put it another way: they did not believe; He went to the Father. Therefore, the sin was theirs, and the righteousness was His. His coming from the Father to us was an act of mercy, while His going to the Father was an act of righteousness, according to the Apostle's saying, Wherefore God also has highly exalted Him (Philippians 2:9). But if He went to the Father alone, what benefit is that to us? Is it not rather that He is "alone" only in the sense of being one with all His members, just as the head is with the body? So then, the world is convicted of sin through those who do not believe in Christ, and of righteousness through those who rise again in the members of Christ.

It follows, Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged—that is, the devil, the prince of the wicked, who in their hearts dwell only in this world which they love. He is judged in that he is cast out. The world is convicted concerning this judgment, for it is pointless for someone who does not believe in Christ to complain about the devil. For the devil, having been judged—that is, cast out and permitted to attack us from the outside only for our testing—has been overcome through martyrdom by not only men, but also women, boys, and girls.

Or, "judged" means he is destined irrevocably for the punishment of eternal fire. And the world is convicted of this judgment, in that it is judged along with its prince, the proud and ungodly one whom it imitates. Therefore, let people believe in Christ, so they are not convicted of the sin of unbelief, by which all other sins are retained. Let them cross over to the company of believers, so they are not convicted concerning the righteousness of those justified ones whom they fail to imitate. Let them beware of the judgment to come, so that they are not judged along with the prince of this world, whom they imitate.

St. John Chrysostom: Or, to put it another way: He will reprove the world of sin by cutting off all excuse and showing that they have sinned unpardonably in not believing in Me, especially when they see the indescribable gift of the Holy Spirit obtained by calling on My name.

St. Augustine of Hippo: In this way also, the Holy Spirit convicted the world of sin by the mighty works He performed in the name of the Savior, who was condemned by the world. The Savior, retaining His righteousness, did not fear to return to Him who sent Him, and in returning, He proved that He had come from Him: Of righteousness, because I go to the Father.

St. John Chrysostom: That is, My going to the Father will be a proof that I have led an irreproachable life, so that they will not be able to say, "This man is a sinner," or, "This man is not from God." Furthermore, since I conquered the devil (which no one who was a sinner could do), they cannot say that I have a demon and am a deceiver. But as he has been condemned by Me, they will be assured that they will trample upon him later; and My resurrection will show that he was not able to hold Me.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The demons, seeing souls go from hell to heaven, knew that the prince of this world was judged and that, having been brought to trial in the Savior's cause, he had lost all right to what he held. This was seen at our Savior's ascension, but it was declared plainly and openly at the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Our Lord, having said above, It is expedient for you that I go away, now expands on it: I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

St. Augustine of Hippo: All heretics, when their fables are rejected for their extravagance by the common sense of mankind, try to defend themselves with this text. They act as if their fables were the things the disciples could not bear at that time, or as if the Holy Spirit could teach things that even an unclean spirit would be ashamed to teach and preach openly. But there is a difference between bad doctrines, which even natural shame cannot bear, and good doctrines, which our poor natural understanding cannot bear. The first are allied to the shameless body; the second lie far beyond the body.

But what are these things they could not bear? I cannot mention them for this very reason, for who among us would dare claim to be able to receive what they could not? Someone might say that many, now that the Holy Spirit has been sent, can do what Peter could not do then, such as earn the crown of martyrdom. But does this mean we know what those things were that He was unwilling to communicate? It seems most absurd to suppose that the disciples were unable to bear the great doctrines we find in the Apostolic Epistles written afterwards, which our Lord is not recorded as having spoken to them. For why could they not bear then what everyone now reads and bears in their writings, even if they do not understand it?

Indeed, people of perverse sects cannot bear what is found in Holy Scripture concerning the Catholic faith, just as we cannot bear their sacrilegious vanities; for "not to bear" means "not to acquiesce in." But what believer, or even a catechumen before being baptized and receiving the Holy Spirit, does not acquiesce in and listen to all that was written after our Lord’s ascension, even if he does not understand it? But someone will ask: Do spiritual people never hold doctrines that they do not communicate to carnal people, but only to the spiritual? There is no necessity for any doctrines to be kept secret from the "babes" and revealed only to mature believers. Spiritual people ought not to withhold spiritual doctrines from the carnal entirely, since the Catholic faith must be preached to all. At the same time, they should not dilute these doctrines to accommodate the understanding of those who cannot receive them, for this would make their own preaching contemptible rather than making the truth intelligible.

