Thomas Aquinas Commentary John 16

1. Previously, our Lord had offered certain reasons to console His disciples concerning His departure and the persecutions and tribulations that would come upon them. Here, He explains these reasons more clearly.

   • First, He explains the reasons He gave before.
   • Second, we see the effect of this explanation on the disciples, who say to Him, “Behold, now you are speaking plainly and using no figure of speech!” (John 16:29).

   If we pay close attention to what was said in the previous two chapters, we can see that our Lord aimed to console His disciples against two things: His own departure from them, and the tribulations that would come upon them. But here He explains these two things in reverse order. He had first consoled them about His departure because this would happen very soon, and He had not yet foretold all the tribulations that would come upon them. But now, since they seemed to be more troubled by their own tribulations than by Christ’s departure, our Lord first consoles them against their forthcoming trials, and then against His departure: and now I go to him who sent me (John 16:5).

   Concerning the first point, He does three things:

   • First, He states His intention.
   • Second, He mentions the tribulations they will suffer from being persecuted: They will put you out of the synagogues.
   • Third, He tells them why they will be persecuted: And these things they will do to you.

2. He says, in effect: I have said that the Jews hate Me and you because they do not know the One who sent Me. I have said that they are without excuse and that you and the Holy Spirit will bear witness against them. Now, these things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. This means you should not fall away when the tribulations I have foretold come upon you.

   It is fitting that our Lord warns them against falling away after promising the Holy Spirit. This is because the Holy Spirit is love—God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Romans 5:5)—and the Holy Spirit prevents stumbling: Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble (Psalms 119:165). It is characteristic of friends that they disregard any loss for one another’s sake (Proverbs 12:26). Therefore, for one who is a friend of God, suffering punishment and loss is no reason to fall away. Yet because the disciples had not yet received the Holy Spirit before the death of Christ, they did fall away during His passion: You will all fall away because of me this night (Matthew 26:31). But after the Holy Spirit came, there was no falling away.

3. The disciples might say, “Do we not have reason to fall away? Many troubles will come upon us:”

   • First, that of rejection.
   • Second, we will be killed.

4. They will be rejected from the society of the Jews; so He says, They will put you out of the synagogues. This is as stated before: the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue (John 9:22). This was so effective that for this reason some of the authorities who did believe in Christ were afraid to profess Him publicly, as we read earlier (John 12:42). Christ foretold this rejection: Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! (Luke 6:22).

5. Was it an evil for the apostles to be cast out of the Jewish synagogues, since they were going to leave them in any case?

   The answer, according to Augustine, is that it was a trial for them, because this was our Lord’s way of telling them that the Jews would not accept Christ. For if they had received Christ, the synagogue of the Jews and the Church of Christ would have been the same, and those who were converted to the Church of Christ would have been converted to the synagogue of the Jews.

6. The other trial is that of being killed: indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. We can take these words as spoken to console the disciples, so that the word indeed signifies a contrary train of thought. The sense would be: you ought to be consoled by what they will do to you, for, indeed the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.

   How is it a consolation for them that whoever kills them thinks he is serving God?

   The answer, according to Augustine, is that in saying, they will put you out of the synagogues, we are to understand that those converted to Christ would be immediately killed by the Jews. And so to console His disciples, our Lord tells them that they would win so many to Christ—who would be expelled from the Jewish synagogues—that they could not all be killed. Therefore, the Jews would try to kill the apostles to stop them from converting all the people to the name of Christ by their preaching.

   Alternatively, we could say that here Christ is simply telling them beforehand that they will be killed.

7. He says, whoever kills you will think he does a service to God, and not to the gods, to show that He is speaking only of persecution from the Jews: I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify (Matthew 23:34). The martyrs of Christ were killed by the Gentiles, and they did not consider that they were serving God but only their own gods. It was the Jews who, when they killed those who were preaching Christ, thought this was a service to God. For they had a zeal for God, but without knowledge, since they believed that anyone who converted to Christ was deserting God. We read of this killing: For your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered (Psalms 44:22).

8. He gives the reason why this will be so: And these things they will do to you, because they have not known the Father or Me.

   • First, stating the reason for the future persecution.
   • And then, saying why He foretold this persecution: But these things I have told you.

9. He says they will persecute you, but they will do to you, not out of zeal for the truth, but because they have not known the Father as Father, or Me as His Son: If you knew Me, you would perhaps know My Father also (John 8:19); I formerly blasphemed and persecuted and insulted him; but I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief (1 Timothy 1:13).

10. One could ask: if the Jews are going to persecute you because of their ignorance of the faith, why did Christ foretell this to you? But these things I have told you, that when the hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them.

    So Christ first gives the reason why He foretold this, and second, why He did not tell them before: I did not tell you these things from the beginning.

11. He says, But these things I have told you, that when the hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. The “hour” is said to come for people when they are able to accomplish what they desire and do what they want: let not the flower of our time pass us by . So the hour of the Jews will come when they are able to begin to persecute you. This is the hour of darkness: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness (Luke 22:53).

    That you may remember that I told you of them. This would help in two ways. In the midst of their persecutions, when they recalled that Christ had predicted them, they would realize His divinity and become more confident of His help. Again, when people foresee that tribulations are soon to come, they are less afflicted by them, for “forewarned is forearmed.”

