Church Fathers Commentary John 8:19-20

"They said therefore unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye know neither me, nor my Father: if ye knew me, ye would know my Father also. These words spake he in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man took him; because his hour was not yet come." — John 8:19-20 (ASV)

St. Augustine of Hippo: Those who had heard our Lord say, “You judge after the flesh,” showed that they did so, for they understood what He said of His Father in a carnal sense. Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?” They meant, “We have heard you say, ‘I am not alone, but I and the Father who sent Me.’ We see you alone; prove to us, then, that Your Father is with you.”

Theophylact of Ohrid: Some remark that this was said with scorn and contempt to insinuate either that He was born of fornication and does not know who His Father is, or as a slur on the humble status of His father, Joseph. It is as if to say, “Your father is an obscure, lowly person; why do you mention him so often?” So, because they asked the question to tempt Him and not to learn the truth, Jesus answered, “You neither know Me, nor My Father.”

St. Augustine of Hippo: It is as if He said, “You ask, ‘Where is Your Father?’ as if you already knew Me and I were nothing more than what you see. But you do not know Me, and therefore I tell you nothing of My Father.” You think I am merely a man, and therefore you look for My Father among men. But since I am altogether different according to My seen and unseen natures, and I speak of My Father in a hidden sense according to My hidden nature, it is clear that you must first know Me, and then you will know My Father. “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.”

St. John Chrysostom: He tells them it is of no use for them to say they know the Father if they do not know the Son.

Origen of Alexandria: “You neither know Me, nor My Father” seems inconsistent with what was said before: “You both know Me, and you know from where I am.” But the latter was spoken in reply to some from Jerusalem who asked, “Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?” The statement, “You neither know Me,” is addressed to the Pharisees. To the former people from Jerusalem, however, He said, “He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.” You will ask then, “How is it true, ‘If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also,’ when those from Jerusalem, to whom He said, ‘You know Me,’ did not know the Father?” To this we must reply that our Savior sometimes speaks of Himself as man and sometimes as God. “You both know Me,” He says as man; “You neither know Me,” as God.

St. Augustine of Hippo: What does this mean—“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also”—but that “I and My Father are one”? It is a common expression, when you see one person who looks very much like another, to say, “If you have seen him, you have seen the other.” You say this because they are so alike. And thus our Lord says, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also,” not because the Father is the Son, but because the Son is like the Father.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Let the Arian blush, for if, as he says, the Son is a creature, how does it follow that one who knows the creature also knows God? For not even by knowing the substance of angels does one know the Divine Substance. Therefore, since he who knows the Son also knows the Father, it is certain that the Son is consubstantial with the Father.

St. Augustine of Hippo: This word “perhaps” is used only by way of rebuke, though it seems to express doubt. As used by people, it is indeed an expression of doubt, but He who knew all things could only mean by that “doubt” to rebuke unbelief. Indeed, even we sometimes say “perhaps” when we are certain of a thing. For example, when you are angry with your servant and say, “Are you not listening to me? Consider, perhaps I am your master.” So our Lord’s “doubt” is a reproof to the unbelievers when He says, “You should have known perhaps My Father also.”

Origen of Alexandria: It is proper to observe that the followers of other sects think this text clearly proves that the God whom the Jews worshiped was not the Father of Christ. For if, they say, our Savior said this to the Pharisees, who worshiped God as the Governor of the world, it is evident that the Father of Jesus, whom the Pharisees did not know, was a different person from the Creator. But they do not observe that this is a usual way of speaking in Scripture. Though a person may know of God's existence and have learned from the Father that He alone must be worshiped, yet if his life is not good, he is said not to have the knowledge of God. Thus the sons of Eli, on account of their wickedness, are said not to have known God. And thus, again, the Pharisees did not know the Father because they did not live according to their Creator’s command.

And there is another meaning to “knowing God,” which is different from merely believing in Him. It is said, “Be still, and know that I am God.” And this, it is certain, was written for a people who believed in the Creator. But to know by believing and to believe simply are different things. To the Pharisees, to whom He says, “You neither know Me, nor My Father,” He could have rightly said, “You do not even believe in My Father,” for he who denies the Son has not the Father, either by faith or knowledge.

But Scripture gives us another sense of “knowing” something: namely, being joined to that thing. “Adam knew his wife,” when he was joined to her. And if he who is joined to a woman “knows” that woman, then he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit and “knows” the Lord. In this sense, the Pharisees neither knew the Father nor the Son.

But may a person not know God, and yet not know the Father? Yes; these are two different concepts. And therefore, among the countless prayers offered up in the Law, we do not find any addressed to God as Father. They pray to Him only as God and Lord, so as not to anticipate the grace poured out by Jesus over the whole world, calling all people to sonship, according to the Psalm: “I will declare Your name to my brethren.”

Alcuin of York: Treasury (Gazophylacium): “Gaza” is the Persian word for wealth; “phylattein” is to keep. It was a place in the temple where the money was kept.

St. John Chrysostom: He spoke in the temple with authority, and now He was speaking to those who railed at and accused Him of making Himself equal to the Father.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Great, however, is His confidence and fearlessness, since it was not possible for Him to undergo any suffering except that which He voluntarily undertook. Therefore, it follows, “And no man laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.”

Some, when they hear this, think Christ was under the control of fate. But if “fate” comes from the verb fari, “to speak,” as some derive it, how can the Word of God be under the control of fate? Where are the fates? In the heavens, you say, in the courses and revolutions of the stars. How then can fate have power over Him, by whom the heavens and stars were made, when even your own will, if you use it rightly, transcends the stars?

Do you think that because the flesh of Christ was placed beneath the heavens, His power was therefore subjected to the heavens? His hour, then, had not yet come; that is, not the hour when He would be forced to die, but the hour when He would choose to be put to death.

Origen of Alexandria: Whenever it is added that “Jesus spoke these words” in a certain place, you will, if you pay attention, discover a meaning in the addition. The treasury was a place for keeping the money that was given for the honor of God and the support of the poor. The coins are the divine words, stamped with the likeness of the great King. In this sense, then, let everyone contribute to the building up of the Church, carrying into that spiritual treasury all that he can collect for the honor of God and the common good. But while all were thus contributing to the treasury of the temple, it was especially the office of Jesus to contribute His gifts, which were the words of eternal life. While Jesus, therefore, was speaking in the treasury, no one laid hands on Him. His discourse was stronger than those who wished to take Him, for there is no weakness in that which the Word of God utters.

The Venerable Bede: Or, to put it another way: Christ speaks in the treasury. That is, He had spoken in parables to the Jews, but now that He unfolded heavenly things to His disciples, His treasury began to be opened. This was the meaning of the treasury being joined to the temple: all that the Law and the Prophets had foretold in figures pertained to our Lord.