Therefore, we should not understand our Lord's words to refer to certain secret doctrines that the disciple would be unable to bear if the teacher revealed them. Instead, they refer to the very things in religious doctrine that are within the grasp of all of us. If Christ chose to communicate these things to us in the same way He does to the angels, what human beings—indeed, what spiritual people, which the Apostles were not at that time—could bear them? For indeed, everything that can be known of the creature is inferior to the Creator, and yet who is silent about Him? While in the body, we cannot know all the truth, as the Apostle says, We know in part (1 Corinthians 13:9); but the Holy Spirit, by sanctifying us, prepares us to enjoy that fullness of which the same Apostle speaks: Then face to face. Our Lord’s promise, But when He the Spirit of truth shall come, He shall teach you all truth, or shall lead you into all truth, does not refer to this life only, but to the life to come, for which this complete fullness is reserved. The Holy Spirit both teaches believers now all the spiritual things they are capable of receiving and also kindles in their hearts a desire to know more.

DIDYMUS. Alternatively, He means that His hearers had not yet attained to all those things which they would be able to bear for His name’s sake. So, revealing lesser things, He postponed the greater for a future time—things they could not understand until the Cross of their crucified Head had itself been their instruction. As yet, they were slaves to the types, shadows, and images of the Law and could not bear the truth of which the Law was the shadow. But when the Holy Spirit came, He would lead them by His teaching and discipline into all truth, transferring them from the dead letter to the life-giving Spirit, in whom alone all scriptural truth resides.

St. John Chrysostom: Having said then, you cannot bear them now, but then you will be able, and, The Holy Spirit shall lead you into all truth, lest this should make them suppose that the Holy Spirit was superior, He adds, For He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak.

St. Augustine of Hippo: This is like what He said of Himself above: I can of My own Self do nothing; as I hear I judge. But that may be understood of Him as man. How must we understand this of the Holy Spirit, who never became a creature by assuming a creature? It means that He is not from Himself. The Son is born of the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. It would take a long time to discuss, and be rash to define, the difference between "proceeding" and "being born." But for Him, to hear is to know, and to know is to be. Since He is not from Himself but from the One from whom He proceeds—from whom He has His being—from that same One He has His knowledge. Therefore, from that same One He has His hearing. The Holy Spirit, then, always hears because He always knows; and He has heard, hears, and will hear from the One from whom He is. DIDYMUS. He shall not speak of Himself means He will not speak without Me and My will and the Father’s will, because He is not from Himself but from the Father and Me. That He exists and that He speaks, He has from the Father and Me. I speak the truth; that is, I inspire and speak through Him, since He is the Spirit of Truth. In the Trinity, "to say" and "to speak" must not be understood according to our usage, but according to the usage of incorporeal natures, and especially the Trinity, which implants Its will in the hearts of believers—all who are worthy to hear It. For the Father to speak and the Son to hear is a way of expressing the identity of their nature and their agreement. Again, the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of wisdom, cannot hear from the Son what He does not already know, seeing He is the very reality that is produced from the Son: that is, truth proceeding from truth, Comforter from Comforter, God from God. Lastly, lest anyone should separate Him from the will and fellowship of the Father and the Son, it is written, Whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak.

But it does not follow from this that the Holy Spirit is inferior, for it only signifies that He proceeds from the Father.

Do not let the use of the future tense confuse you; that hearing is eternal because the knowledge is eternal. A verb of any tense may be applied to that which is eternal, without beginning and without end. For although an unchangeable nature does not admit of "was" and "will be," but only "is," it is still permissible to say of It, "was, and is, and will be": "was," because It never began; "will be," because It will never end; and "is," because It always is. DIDYMUS. Through the Spirit of truth, the knowledge of future events has also been granted to holy men. Prophets filled with this Spirit foretold and saw things to come as if they were present: And He will show you things to come.