    Cicero gives the reason for this in his Tusculan Questions. The better that temporal goods and evils are known, he says, the less they are regarded. Thus, riches are more highly regarded by those who do not have them than by the same people after they acquire them. In the same way, troubles are more feared and considered more oppressive before they are experienced than when they have come and are present. Now, when evil is meditated upon before it actually comes, this makes it present in a certain sense, and because of this presence, it is less regarded. So Cicero says that one who is wise, by premeditating on evils before they strike, can acquire strength against the sadness they will bring.

    Accordingly, Christ foretold the apostles about their tribulations for two reasons: to increase their confidence in His help, and to lessen their sadness.

12. Here He gives the reason why He did not foretell these things to them before, namely, because I was with you.

    We can relate this to the two points just mentioned. First, to the increasing of their hope. While I was with you, you had confidence in My help. But now that you will see Me die, you might doubt My power. Consequently, I must foretell certain things that are to come so that you may realize My divinity and power.

    Or, we can refer this to the second point, and then the meaning becomes this: I was with you, protecting you, and letting you cast all your troubles on Me. Father... while I was with them, I kept them in Your name (John 17:12). But since I am about to leave you, the entire weight of your troubles will fall upon yourselves. And so it is necessary that you be forewarned.

13. Yet it seems that our Lord did predict similar things before, for the other Evangelists tell us that before this, the Lord foretold to His disciples that they would be handed over to the authorities and rulers and that they would be scourged in the Jewish synagogues.

    This is not at odds with what our Lord says here, but I did not tell you these things from the beginning, because they said that our Lord said this to them on the Mount of Olives when His passion was near, that is, three days before the Last Supper. So the phrase, from the beginning, does not refer to the time of the passion, but to the time when He was first with His disciples, as Augustine says.

14. But this conflicts with Matthew. For he says that our Lord foretold that tribulations would come to the disciples not only when His passion was fast approaching, but even when He first chose them: I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves (Matthew 10:16).

    One must say then that from the beginning refers not only to the tribulations that were to come, but also to the Holy Spirit, for He did not tell them of the coming of the Holy Spirit from the beginning, as Augustine says.

    Or, it could be said, with Chrysostom, that Christ is referring to their tribulations. In this case, He did not tell them from the beginning two things which He now newly foretells. One is that they would suffer persecutions from the Jews, which He had not said previously, but had only mentioned the Gentiles (Matthew 10:22). The second regards something He had previously foretold them, which was that they would be scourged. But He now adds an element which was especially troublesome: that the Jews would regard their death as a service to God.

1. Previously, our Lord addressed what would console His disciples in their coming troubles. Here, He deals with what will console them about His departure. Our Lord consoles them about His departure with three considerations:

   1. They will have access to the Father, as promised when He said, let not your hearts be troubled... in my Father’s house there are many mansions (John 14:1–2).

   2. He was going to send the Paraclete, and so He said, and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Paraclete (John 14:16).

   3. They will see Him again, as He said, I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you (John 14:18).

   He explains these three things here, but not in the order just mentioned.

   1. First, we see the promise of the Spirit.

   2. Second, the fact that they will see Him again: a little while, and you will not see me; and again a little while, and you will see me (John 16:16).

   3. Third, we see their access to the Father, in the words, and in that day you will not ask me anything (John 16:23).

   He does two things concerning the first point:

   1. He mentions that they need some consolation.

   2. He gives it: but I tell you the truth: it is expedient to you that I go.

   Regarding their need for consolation, He does two things:

   1. He foretells His departure from them.

   2. He mentions the effect of this prediction: but because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.

2. He is leaving them, going to the Father. He says, "I was with you until now; now I go to him who sent me"—that is, to the Father. This is a mark of perfection, for a thing reaches its perfection when it returns to its source: I am ascending to him who sent me ; the rivers return to the place from which they came . He went, in His human nature, to the One with whom He was from all eternity in His divine nature.

   This was explained more fully before.

3. He adds, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’

   Why does He say this? For Peter had asked, Lord, where do you go? (John 13:36), and Thomas had said, Lord, we do not know where you go (John 14:5).

   Both Chrysostom and Augustine give an answer to this, but not the same one. Chrysostom says that when the disciples heard they would be killed and cast out of the synagogues, they became so sad and stunned that they practically forgot about Christ’s departure. Losing the thread of His thought, they did not ask Him about this. So Christ says, but because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Thus, according to Chrysostom, when our Lord says, and now I go to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ He is really rebuking them. They did not question Him about this: ask your Father, and he will show you (Deuteronomy 32:7); search out and seek, and she will become known to you .

   Augustine, on the other hand, thinks that the statement, and now I go to him who sent me, does not refer to the very time when He is speaking, but to the time when He was to ascend into heaven. It was as if He were saying: "You asked me before where I was going, but I will be going now in such a way that you will not have to ask me, ‘Where are you going?’ because as they were looking on, he was lifted up" (Acts 1:9).

4. Now He mentions the disciples' sorrow. For Chrysostom, this sorrow is the effect of Christ’s prediction. For Augustine, their sorrow is the effect of Christ’s departure, for they were glad to be in His presence and were attracted to Him in His human nature in a somewhat carnal way, just as one friend is pleased by the presence of another. So they were sad that He was leaving: weeping may tarry for the night—that is, the time of the Passion—but joy comes to the apostles with the morning of the resurrection (Psalms 30:5).

   It is human for sorrow to touch our hearts, but it is bad when it completely takes over our heart, because it then destroys our reason. So He says, somewhat as a rebuke, sorrow has filled your heart; do not give yourself over to sorrow ; let not your heart be troubled (John 14:27).

