Drawn by the Father; flesh as bread; hard saying (John 6:37–62)
revelation. And "I will not cast out" (John 6:37) means this: I will not destroy, but will save and arrange for much care to be enjoyed.
Faith in me, he says, is no chance thing, but needs a tilt from above so one may know what is beyond mind, even if our own zeal is also sought. As a physician the Father brings weak humans to Christ, and by economy as man he assigns what befits God to the Father, since as God Christ is able to bring them to himself.
Therefore Jesus is not a bare man, but God incarnate, not deified after the resurrection; for the descent precedes the ascent.
I did not come having a will of my own apart from the Father; for all that is mine is the Father's and the Father's is mine, and I came to do nothing except what the Father also wills.
All humans rise, but only the faithful are counted worthy of the goods. The Son gives life to the faithful by putting the Spirit's life-giving power into humans corruptible by nature and remaking them wholly into immortality.
Because of his mother according to the flesh they thought it impossible that he had come down from heaven, or looking at what appeared and not considering his invisible nature they took offense.
If the Father draws and God raises, great is the dignity of the faithful. He does this as God by nature.
The Father draws those good by choice and leaves the wicked. The saying does not abolish what is in our power of free will, but shows that we need help; for one is drawn not unwillingly, but enjoying much alliance. The mystery concerning Christ is a good taught by God.
Even if the Father drew through the prophets' teaching, the difference is great: the first were taught through the prophets, but the faithful through the Son or the Holy Spirit. "All shall be taught by God" (John 6:45) stands for the greater number, or that God teaches all who are willing.
Hearing is common; learning belongs only to those who give themselves to grace.
The only Invisible appears in nature only to the Invisible. Only the Son sees the Father as existing outside all things and alone being from the Father's essence.
As giving eternal life to the faithful, or as sustaining our life both now and to come. For even if one tastes death, one does not remain so because of the hope of the resurrection.
He calls his own flesh bread because it is eaten in the mysteries.
As if the matter were contrary to nature they disbelieve; as soulish they do not understand the Lord's spiritual body. He does not speak of eating flesh, but of sharing in the mysteries.
You will be without share in eternal life who have not received through participation in the mysteries Jesus who is life by nature.
He says these things showing that the flesh was not of a bare man, but of the Son filled with all the Godhead as one of the Trinity.
Just as sensible foods mixed into us constitute the body, so also mystical participation makes a kind of natural joining of the believer with Christ by mixing.
The Son is life by nature, not having received living from another; for that is called a living being. So neither is the name living being assigned to God, nor the name life to the creation.
The one who believes that the bread is given from heaven also believes that he gives eternal life. Therefore those who ate the manna did not eat the bread from heaven, from which they died.
Why did he say these things in a synagogue? To teach the crowd the doctrines and that he was not opposed to God.
The evangelist said "the word is hard" (John 6:60) because they heard the Lord's words too humanly. Not understanding what was said, they could not bear even to ask and learn.