The Venerable Bede: It is certain that many people filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit have foreknown future events. But since many gifted saints have never had this power, the words, He will show you things to come, may be taken to mean that He will bring to your minds the joys of your heavenly country. He did, however, inform the Apostles of what was to come: namely, the evils they would have to suffer for Christ’s sake and the good things they would receive in return.

St. John Chrysostom: In this way, then, He raised their spirits, for there is nothing for which mankind longs so much as for the knowledge of the future. He relieves them from all anxiety on this account by showing that dangers would not fall upon them unexpectedly. Then, to show that He could have told them all the truth into which the Holy Spirit would lead them, He adds, He shall glorify Me.

St. Augustine of Hippo: By pouring love into the hearts of believers and making them spiritual, they were thus able to see that the Son, whom they had previously known only according to the flesh and thought to be a man like themselves, was equal to the Father. Or, it is because that love, filling them with boldness and casting out fear, led them to proclaim Christ to all people, and so they spread His fame throughout the whole world. For what they were going to do in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit says He does Himself.

St. John Chrysostom: And because He had said, You have one Master, even Christ (Matthew 23:8), so that they would not be prevented by this from accepting the Holy Spirit as well, He adds, For He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it to you. DIDYMUS. "To receive" must be taken here in a sense appropriate to the Divine Nature. Just as the Son, in giving, is not deprived of what He gives, nor does He impart to others with any loss to Himself, so too the Holy Spirit does not receive what He did not have before. For if He received what He did not previously have, with the gift being transferred to another, the giver would thereby suffer a loss. We must understand, then, that the Holy Spirit receives from the Son that which belongs to His nature, and that this does not imply two substances—one giving and the other receiving—but one substance only. In the same way, the Son is also said to receive from the Father that in which He Himself subsists. For the Son is nothing other than what is given to Him by the Father, nor is the Holy Spirit any substance other than what is given to Him by the Son.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But it is not true, as some heretics have thought, that the Holy Spirit is therefore inferior to the Son because the Son receives from the Father and the Holy Spirit from the Son, as if by a process of gradation. He Himself solves this difficulty and explains His own words: All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall show it to you. DIDYMUS. It is as if He said: "Although the Spirit of truth proceeds from the Father, yet all things that the Father has are Mine, and even the Spirit of the Father is Mine and receives of Mine." But beware, when you hear this, that you do not think it is a thing or possession that the Father and the Son have. That which the Father has according to His substance—namely, His eternity, immutability, and goodness—is what the Son has also. Away with the quibbles of logicians who say, "Therefore the Father is the Son." Indeed, had He said, "All that God has is Mine," impiety might have found an opportunity to raise its head. But when He said, All things that the Father has are Mine, by using the name of the Father, He declares Himself to be the Son. And being the Son, He does not usurp the Fatherhood, though by the grace of adoption He is the Father of many saints.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Our Lord, therefore, has not left it uncertain whether the Paraclete is from the Father or from the Son, for He is sent by the Son and proceeds from the Father, and He receives from the Son. You ask whether to receive from the Son and to proceed from the Father are the same thing. Certainly, to receive from the Son must be considered one and the same as receiving from the Father. For when He says, All things that the Father has are Mine, therefore said I, that He shall receive of Mine, He shows by this that what the Spirit receives comes from Him, because all things the Father has are His, but that they are also received from the Father. This unity has no diversity, nor does it matter from whom it is received, since that which is given by the Father is also counted as given by the Son.

St. John Chrysostom: After relieving the disciples’ spirits with the promise of the Holy Spirit, our Lord again saddens them: A little while, and you shall not see Me. He does this to accustom them to the topic of His departure, so that they may bear it well when it comes. For nothing quiets a troubled mind so much as continually returning to the subject of its grief.

The Venerable Bede: He said, A little while, and you shall not see Me, alluding to His being taken by the Jews that night, His crucifixion the next morning, and His burial in the evening, which withdrew Him from all human sight.

St. John Chrysostom: But upon examination, these are words of consolation: Because I go to the Father. For they show that His death was only a transition. More consolation follows: And again, a little while, and you shall see Me. This was an intimation that He would return and, after a short separation, come and live with them forever.

St. Augustine of Hippo: However, the meaning of these words was obscure before their fulfillment. Then some of His disciples said among themselves, What is this that He said to us, A little while, and you shall not see Me; and again, a little while, and you shall see Me; and, Because I go to the Father?