5. Now He mentions one of the things that will console them: the promise of the Holy Spirit.

   1. First, He promises the Holy Spirit.

   2. Second, He foretells the effect of the Spirit: and when he has come, he will convince the world of sin (John 16:8).

6. Concerning the promise of the Spirit, He does two things:

   1. He points out the necessity of His going.

   2. He shows that His going is beneficial.

   He says, sorrow has filled your heart because I am leaving; but you should be glad instead, because it is expedient to you that I go—that is, it is very necessary for you—for if I do not go, the Paraclete will not come to you. Furthermore, my departure is very fruitful and beneficial for you, because if I go, I will send him to you.

7. But could Christ not have sent the Holy Spirit while He was still living in the flesh?

   He could have, because even at His baptism the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove and never left Him. Indeed, from the instant of His conception, He received the Spirit without measure. But Christ did not choose to give the Spirit to His disciples while He was still living among them, for four reasons.

   1. They were not prepared, for carnal love is contrary to the Holy Spirit, since the Spirit is spiritual love. The disciples were affected by a kind of carnal love for the human nature of Christ, not yet having been elevated to a spiritual love of His divinity. And so they were not yet ready for the Holy Spirit: from now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view—with carnal affection; even though we once regarded Christ from a human point of view, before His passion, we regard him thus no longer (2 Corinthians 5:16).

   2. Christ did not give them the Spirit then because of the nature of divine help, which is to be especially present in times of need: a stronghold in times of trouble (Isaiah 9:9); for my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the LORD will take me up (Psalms 27:10). As long as Christ was with them, He was all the help they needed. But when He left, they were exposed to many tribulations, and so another Consoler and Helper was very quickly given to them: he will give you another Paraclete (John 14:16); whom will he teach knowledge? Those who are weaned from the milk, those taken from the breast (Isaiah 28:9).

   3. The Spirit was not given then out of consideration for the dignity of Christ. As Augustine says in his book On the Trinity, Christ as human does not have the power to give the Holy Spirit, but He does as God. When He was with His disciples, He seemed to be human, just like them. So that it would not appear that a mere human being was giving the Holy Spirit, Christ did not give the Spirit before His ascension: the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:39); send her forth from the holy heavens .

   4. The Spirit was not given at that time to preserve unity in the Church. We saw that John did no sign (John 10:41), and this was so that the people would not be diverted from Christ and so that the superiority of Christ over John would be more evident. But the disciples were to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that they could do even greater works than Christ had done: and greater works than these will he do (John 14:12). If the Holy Spirit had been given to them before the Passion, the people might have become confused as to who the Christ really was, and they would have been divided: you have ascended to the heights, and have given gifts to men (Psalms 68:18).

8. Chrysostom thinks that we can use this as an argument against the Macedonians, who say that the Holy Spirit is a creature and a minister of the Father and the Son. But if this were true, the coming of the Holy Spirit would not have been a sufficient consolation to the apostles for Christ’s departure. It would be like the departure of a king, where his replacement by one of his ministers would not be a sufficient consolation. Thus, because the Holy Spirit is equal to the Son, our Lord consoles them by promising that the Spirit will come.

9. Yet if the Son and the Holy Spirit are equal, why is it to their advantage that the Son leave so that the Holy Spirit can come?

   The Son left concerning His bodily presence, but He came invisibly together with the Holy Spirit. If the Son had dwelt here invisibly and said, "It is to your advantage that I go because the Holy Spirit will come," people would think the Holy Spirit was greater than the Son.

1. Previously, our Lord consoled His apostles by promising them the Holy Spirit. Here He shows the benefit the Holy Spirit will bring to them when He comes. He mentions three benefits: one for the world, a second for the disciples, and a third for Christ.

   The Holy Spirit will act regarding the world, the apostles, and Christ:

   • As for the world, the Holy Spirit will convict the world.
   • As for the apostles, the Spirit will teach them: I have yet many things to say to you.
   • As for Christ, the Spirit will glorify Him: He will glorify me (John 16:14).

   Concerning the first point, our Lord does two things. First, He mentions the benefit of the Spirit’s coming for the world; second, He explains it: of sin... because they did not believe in me.

2. He says it is to your advantage that I go, because I will send the Holy Spirit to you, and when he has come, he will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. This has received two interpretations: one by Augustine, and the other by Chrysostom.

3. Augustine explains it this way: And when he has come—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will convict the world. This means He will rebuke or reprove the world, for Reprove a wise man, and he will love you (Proverbs 9:8).

   But did Christ not also rebuke the world? He did, as when He said, you are of your father the devil (John 8:44), and in Matthew He said many things against the Pharisees and Scribes (Matthew 23). Why then does He say, he will convict, as though He Himself did not reprove? Perhaps someone will say that Christ rebuked only the Jews, but that the Holy Spirit, in and through the disciples, will rebuke the entire world. But this is contradicted by the fact that Christ also speaks in and through the apostles, just as the Holy Spirit does: you desire proof that Christ is speaking in me (2 Corinthians 13:3).

   Therefore, we must say that when He says, he will convict the world, He means the Spirit will invisibly enter their hearts and pour His love into them, so that their fear is conquered and they have the strength to rebuke. For as has already been said, as long as the disciples were attached to Christ in a worldly manner, the Holy Spirit was not in them as He would be later. Consequently, they were not as courageous then as they were after the Spirit came. Their power—the power of the apostles—came from the Spirit of his mouth (Psalms 33:6); then the Spirit of God took possession of Zechariah (2 Chronicles 24:20). Again, he will convict the world because He will fill hearts that were previously worldly and lead them to rebuke themselves: I will reprove my ways in his sight (Job 13:15). The Holy Spirit does this: put a new and right spirit within me (Psalms 51:10).

