Thomas Aquinas Commentary John 12:34-36

"The multitude therefore answered him, We have heard out of the law that the Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man? Jesus therefore said unto them, Yet a little while is the light among you. Walk while ye have the light, that darkness overtake you not: and he that walketh in the darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have the light, believe on the light, that ye may become sons of light. These things spake Jesus, and he departed and hid himself from them." — John 12:34-36 (ASV)

1. Having mentioned the promised glorification of the Lord and explained the voice from heaven, the Evangelist now describes the doubt that existed in the crowd. First, they introduce the authority of the Law; and second, they raise a problem based on it: and how can You say: the Son of man must be lifted up?

2. Regarding the first point, the Evangelist says, the multitude answered Him—that is, the Lord, who was speaking of His death—we have heard from the Law. The Law is understood here as the entire Old Testament, which says that Christ abides forever. This can be gathered from many passages of the Old Testament, such as: of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end (Isaiah 9:7); and, his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and his kingdom one that will not be destroyed (Daniel 7:14).

3. Based on this authority, they formulate two doubts: one concerning a fact, and the other concerning the person. Regarding the fact, they say, how can You say: the Son of man must be lifted up?

   But since Christ did not say that the Son of man must be lifted up, but rather, and I, if I am lifted up (John 12:32), why do the Jews say that the Son of man must be lifted up? The answer is that the Jews were now accustomed to the Lord’s words; thus they remembered that He called Himself the Son of man. And so when He said, and I, when I am lifted up (John 12:32), they took it to mean, if the Son of man is lifted up, as Augustine says. Or, one might answer that although Christ did not mention the Son of man here, He had said earlier: so must the Son of man be lifted up (John 3:14).

4. Yet it seems that their statement, the Son of man must be lifted up, is not at all opposed to the statement that Christ abides forever.

   The answer is that since the Lord was accustomed to speaking to them in figurative language, they understood much of what was said in that way. They therefore suspected that when the Lord spoke of being lifted up, He was referring to death on the cross: when you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he (John 8:28). Alternatively, it could be said that they understood it in this sense because they had already planned to do that very thing. Thus, it was not the sharpness of their intellect that gave them this interpretation, but an awareness of their own wickedness.

5. Note their wickedness, for they do not say, we have heard from the Law that the Christ does not suffer. They avoid this because in many places in the Law, reference is made to His Passion and resurrection, such as: like a lamb that is led to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7); and, I have slept and taken my rest: and I have risen up (Psalms 3:7). Instead, they say, Christ abides forever.

   The reason for this is that their first argument would not have created a conflict, since the mere fact of His suffering poses no obstacle to Christ's immortality. In other words, as Chrysostom says, they wished to show that He was not the Christ for the very reason that Christ abides forever.

6. They raise a question concerning His person when they say, who is this Son of man? They ask this because it says in Daniel, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:13); and by that Son of man, they understood the Christ. It is as though they were saying, “You say the Son of man must be lifted up, yet the Son of man, whom we take to be the Christ, remains forever. So who is this Son of man? If He does not remain forever, neither is He the Christ.” In this, they deserve to be rebuked for their dullness, because even though they had seen and heard so many great things, they still had doubts about His being the Christ: he who tells a story to a fool tells it to a drowsy man .

7. Then, when it says, Jesus therefore said to them, the Lord addresses their doubt.

   • First, He commends the good that they had.
   • Second, He encourages them to make progress: walk while you have the light.
   • Third, He explains His warning: while you have the light, believe in the light.

8. Jesus said to them, “Yet a little while, the light is among you.” This can be understood in two ways. In one way, according to Augustine, little modifies light. It is as if to say: the light is among you, in that you recognize that the Christ remains forever. For this is a truth, and every manifestation of truth is a light infused by God. Yet this light which is in you is little, because even though you recognize the eternity of the Christ, you do not believe in His death and resurrection. This shows that you do not have perfect faith. Thus, what was said to Peter also applies to them: O man of little faith, why did you doubt? (Matthew 14:31).

   It is understood in another way by Chrysostom, as meaning that yet a little while, the light is among you refers to Jesus Himself: “I, who am the Light.” It is the same as saying, “I, the Light, am among you for a brief time”: a little while, and you will not see me (John 16:16).

9. And so He exhorts them to make progress in what is good.

   • First, He gives His exhortation.
   • Second, He shows the danger threatening them if they do not make progress: he who walks in the darkness, knows not where he goes.

10. He says, in effect, that you have a little light, but while you have it, you must walk—that is, move forward and make progress—so that you may understand that the Christ, in addition to His eternity, will also die and rise again. This is in keeping with the first explanation given above.

    Alternatively, walk while you have the light means that while I am among you, you should make progress and be concerned with possessing Me in such a way as to never lose Me: blessed are the people... O Lord, who walk in the light of Your countenance (Psalms 89:15). And you must do this so that the darkness of unbelief, ignorance, and eternal damnation does not overtake you and prevent you from going any further. For a person is overtaken by darkness when he is completely sunk in unbelief; and they would be this way if they believed in the eternity of the Christ in such a way as to deny the humiliation of His death: a man whose way is hid (Job 3:23); we are wrapped up in darkness (Job 37:19).

11. The danger threatening them if they do not progress is mentioned when He says, he who walks in the darkness, knows not where he goes. For light, whether external or internal, directs a person. External light directs a person’s physical actions, while internal light directs the will. Therefore, one who does not walk in the light, not perfectly believing in Christ, but walks in the darkness, knows not where he goes—that is, to what goal he is being led. As we read: they have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness (Psalms 82:5).

    This is what happened to the Jews, because they did not know what they were doing; like people walking in darkness, they thought they were on the right road. And so they displeased God in the very things by which they believed they were pleasing Him. Similarly, for erring heretics, the very things by which they believe they merit the light of truth and grace become the source of their being deprived of it: there is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death (Proverbs 14:12).

12. Then when He says, while you have the light, believe in the light, He explains what He said—namely, what it means to walk. This is explained in two ways, according to the two interpretations given above.

    According to the first interpretation: while you have the light—that is, while you have some knowledge and light of the truth—believe in the light—that is, in the complete truth—that you may be the children of light, meaning, so that you may be reborn in the truth: we are not of the night or of darkness. So then let us not sleep (1 Thessalonians 5:6).

    Alternatively, according to the other interpretation: while you have the light means while you have Me, who am the Light: he was the true light which enlightens every man coming into the world (John 1:9). Believe in the light means to believe in Me. In other words, make progress in the knowledge of Me, that you may be children of light, because by believing in Me you will become children of God: but as many as received him, he gave them power to be made the sons of God, to those who believe in his name (John 1:12).

13. These things Jesus said; he went away, and hid himself from them. Here the Evangelist tells what Jesus did: that He hid Himself.

    When we read above that Christ did this very thing, the reason was obvious, for they were taking up stones to throw at Him (John 8:59). But here, no reason is given for His hiding, such as that they took up stones or blasphemed Him. Why then did He hide?

    The answer is that the Lord, seeing into their hearts, knew their rage and the evil they had planned, namely, to kill Him. And so in His desire to stop them, He did not wait for them to act but hid Himself so that their anger and envy would subside. In doing this, He is an example to us that when the evil purposes of others are clear to us, we should flee before they can accomplish them.

    In addition, the Lord was showing by His actions what He had said with His words. For He had just said, walk while you have the light, that the darkness overtake you not. By hiding Himself, He indicated the kind of darkness He meant: I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob (Isaiah 8:17).