St. John Chrysostom: Either sorrow had confused their minds, or the obscurity of the words themselves prevented them from understanding and made them seem contradictory. They said, “If we are to see You, how are You going? If You go, how will we see You?” They asked, “What is this that He said to us, ‘A little while’? We cannot tell what He said.”

St. Augustine of Hippo: For previously, when He did not say, A little while, but simply, I go to the Father, He seemed to speak plainly. But what was obscure to them at the time, and only afterward made clear, is clear to us. For in a little while He suffered, and they did not see Him; and again, in a little while He rose, and they saw Him. He says, And you shall see Me no more, for they would no longer see the mortal Christ.

Alcuin of York: Alternatively, it will be a little time during which you will not see Me—that is, the three days He rested in the grave. And again, it will be a little time during which you will see Me—that is, the forty days He appeared among them, from His Passion to His Ascension. You will see Me for that little time only, Because I go to the Father; for I am not going to remain here in the body always, but am to ascend to heaven in the humanity that I have assumed.

It follows: Now Jesus knew that they were wishing to ask Him, and said to them, Do you inquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and you shall not see Me; and again, a little while, and you shall see Me? Verily, verily, I say to you, That you shall weep and lament. Understanding their ignorance and doubts, their merciful Master replied in a way that explained what He had said.

St. Augustine of Hippo: This must be understood as follows: namely, that the disciples sorrowed at their Lord’s death and then immediately rejoiced at His resurrection. The world (that is, the enemies of Christ who put Him to death) rejoiced at the very time the disciples sorrowed—at His death. You shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.

Alcuin of York: But these words of our Lord are applicable to all believers who strive through present tears and afflictions to attain eternal joys. While the righteous weep, the world rejoices; for since it has no hope of the joys to come, all its delight is in the present.

St. John Chrysostom: Then, using an example from nature, He shows that sorrow brings forth joy—that short sorrow brings infinite joy: A woman when she is in travail has sorrow, because her hour is come; but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembers no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.

St. Augustine of Hippo: This comparison does not seem difficult to understand. It was a ready one, and He Himself immediately shows its application: And you now therefore have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice. The labor is compared to sorrow and the birth to joy, which is especially true in the birth of a boy. And your joy no man takes from you. Their joy is Christ. This agrees with what the Apostle said: Christ being risen from the dead dies no more (Romans 6:9).

St. John Chrysostom: By this example, He also intimates that He loosens the chains of death and creates people anew. However, He does not say that she will not have tribulation, but that she will not remember it, so great is the joy that follows. And so it is with the saints. He did not say that a boy is born, but a man—a subtle allusion to His own resurrection.

St. Augustine of Hippo: It is better to refer what was said above to this joy: A little while and you shall not see Me, and again, a little while and you shall see Me. For the entire time that this world continues is but a little while. The phrase Because I go to the Father refers to the first clause, a little while and you shall not see Me, not to the second, a little while and you shall see Me. His going to the Father was the reason they would not see Him.

So to those who then saw Him in the body, He says, A little while and you shall not see Me, for He was about to go to the Father, and from then on mortals would never again see Him as they saw Him then. The next words, a little while and you shall see Me, are a promise to the whole Church. For this “little while” seems long to us as it is passing, but when it is finished, we will see how short a time it was.

Alcuin of York: The woman is the holy Church, who is fruitful in good works and brings forth spiritual children to God. This woman, while she is giving birth—that is, while she is making her way in the world amid temptations and afflictions—has sorrow because her hour has come, for no one ever hated his own flesh.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Yet even in this labor that brings forth joy, we are not entirely without joy to lighten our sorrow; rather, as the Apostle said, we rejoice in hope (Romans 12:12). For even the woman to whom we are compared rejoices more over her future offspring than she sorrows for her present pain.

Alcuin of York: But as soon as she is delivered—that is, when her laborious struggle is over and she has won the victor’s palm—she no longer remembers her former anguish, for joy at reaping such a reward, for joy that a man is born into the world. For just as a woman rejoices when a man is born into the world, so the Church is filled with exultation when the faithful are born into eternal life.