4. For what will the Spirit rebuke the world? For three things. He will reprove the worldly for the sin they have committed: declare to my people their transgression (Isaiah 58:1). And this was done by the apostles: their voice goes out through all the earth (Psalms 19:4). He will reprove the world for the righteousness it has neglected. And the apostles did this: none is righteous, no, not one (Romans 3:10). And the Spirit will reprove the world because of the judgment it has held in contempt: when wickedness comes, contempt comes also (Proverbs 18:3); she has despised my judgments (Ezekiel 5:6).

5. Now He explains all this, beginning with what He says about their sin: because they do not believe in me. The Spirit rebukes them only for the sin of unbelief because by faith all other sins are forgiven. In a similar way, our Lord charges the damned only with a lack of mercy, because all sins are washed away by mercy: by mercy and faith sins are cleansed away (Proverbs 15:27). The same applies here: as long as they remain in unbelief, their other sins remain, but when there is no longer unbelief, the other sins are forgiven.

   He says, because they did not believe in me, using the form in me, and not the forms ‘mihi’ or ‘me,’ because even the devils believe that Christ exists, and they tremble (James 2:19). To believe in me is to believe with a faith enlivened by hope and love.

6. Second, He explains what He said about righteousness when He says, because I go to the Father. This can be understood in two ways, referring either to the righteousness of Christ or of the apostles. Regarding the righteousness of the apostles, the explanation is this: the world will be rebuked because of our righteousness, which the world has not imitated. This is the righteousness, I say, which is not from the law but from faith: the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:22). Faith is concerned with what is invisible (Hebrews 11:1).

   Now, the disciples saw one thing—the humanity of Christ—but did not see another—His divinity. But Christ promises this to them as a reward: I will... manifest myself to him (John 14:21). Thus, the disciples had faith only regarding the divinity of Christ; but when Christ’s human nature was taken from them, they had faith regarding both His humanity and divinity. And so, according to Augustine in his Commentary on John, when Christ says, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more, it is as if He is saying: ‘You believe in me regarding my divinity, and because I go to the Father, you will also believe in me regarding my humanity. This is the righteousness of faith which the world does not imitate.’

   He says, and you will see me no more, not because they would never see Him, but because they would not see Him in that mortal flesh. They did see Him at the resurrection, but then He was immortal; and they will see Him at the judgment, coming in glory. This phrase is explained as referring to the righteousness of Christ in the book On the Words of the Lord. The Jews refused to recognize the righteousness of Christ: we know that this man is a sinner (John 9:24). But He will manifest His righteousness to them, saying, because I go to the Father, for the very fact that I go to the Father is a sign of my righteousness. Christ descended because of His mercy, but His ascension was due to His righteousness: therefore God has highly exalted him (Philippians 2:9).

7. Third, the Holy Spirit reproves the world by the judgment. This is because the prince of this world is already judged. It is the devil who is the ruler of this world, that is, of worldly people. He is the ruler not by creation, but by his suggestions and their imitation of him: those on his side imitate him ; he is king over all the sons of pride (Job 41:34). Therefore, this ruler is already judged, that is, cast outside: now is the judgment of this world—that is, in favor of the world—now will the prince of this world be cast out (John 12:31). He says this to anticipate the excuse that some will make for their sins, saying that the devil tempted them. He is saying, in effect, that they cannot be excused, because the devil has been cast out by the grace and faith of Christ and by the Holy Spirit—cast out from the hearts of the faithful so that he no longer tempts from within as before, but from without. And so those who resolve to cling to Christ can resist. This is why the devil, who has conquered the strongest men, can be conquered by frail women. Thus the world is reproved by this judgment because, being unwilling to resist, it is overcome by the devil, who, although expelled, is brought back by their consent to sin: let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies (Romans 6:12).

   Another explanation is in the book On the Words of the Lord. It says here that the phrase, is already judged, refers to the judgment of condemnation. That is, the ruler of this world is already condemned, and consequently all who adhere to him: depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). The world is reproved by this judgment because although the world knows that its ruler has been condemned, it has not escaped from this judgment but is judged with its ruler, because it imitates his pride and evil ways.

8. Chrysostom gives another explanation of this passage, as follows. When he has come, the Holy Spirit, he will convict the world of sin. It is as if to say: the Holy Spirit will be a witness against the world: God also bore witness by signs and wonders (Hebrews 2:4). He will show that they have sinned gravely because they did not believe in me, when they see that the Holy Spirit will be given in my name to those who believe: and we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him (Acts 5:32).

   The Holy Spirit will be a witness to my righteousness, which the world did not think I possessed. And He will be this witness because I go to the Father and will send you the Spirit, who will show that I am righteous and have led a faultless life: whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth (John 15:26). And in the Psalm we see that after Christ ascends He gives gifts to men (Psalms 68:18).

   He will be a witness of judgment, because the prince of this world is already judged; that is, it is by the Holy Spirit that he is judged and cast out of the hearts of those who believe: I will remove from the land... the unclean spirit (Zechariah 13:2); now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God (1 Corinthians 2:12). He will convict the world by His judgment because the world wickedly judged that Christ had a devil and cast out devils by Beelzebul. The Holy Spirit, whom I will send, will condemn the devil and cast him out.