The incarnate God himself is the Son of Man. The body itself is not called Son of Man, as Marcellus wrongly teaches when he says he came down from heaven. He teaches that he was God
Greek
ἀποκάλυψιν. τὸ δὲ οὐ μὴ ἐκβάλλω ἔξω τοῦτό ἐστιν· οὐ μὴ ἀπολέσω, ἀλλὰ σώσω καὶ ἐπιμελείας ἀπολαῦσαι παρασκευάσω πολλῆς. 7 {3Jο 6, 37}3Οὐκ ἔστιν, φησίν, τὸ τυχὸν ἡ εἰς ἐμὲ πίστις, ἀλλὰ τῆς ἄνωθεν δεῖται ῥοπῆς, ἵνα γνῷ τὰ ὑπὲρ νοῦν, εἰ καὶ ζητεῖται καὶ ἡ ἡμῶν σπουδή. ὥσπερ ἰατρῷ προσάγει ὁ πατὴρ τῷ Χριστῷ τοὺς ἀσθενεῖς ἀνθρώπους, οἰκονομικῶς δὲ ὡς ἄνθρωπος τῷ πατρὶ τὰ θεοπρεπῆ ἀνατίθησιν, ἐπεὶ ἰσχύει ὡς θεὸς ὁ Χριστὸς ἑαυτῷ προσαγαγεῖν. 8 {3Jο 6, 38}3Οὐκοῦν οὐ ψιλὸς ἄνθρωπος ὁ Ἰησοῦς, ἀλλὰ θεὸς σαρκωθείς, οὐ μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν θεοποιηθείς· προλαμβάνει γὰρ ἡ κατάβασις τὴν ἄνοδον. 9 {3Jο 6, 38}3Οὐκ ἴδιον θέλημα ἔχων παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἦλθον· πάντα γὰρ τὰ ἐμὰ τοῦ πατρός ἐστι καὶ τὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐμὰ καὶ οὐκ ἄλλο τι πράξων ἦλθον εἰ μὴ ὅπερ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ βούλεται. 210 {3Jο 6, 39}3Πάντες μὲν οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἀνίστανται, μόνοι δὲ οἱ πιστοὶ ἀξιοῦνται τῶν ἀγαθῶν. 211 {3Jο 6, 39}3Ζωοποιεῖ ὁ υἱὸς τοὺς πιστοὺς τοῖς φύσει φθαρτοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὴν ζωοποιὸν τοῦ πνεύματος ἐντιθεὶς δύναμιν καὶ ὅλους αὐτοὺς μεταπλάττων εἰς ἀθανασίαν. 212 {3Jο 6, 42}3∆ιὰ τὴν κατὰ σάρκα μητέρα αὐτοῦ ἀδύνατον ἐνόμιζον ἐξ οὐρανοῦ αὐτὸν καταβεβηκέναι ἢ εἰς τὸ φαινόμενον ὁρῶντες οὐ τὴν ἀόρατον αὐτοῦ φύσιν ἐννο οῦντες ἐσκανδαλίζοντο. 213 {3Jο 6, 44}3Εἰ ὁ πατὴρ ἄγει, ὁ δὲ θεὸς ἐγείρει, μέγα τὸ τῶν πιστῶν ἀξίωμα. τοῦτο ποιεῖ ὡς φύσει θεὸς ὤν. 214 {3Jο 6, 44}3Τοὺς κατὰ προαίρεσιν ἀγαθοὺς ἕλκει ὁ πατήρ, τοὺς δὲ μοχθηροὺς ἐᾷ. οὐ τὸ ἐφ' ἡμῖν αὐτεξούσιον ἀναιρεῖ ὁ λόγος, ἀλλὰ δείκνυσι βοηθείας δεομένους· ἕλκεται γὰρ οὐκ ἄκων, ἀλλὰ πολλῆς ἀπολαύων συμμαχίας. θεοδίδακτόν ἐστιν ® ἀγαθὸν τὸ περὶ Χριστοῦ μυστήριον. 215 {3Jο 6, 44 45}3Εἰ καὶ διὰ τῆς τῶν προφητῶν διδασκαλίας εἷλκεν ὁ πατήρ, ἀλλὰ πολλὴ ἡ διαφορά· οἱ μὲν γὰρ πρῶτοι ἐδιδάσκοντο διὰ τῶν προφητῶν, οἱ δὲ πιστοὶ διὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ ἢ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος. διδακτοὶ δὲ θεοῦ πάντες ἀντὶ τοῦ οἱ πλείονες ἤτοι πάντας τοὺς βουλομένους διδάσκει ὁ θεός. 216 {3Jο 6, 45}3Τὸ ἀκοῦσαι κοινόν, τὸ δὲ μαθεῖν μόνων τῶν ἐπιδιδόντων ἑαυτοὺς τῇ χάριτι. 