The Venerable Bede: Nor should it seem strange if someone who departs from this life is said to be born. For just as a man is said to be born when he comes out of his mother’s womb into the light of day, so may he be said to be born who, from the prison of the body, is raised to the eternal light. This is why the festivals of the saints, which are the days on which they died, are called their birthdays.

Alcuin of York: I will see you again means that I will take you to Myself. Or, I will see you again means that I will appear again and be seen by you, and your heart shall rejoice.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Indeed, the Church now yearns for this fruit in her labor, but she will enjoy it then in her delivery. And it is a male child because all active duties are for the sake of devotion. For only that is free which is desired for its own sake and not for anything else, and action exists for this end.

This is the end that satisfies and is eternal, for nothing can satisfy except what is itself the ultimate end. Therefore, of this joy it is well said, Your joy no man takes from you.

St. John Chrysostom: Again our Lord shows that it is expedient for Him to go: And in that day you will ask Me nothing.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The word “ask” here means not only to seek for something but also to ask a question; the Greek word from which it is translated has both meanings.

St. John Chrysostom: He says, And in that day, that is, when I have risen again, you will ask Me nothing. This means you will not say to Me, “Show us the Father,” or, “Where are you going?” since you will know this through the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Or, you will ask Me nothing in the sense that you will not need Me as a Mediator to obtain your requests, as My name will be enough if you only call upon it: Verily, verily, I say to you, whatsoever you shall ask the Father in My Name, He will give it you.

In this, He shows His power: that even when not seen or asked, but only named to the Father, He will perform miracles. Do not think, then, that because I will not be with you in the future, you are therefore forsaken, for My name will be an even greater protection to you than My presence. Hitherto have you asked nothing in My Name; ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Or, when your prayers are fully answered, then your gladness will be greatest.

St. John Chrysostom: Because these words were obscure, He adds, These things have I spoken to you in proverbs, but the time comes when I shall no more speak to you in proverbs. For forty days He talked with them as they were assembled, speaking of the kingdom of God. And now, He says, you are too fearful to pay attention to My words, but then, when you see Me risen again, you will be able to proclaim these things openly.

Theophylact of Ohrid: He still cheers them with the promise that help will be given to them from above in their temptations: At that day you shall ask in My Name. And you will be so in favor with the Father that you will no longer need My intervention: And I say not to you that I will pray the Father for you, for the Father Himself loves you. But so that they would not draw back from our Lord, as though they no longer needed Him, He adds, Because you have loved Me. It is as if to say, “The Father loves you because you have loved Me; therefore, when you fall from My love, you will immediately fall from the Father’s love.”

St. Augustine of Hippo: But does He love us because we love Him? Or rather, do we not love Him because He first loved us? This is what the Evangelist says: Let us love God, because God first loved us (1 John 4:19). The Father, then, loves us because we love the Son, since it is from the Father and the Son that we receive the very love with which we love them. He loves what He has made, but He would not have made in us what He loves unless He loved us in the first place.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Perfect faith in the Son believes and loves what has come forth from God and deserves to be heard and loved for its own sake. This faith, which confesses the Son of God was born from Him and sent by Him, does not need an intercessor with the Father. For this reason, it follows, And have believed that I came forth from God. His nativity and advent are signified by the words, I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world. The one refers to His divine plan (dispensation), the other to His nature.

To have come from the Father and to have come forth from God do not have the same meaning. It is one thing to have come forth from God in the relationship of Sonship, and another thing to have come from the Father into this world to accomplish the mystery of our salvation. Since to come forth from God is to exist as His Son, what else can He be but God?

St. John Chrysostom: Since it was comforting for them to hear of His resurrection and how He came from God and went to God, He dwells on these subjects again and again: Again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. The first was proof that their faith in Him was not in vain; the second, that they would still be under His protection.

St. Augustine of Hippo: He came forth from the Father because He is of the Father; He came into the world because He showed Himself in the body to the world. He left the world by His physical departure and went to the Father by the ascension of His humanity; yet, with respect to His governing presence, He did not leave the world. This is just as when He came forth from the Father and came into the world, He did so in such a way that He did not leave the Father.