9. Now He mentions the benefit His disciples will receive from the coming of the Holy Spirit; this benefit is their instruction. First, He states their need for instruction; second, He promises this instruction: but when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will teach you all truth; third, He eliminates a difficulty: for he will not speak of himself, but whatever things he will hear.

10. He says: the coming of the Holy Spirit will benefit the world because He will rebuke it. But the Spirit will also benefit you by instructing you. You need this instruction because I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. It is as if to say: I have instructed you, but you are not completely instructed. Lo, these are but the outskirts of his ways; and how small a whisper do we hear of him. But the thunder of his power who can understand? (Job 26:14). It would be foolish to ask what those many things were which they could not bear, as Augustine remarks. For if they could not bear them, much less can we.

11. The statement, you cannot bear them now, has been used by certain heretics as a cover for their errors. They tell their followers the most shameful things in private—things they would not dare to say openly—as though these were the things the disciples were not then able to bear, and as though the Holy Spirit taught them these things which a person would blush to teach and preach openly.

    We should not think that some secret teaching is kept from uneducated believers and taught only to those who are more learned. Indeed, matters of faith are presented to all the faithful: what I tell you in the dark, utter in the light (Matthew 10:27). Still, they have to be presented in one way to the uneducated and in another way to the learned. For instance, certain finer points about the mystery of the incarnation and the other mysteries would not be presented to the uneducated, because they would not understand them and they would actually be an obstacle. So our Lord presented all matters of faith to His disciples, but not in the way He later revealed them, and especially not in the way they will be presented in eternal life.

    Accordingly, what they could not bear then was the full knowledge of divine things, such as the knowledge of the equality of the Son with the Father and other things of that sort which they did not then know. Paul says, he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter (2 Corinthians 12:4); these things were the very truths of faith, not something else, but known in a more profound way. Again, the disciples did not then have a spiritual understanding of all the Scriptures, but did so only when he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45). Also, the disciples did not then have a full understanding of the sufferings and dangers they were to undergo; they could not bear such knowledge then, as their spirits were weak: put your shoulder under her and carry her . For these reasons, the disciples were in need of further instruction.

12. Then He promises that they will be instructed by the coming of the Holy Spirit, who will teach them all truth. For since the Holy Spirit is from the Truth, it is appropriate that the Spirit teach the truth and make those He teaches like the One who sent Him. He says, all truth, that is, the truth of the faith. He will teach them to have a better understanding of this truth in this life, and a full understanding in eternal life, where we will know as we are known (compare to 1 Corinthians 13:12); his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie (1 John 2:27). Or, He will teach them all truth concerning the figures of the law, an understanding the apostles received from the Holy Spirit. We read in Daniel that the Lord gave to His children wisdom and understanding (Daniel 1:17).

13. Now He addresses a potential difficulty that could have arisen. If the Holy Spirit will teach them, it seems that He is greater than Christ. This is not true, because the Spirit will teach them by the power of the Father and the Son. For he will not speak on his own authority, but from Me, because He is from Me. Just as the Son does not act on His own authority but from the Father, so the Holy Spirit, because He is from another—that is, from the Father and the Son—will not speak on his own authority, but whatever things he will hear, he will speak. He will speak by receiving knowledge as well as His essence from eternity, not with an audible voice but by enlightening your minds from within: I will bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her (Hosea 2:14); let me hear what God the Lord will speak (Psalms 85:8).

14. Since the Holy Spirit hears from eternity, why does He say he will hear, as in the future?

    We should say to this that eternity includes all time. Consequently, the Holy Spirit, who hears from all eternity, is said to hear in the present, in the past, and in the future. Yet at times He is said to hear in the future because the knowledge in question concerns things that are still in the future. He will speak, therefore, whatever he will hear, for He will not only teach about things that are eternal, but also future things. Thus He adds, and the things that are to come, he will show you, which is a characteristic of God: she has foreknowledge of signs and wonders ; tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods (Isaiah 41:23). This is characteristic of the Holy Spirit: I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters will prophesy (Joel 2:28). The apostles, moreover, had the spirit of prophecy. Or, he will teach you all truth, of the forms.

    So they would have no doubts about how they would know of the coming tribulations, which Christ predicted for them, He adds, and the things that are to come, he will show you, that is, what will come upon you.

1. Previously, we saw two results of the Holy Spirit’s coming: the conviction of the world and the instruction of the disciples. Now the third result is mentioned: the glorification of Christ.

   First, He mentions this result, the glorification. Second, He gives the reason for it: he will receive of mine. Third, He expands on this: all things whatever the Father has, are mine.

2. He says, He will teach all truth (John 16:13), because He will glorify me, in whom is all truth: I am the way, and the truth, and the life (John 14:6). It is in whom, that is, in Christ, that are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3).

   He will glorify me means He will give a clear knowledge of me. He will do this, first, by enlightening the disciples. They were still fleshly and attached to Christ in a fleshly way—that is, to the weakness of His flesh—not realizing the grandeur of His divinity. Later, they were able to grasp this through the Holy Spirit: God has revealed to us through the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10).

   Second, the Spirit will give them the confidence to preach clearly and openly. Before this, the disciples were so timid that they did not dare to profess Christ publicly. But when they were filled with the Holy Spirit, fear was cast out, and they proclaimed Christ to the people, being compelled by that same Spirit: He will come like a rushing stream, which the wind of the Lord drives (Isaiah 59:19). This is why the Apostle says, The love of Christ compels us (2 Corinthians 5:14).

   Third, the Spirit will glorify Christ by accomplishing marvelous works in and through the apostles: All things are inspired by one and the same Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:11).