217 {3Jο 6, 46}3Ὁ μόνος ἀόρατος μόνῳ τῷ ἀοράτῳ τὴν φύσιν φαίνεται. μόνος ὁρᾷ ὁ υἱὸς τὸν πατέρα ὡς ἔξω ὑπάρχων πάντων καὶ μόνος ὢν ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ πατρός. 218 {3Jο 6, 50}3Ὡς ζωὴν αἰώνιον διδοὺς τοῖς πιστοῖς ἢ ὡς διακρατῶν ἡμῶν τὴν ζωὴν καὶ τὴν νῦν καὶ τὴν μέλλουσαν. 219 {3Jο 6, 50}3Κἂν γὰρ γεύσηταί τις θανάτου, οὐ μένει οὕτω διὰ τὴν ἐλπίδα τῆς ἀνα στάσεως. 2 {3Jο 6, 50}3Ἄρτον καλεῖ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σάρκα διὰ τὸ ἐσθίεσθαι αὐτὴν ἐν τοῖς μυστικοῖς. 221 {3Jο 6, 52}3Ὡς παρὰ φύσιν ὄντος τοῦ πράγματος ἀπιστοῦσιν, ὡς ψυχικοὶ οὐ νοοῦσι τὸ πνευματικὸν τοῦ κυρίου σῶμα. 222 {3Jο 6, 52}3Οὐ σαρκοφαγεῖν λέγει, ἀλλὰ τὸ μετασχεῖν τῶν μυστικῶν. 223 {3Jο 6, 53}3Ἀμέτοχοι ἔσεσθε τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς οἱ μὴ διὰ τῆς μεταλήψεως τῶν μυστι κῶν παραδεξάμενοι τὸν Ἰησοῦν τὸν ὄντα ζωὴν κατὰ φύσιν. 224 {3Jο 6, 53}3Ταῦτα λέγει δεικνύς, ὅτι οὐκ ἦν ψιλοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἡ σάρξ, ἀλλὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ πεπληρωμένη πάσης τῆς θεότητος ὡς ἑνὸς τῆς τριάδος. 225 {3ςο 6, 56}3Ὥσπερ αἱ αἰσθηταὶ τροφαὶ ἡμῖν ἀνακιρνάμεναι συνιστῶσι τὸ σῶμα, οὕτω καὶ ἡ μυστικὴ μετάληψις ὥσπερ τινὰ φυσικὴν συνάφειαν ποιεῖ τὸν πιστὸν μετὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἀνακιρνῶσα. 226 {3Jο 6, 57}3Φύσει ζωή ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς οὐ παρ' ἑτέρου λαβὼν τὸ ζῆν· τοῦτο γὰρ ζῷον καλεῖται. οὔτε οὖν τὸ τοῦ ζῴου ὄνομα τάττεται ἐπὶ θεοῦ οὔτε τὸ τῆς ζωῆς ἐπὶ τῆς κτίσεως. 227 {3Jο 6, 58}3Ὁ πιστεύων, ὅτι ἐξ οὐρανοῦ δίδοται ὁ ἄρτος, πιστεύει, ὅτι καὶ ζωὴν αἰώνιον δίδωσιν. οὐκοῦν οἱ τὸ μάννα φαγόντες οὐκ ἔφαγον τὸν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἄρτον, ἐξ ὧν ἀπέθανον. 229 {3Jο 6, 59}3Τίνος ἕνεκεν ταῦτα εἶπεν ἐν συναγωγῇ; ἵνα διδάξῃ τὸν ὄχλον τὰ δόγματα καὶ ὅτι οὐκ ἦν ἀντίθεος. 230 {3Jο 6, 60}3Τὸ σκληρός ἐστιν ὁ λόγος εἶπεν ὁ εὐαγγελιστής, ἐπειδὴ ἀνθρωπινώ τερον ἤκουον τῶν τοῦ κυρίου ῥημάτων. 231 {3Jο 6, 60}3Μὴ νοοῦντες τὰ λεγόμενα οὐδὲ ἐρωτῆσαι καὶ μαθεῖν ἠνείχοντο. 232 {3Jο 6, 62}3Ὁ σαρκωθεὶς θεὸς αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. οὐ μὴν αὐτὸ τὸ σῶμα καλεῖται υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου ὡς κακῶς δογματίζων Μάρκελλός φησιν λέγων ἑαυτὸν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καταβεβηκέναι. διδάσκει, ὅτι θεὸς ἦν
About this text
Ammonius of Alexandria, Fragmenta in Joannem (Greek).
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG 85 (Khazarzar) (Greek)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.