But we read that our Lord Jesus Christ was asked questions and petitioned after His resurrection. For example, when He was about to ascend to heaven, He was asked by His disciples when He would restore the kingdom to Israel. And when in heaven, He was asked by Stephen to receive his spirit. And who would dare to say that He might be asked questions as a mortal, but not as an immortal? Therefore, I think that when He says, In that day you shall ask Me nothing, He is not referring to the time of His resurrection, but to that time when we will see Him as He is. This vision is not of this present life but of the life everlasting, when we will ask for nothing and ask no questions, because there will be nothing left to be desired and nothing left to be learned.

Alcuin of York: This, then, is His meaning: “In the world to come, you will ask me nothing. But in the meantime, while you are traveling on this wearisome road, ask what you want from the Father, and He will give it to you.” Verily, verily, I say to you, Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in My Name, He will give it you.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The word “whatsoever” must not be understood to mean just anything, but rather something that, in reference to obtaining the blessed life, is not nothing. Whatever is sought that hinders our salvation is not sought in the Savior’s name. For “in My name” must be understood not as the mere sound of letters or syllables, but as that which is rightly and truly signified by that sound. He who holds any notion about Christ that should not be held of the only Son of God does not ask in His name.

But he who thinks rightly of Him asks in His name and receives what he asks, if it is not against his eternal salvation. He receives it when it is right that he should receive it, for some things are denied at present only to be granted at a more suitable time. Again, the words, He will give it you, only include those benefits that properly pertain to the persons who ask. All saints are heard for themselves, but not for everyone, for the promise is not simply “He will give,” but “He will give you.”

What follows, Hitherto have you asked nothing in My name, can be understood in two ways. Either they had not asked in His name because they had not known it as it ought to be known, or they had “asked nothing” because, in comparison to the great thing they ought to ask for, what they had asked for counts as nothing. Therefore, so that they may ask in His name not for what is nothing but for the fullness of joy, He adds, Ask and you shall receive, that your joy may be full. This full joy is not a carnal but a spiritual joy, and it will be full when it is so great that nothing can be added to it.

And this is that full joy, than which nothing is greater: namely, to enjoy God the Trinity, in whose image we are made.

Whatever, then, is asked that pertains to obtaining this joy must be asked in the name of Christ. He will never, in His divine mercy, disappoint His saints who persevere in asking for it. But whatever is asked besides this is “nothing”—not absolutely nothing, but nothing in comparison with so great a thing as this. It follows: These things have I spoken to you in proverbs; but the time comes when I shall no more speak to you in proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of the Father. The “hour” of which He speaks could be understood as the future life, when we will see Him, as the Apostle said, face to face. And “These things have I spoken to you in proverbs” could refer to what the Apostle said: Now we see as in a glass darkly (1 Corinthians 13:12). But I will show you that the Father will be seen through the Son, for no man knows the Father save the Son, and he to whom the Son shall reveal Him (Matthew 11:17).

St. Gregory the Great: When He declares that He will show them plainly of the Father, He alludes to the coming manifestation of His own majesty, which would truly show His own equality with the Father and the procession of the coeternal Spirit from both.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But this interpretation seems to be contradicted by what follows: At that day you shall ask in My name. What will we have to ask for in the future life, when all our desires will be satisfied? Asking implies the want of something. It remains, then, that we understand these words as referring to Jesus making His disciples spiritual, transforming them from carnal and natural beings. The natural man understands whatever he hears of God in a bodily sense, as he is unable to conceive of God in any other way. Therefore, whatever Wisdom says about the incorporeal, immutable substance is a “proverb” to him—not because he considers it a proverb, but because he understands it as if it were one.

But when he becomes spiritual, he begins to discern all things. Though in this life he sees only in a mirror and in part, he nevertheless perceives—not by bodily sense, not by an idea of the imagination, but by the most certain intelligence of the mind—and holds that God is not a body, but spirit. The Son shows the Father so plainly that He who shows is seen to be of the same nature as the One who is shown. Then those who ask, ask in His name, because by the sound of that name they understand nothing less than the reality itself which is expressed by that name.

These people are able to understand that our Lord Jesus Christ, insofar as He is man, intercedes with the Father for us; and insofar as He is God, He hears us together with the Father. I think this is His meaning when He says, And I say not to you that I will pray the Father for you. To understand this—namely, how the Son does not ask the Father, but how the Father and Son together hear those who ask—is beyond the reach of any but the spiritual vision.