3. Now we see the reason the Holy Spirit will glorify Christ: it is because the Son is the source of the Holy Spirit. For everything that comes from another reveals the one from whom it comes. Thus, the Son reveals the Father because He is from the Father. And so, because the Holy Spirit is from the Son, it is fitting that the Spirit glorify the Son. He says, He will glorify me, because he will receive of mine. However, the Holy Spirit does not receive in the same way that creatures do.

   When creatures receive, three things are present, two of which are not found in the divinity. In creatures, that which receives is one thing, and what is received is something else. This is not so in the divinity, since the divine persons are simple and not composed of several elements. Indeed, the Holy Spirit receives His entire substance from whomever this Spirit receives, and so does the Son.

   Another difference is that among creatures, the one who receives at one time did not have what he now receives, as when matter receives a form or a subject receives an attribute. For at some point, the matter was without that form, and the subject was without that attribute. This is not so in the divinity, because what the Son receives from the Father, the Son has from eternity, and what the Holy Spirit receives from the Father and the Son, the Spirit has from eternity. Accordingly, the Holy Spirit receives from the Son just as the Son receives from the Father: That which my Father has given to me is greater than all (John 10:29). Thus, when the expression “to receive” is used of the divinity, it indicates an order of origin.

4. Note that when He says, He will receive of mine, the word of does not indicate participation but consubstantiality, because the Spirit receives all that the Son has. For just as the Son is from the substance of the Father because He receives the entire substance of the Father, so also the Holy Spirit is from the substance of the Son because the Spirit receives the whole substance of the Son. Thus, because He will receive of mine, and I am the Word of God, therefore He will show it to you. This is because a creature's soul can exist only by proceeding from an inwardly conceived word.

5. This reason is further explained when Christ shows that the Holy Spirit receives from Him because of the unity and consubstantiality of the Father and the Son.

   First, we see the consubstantiality of the Father and Son. Second, the conclusion is drawn: Therefore I said, that he will receive of mine.

6. He says He will receive from me because all that the Father has is mine. This is like saying: although the Spirit of truth proceeds from the Father, yet because all that the Father has is mine, and the Spirit is the Spirit of the Father, the Spirit also receives from me.

   Note that one “has” something in two ways: as a possession, and as something existing within oneself, like a form or a part. The Father has the totality of created things as a possession and as something subject to Himself: The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof (Psalms 24:1). But the Father also has something that is in Him—indeed, that is Him—because the Father is His own essence, goodness, truth, and eternity. The word “has” is being used in this second sense here.

   Therefore, whatever the Father has is the Son’s, because the Son has the same wisdom and goodness that the Father has: For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself (John 5:26); All things have been delivered to me by my Father (Matthew 11:27).

7. As Didymus says, some might raise this objection: if all that the Father has, the Son also has, then since the Father has the characteristic of fatherhood, it follows that the Son must also have it.

   I answer that this argument would seem valid if our Lord had said, “All that God has is mine.” But He says, All that the Father has is mine, which maintains a distinction between the Father and the Son. This leads us to understand that all the Father has is the Son’s, except for that by which the Father is distinguished from the Son. By using the word “Father,” Christ declares that He is the Son and has not usurped the attribute of fatherhood.

8. We have granted that whatever the Father has, the Son also has, but not that the Son has it in the same way as the Father. The Son has it by receiving from another, while the Father has it by giving to another. Thus, the distinction is not in what is possessed, but in the order of possessing. Relations of this kind—namely, fatherhood and sonship—signify a distinction of order, for fatherhood signifies giving to another, and sonship signifies receiving from another.

9. One might ask whether a relation is something real in the divinity. It seems that it must be, for if not, then since the divine persons are distinguished by their relations, the distinction between the persons would not be real.

   The answer is that a relation in the divinity is considered in two ways. First, a relation can be considered in comparison to the essence or person of the Father. In this sense, the relation of “Father” is not different from the essence or person of the Father. Second, a relation can be considered in comparison to its opposite relation, such as sonship. In this sense, fatherhood is a real relation because it signifies an order of the nature that the Father gives to the Son by an eternal generation. This order truly exists in God.

   Therefore, if fatherhood is compared to the essence of the Father, then all that the Father has, the Son also has, because fatherhood is not different from the Father's essence. However, as was said, the Son does not have it in the same way.

10. Now he draws his conclusion: that the Holy Spirit receives from the Son. As Hilary and Didymus argue, if all things the Father has are the Son’s, and the Son is consubstantial with the Father, it is necessary that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son just as He proceeds from the Father.

    To understand this, we should note that in creation, during any procession or origination, that by which the agent acts is the same as what the recipient receives. For instance, a generated fire receives the form of fire, which the generating fire gives it by its own form. There is something similar in the origin of the divine persons, because that by which the Father gives His nature to the Son—not by will, but by nature—is the same as that which He gives.

    However, there is a difference. In creatures, that which is communicated and the means by which it is communicated are the same only in species, not as the same individual. But in the divinity, what the Father gives to the Son and that by which He gives or communicates it is the same individual nature.

11. Note that we say the Son receives from the substance of the Father—that is, He receives the Father’s substance. We also say that the Holy Spirit receives from the substance of the Father and the Son, and that the Father, by virtue of His nature, gives His substance to the Son, and the Father and the Son give it to the Holy Spirit. But we do not say that the Father is from the substance of the Son, or that the Father and the Son are from the substance of the Holy Spirit, because the word from signifies consubstantiality combined with an order of origin. Thus, what is communicated to the Holy Spirit is what is common to the Father and the Son.

    Now, in the divinity, the source of communication must be the same as what is communicated. Therefore, if what is communicated to the Holy Spirit is the divine essence, then that which communicates must also be this essence. This essence, however, is common to the Father and the Son. So, if the Father gives His essence to the Holy Spirit, the Son must also do so. For this reason, Christ says, All that the Father has is mine. And if the Holy Spirit receives from the Father, He will also receive from the Son. For this reason, Christ says, Therefore I said, that he will receive of mine and show it to you, for just as He receives from me, so He will show you.

Above, our Lord explained one reason for their consolation: his promise of the Holy Spirit. Here he gives the second, which is that they will see him again.

This section has three parts:

1. The promise is made that they will see him again.
2. We see the perplexity of the disciples: then some of the disciples said to one another.
3. Their perplexity is answered: Jesus knew that they had a mind to ask him.

When our Lord foretold that he would leave his disciples, he also promised that they would see him again. He insists on this several times so that by considering his return, they might better endure his absence.

He actually mentions three things to console them:

• His absence will be brief.
• He will be with them again.
• He will leave with honor.

His absence is brief because of the phrase a little while and you will not see me. The phrase little while refers to the time when you will not see me. It is as if he is saying: “I will be taken from you by death, and you will not see me. But do not be sad, because the time during which you will not see me will be a little while, for I will rise at dawn on the third day.” As it is written, hide yourselves for a little while until the wrath is past (Isaiah 26:20).

He will be with them again because of the phrase again a little while. This refers to a brief time after the resurrection—for forty days, appearing to them during forty days (Acts 1:3)—when you will see me. As it says later, then the disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord (John 20:20).

And he will leave with honor, because I go to the Father, for as they were looking on, he was lifted up (Acts 1:9).

Another interpretation is that the first little while refers to the time before Christ’s death. The meaning would be: it will just be a little while until I am taken from you—that is, on the next day, as he said, yet a little while I am with you (John 13:33). And you will not see me in mortal form, because yet a little while, and the world will see me no more (John 14:19) as a mortal man. The world will, however, see him at the judgment when he comes in majesty. But the disciples will see the immortal Christ after the resurrection, because as we read, God... made him manifest, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses (Acts 10:40). And so he adds, a little while, and you will see me, for he will remain in death only for a short time: in a moment of indignation I hid my face from you for a little while (Isaiah 54:8).

Alternatively, this little while before we see him can refer to the time of our entire lives until the final judgment. Then we will see Christ at the judgment and in glory. This duration is called a little while in relation to eternity: for a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past (Psalms 90:4). He says, Because I go to the Father, which he does by his resurrection and ascension, for Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father (John 13:1).

Next, we see the perplexity of the disciples. This is shown in three ways:

1. They talk it over among themselves.
2. We see the reason for their perplexity.
3. We see their point of view and attitude.

The disciples questioned one another about the Lord’s statement, asking, what is this that he said, a little while? They show an admirable respect for Christ, so great that they did not presume to question him directly. The angels do the same: who is this that comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah? (Isaiah 63:1). And he answers: it is I who am speaking of righteousness and a defender who saves you (Isaiah 63:1). We see from the disciples’ words that they did not yet fully understand what Christ said, either because they were still overcome with sorrow or because the words themselves were obscure. As Jesus asked on another occasion, are you also still without understanding? (Matthew 15:16).

The reason for their perplexity was that Christ’s statements seemed contradictory. They understood well enough when he said, you will not see me, and because I go to the Father. But they were perplexed as to how they could see the same person a little while after he had died, for they did not yet understand the resurrection. As Scripture says, what man can live and never see death? Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? (Psalms 89:48); and, no one has been known to return from Hades .

This is why the disciples say, what is this that he said, a little while? We do not know what he means, replying in an unassuming way. As Augustine remarks, when some people do not understand the words of Scripture, they belittle it, preferring their own theories to its authority. Yet others, when they do not understand, humbly admit their own lack of knowledge, as in the prayer: I am... a man who is weak and short-lived, with little understanding of judgment and laws . This is what the apostles are doing here. They do not say that Christ was wrong or that he was speaking nonsense; instead, they attribute their lack of understanding to their own ignorance.

Now their perplexity is addressed. This happens in three stages:

1. First, their perplexity is acknowledged.
2. Second, it is cleared up with the words, amen, amen I say to you, that you will lament and weep.
3. Third, Christ presents a similar situation: a woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow.

Regarding the first point, Christ does two things. First, he shows that he recognized the disciples’ perplexity, as it is written, Jesus knew—by his divinity—that they had a mind to ask him about this difficulty. For he knew what was in man (John 2:25), and man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Second, he shows how this recognition was expressed in words when he said to them, of this do you inquire among yourselves? As it is written, I made them known; then suddenly I did them and they came to pass (Isaiah 48:3).

Now he explains his words and resolves the disciples’ perplexity, not by merely repeating what he said, but by setting their minds at ease. He does this in three steps:

1. He states that there will be a division between those who are sad and those who are joyful.
2. He mentions their own internal sorrow.
3. He speaks of the joy that will follow.

Regarding the first point, he says, amen, amen I say to you, that during that little while in which you will not see me, you will lament—groaning aloud in sad tones—and weep, shedding tears. This is like the description in Scripture: she weeps bitterly in the night (referring to lamenting), with tears on her cheeks (referring to weeping) (Lamentations 1:2). And again, keep your voice from weeping (Jeremiah 31:16).

Their internal sadness will be in contrast to the joy of the world. Thus he says, but the world will rejoice. This can be understood in a particular way as referring to the time of Christ’s passion. In that case, the world—that is, the Scribes and Pharisees—will rejoice that Christ is killed: ah, this is the day we longed for; now we have it; we see it! (Lamentations 2:16). It can also refer to the evil members of the Church, who will rejoice when the saints are persecuted: the inhabitants of the earth will rejoice (Revelation 11:10). Or, in a general sense, the world—those living according to the flesh—will rejoice in worldly things: and behold, joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine (Isaiah 22:13).

The sorrow of the disciples follows, and so he says, you will be made sorrowful, because of the sufferings you will have in this world, or more specifically, at my being killed. This is how the saints are saddened: by the sufferings they endure from the world and by sin. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation (2 Corinthians 7:10).

Yet joy will follow this sadness, because your sorrow, which you will experience over my passion, will be turned into joy at my resurrection: the disciples therefore were glad when they saw the Lord (John 20:20). In general, the sorrow of all the saints will be turned into the joy of the future life: blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted (Matthew 5:4); and, he that goes forth weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, will come home with shouts of joy (Psalms 126:6). For the saints weep as they sow during this time of merit, but they will rejoice at the reaping, during the time of reward.

Our Lord then offers a comparison. He first mentions a similar case and then draws the parallels, beginning with the words, so also you now indeed have sorrow. The example he gives is that of a woman about to give birth. He mentions first the sorrow she has while in labor, and second, her joy once her child is born: but when she has brought forth the child, she remembers no more the anguish, for joy.

Regarding the first part of the comparison, he says, A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow—a very great, physical sorrow—because her hour is come, like the anguish as of a woman in travail (Psalms 48:6). We can understand this as the pain of Christ’s passion, which was the greatest of all: look and see if there is any pain like my pain (Lamentations 1:12). We can also see in it the pain of the saints when they are repentant over their sins: like a woman with child, who writhes and cries out in her pangs, when she is near her time, so were we because of you, O Lord (Isaiah 26:17).

Next, he mentions the joy that comes afterward. After a birth, there is a double joy: one because the pain is past, and the other—which is greater—over the birth of the child. This joy was considered greater if the child was male, since in ancient thought the male was seen as complete, while the female was seen as incomplete. As Jeremiah lamented, Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father: a son is born to you! (Jeremiah 20:15). And in Genesis, when Sarah conceived, she said, God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me (Genesis 21:6). So Jesus says, but when she has brought forth the child, she remembers no more the anguish. She rejoices that the pain is over, but even more for joy that a man is born into the world.

This image is appropriate for Christ because, by his suffering, he delivered us from the anguish of death and gave birth to a new humanity. That is, he conferred upon human nature a newness of life and glory previously unknown to us. Thus, the text does not say “a child is born,” but rather a man is born, because Christ, in his human nature, rose from the dead renewed with the newness of a child at birth.

This image also fits the Church militant, which walks in newness of life, and the Church triumphant, which walks in newness of glory. He does not say, “there will be no anguish,” but she remembers no more the anguish, because even though the saints in glory will remember the afflictions they endured, they will no longer experience them as suffering.

Finally, he draws the parallels. Regarding the present sorrow of the apostles, he says, so also you now indeed have sorrow. The word now can refer to the time of his passion, and the sorrow is over his death, as seen on the road to Emmaus: what is this conversation which you are holding with each other as you walk and look sad? (Luke 24:17). Or, now can mean their entire lives, during which they will indeed have sorrow, as he said above, you will lament and weep.

Regarding their future joy, he says, but I will see you again. First, he promises them a future vision of himself. This is the same as if he had said, “you will see me,” because we can only see him if he reveals himself to us. Yet he does not say, “you will see me,” but I will see you. This phrasing emphasizes that his self-revelation springs from his compassion, which his very sight of us indicates. He says, I will see you again, both at his resurrection and in future glory: your eyes will see the king in his beauty (Isaiah 33:17).

Second, he promises them a joyful heart, saying, and your heart will rejoice when you see me at my resurrection. Thus the Church sings, this is the day the Lord has made: let us rejoice and be glad. Your heart will also rejoice at the vision of his glory: your face will fill me with joy (Psalms 16:11); then you will see and be radiant, your heart will thrill and rejoice (Isaiah 60:5). It is natural for anyone to rejoice at the sight of what they love. Since no one can see the divine essence without loving it—as it is written, he shows it to his friend, as it is his possession (Job 36:33)—it is necessary that joy follows this vision. As Isaiah says, you will see (knowing with your mind), and your heart will rejoice (Isaiah 66:14). This joy will even overflow to the glorified body, for Isaiah continues, your bones will flourish like the grass. And in Matthew we read, enter into the joy of your master (Matthew 25:21).

Third, he promises that this joy will last forever, saying, and your joy no man will take from you. The joy you will have over my resurrection will not be taken from you, unlike your joy during my passion, which was taken away. As Isaiah prophesied, I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, and my soul will be joyful in my God (Isaiah 61:10). This is because Christ rising from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him (Romans 6:9). Furthermore, the joy you will have in the fullness of glory no man will take from you, since it is continuous and cannot be lost: everlasting joy will be upon their heads (Isaiah 35:10). We will not lose this joy through sin, since our wills will be fixed on the good, and no one can take it from us, because then there will be no more violence or injury.