The Compassion of the Word

Regarding the resurrection of the subject, it was already the fourth day of faith, and this was being held. But such a belief was not held strongly; for a little later it appears that he was still being spoken of as a remarkable man and one very able through virtue, but the perfect knowledge concerning him as the Divine Word was not yet learned, but was entirely unknown.

This is, being moved in spirit and by the Spirit usefully, he stirred himself up, like a brave champion seeing the enemies, and prepared himself against the opponents (John 11:33). He does not repeat the likeness toward men, nor does he demonstrate everywhere that which is above man, but he showed the most philanthropic compassion toward those mourning by the tear (John 11:35). This tear of the Lord is a provision of life for men. This mercy of the Savior overcomes those who are mourning. For this reason the Word descended into a body, so that he might cause those mourning to weep, and that the incorruptible divinity might be brought back toward the life-giving of men. “For we have a high priest able to sympathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15).

The Lord offers indeed the priestly office and prayers on behalf of men, but the Son has a connection and harmony toward the Father regarding his purposes for men, and thus the goodwill of God toward men came to be, after the Christ's sympathy toward fellow-born men had occurred (John 11:41-42). He calls the following of the Father's purpose toward his own purpose the obedience of a father regarding the life of Lazarus, and he gives thanks concerning this.

And he demonstrates such sharpness of the Father's agreement toward his petition, so that even before asking and before uttering the word of my prayer, 'you have heard me,' he says (John 11:41-42), and not as something wonderful or paradoxical for a son to hear a father, nor as if they were separate and becoming something else; for 'I knew,' he says, 'that you always hear me'; for nothing divided what was between, nor are the purposes separated, but whatever is the will of the Son, this is driven from the Father, and the Father's unutterable will is with the Son.

Why then do you say that I have made the Eucharist, which it was fitting to make, since he is more benefited by the extraordinary and rather by goodness? (John 11:43-44). The calling of the one lying there by name was a symbol of friendship; for he called the youth, whom he raised, 'young man,' saying, 'Young man, I say to you, arise' (John 11:43), and the girl likewise 'Talitha koum', but he calls the friend and the familiar one by a more friendly name from the name itself, so that it might be a sign of the resurrection of those called friends by the Lord, whom the apostle says are dead in the Lord, and who will be called to meet him. This is consistent with what he said himself, that 'the dead shall come forth at the voice' (John 12:3) having heard 'the Son of God'.

And this exit from the tomb is more fearsome than the wonder according to the resurrection. Uncontradictedly, he also presented to the ignorant the authority of the Benefactor; for he did not go out walking many people; for he took away the authority of movement as if to show no suspicion of the ignorant, overturning their sophisms. Because of this, he also allows them to loose the risen one from the dead, so that they, having surrounded the bonds with their own hands and having freed him from the care, may stand as witnesses of the event to those who are absent. Why then does he pray, or rather take the form of a prayer? It is so that we may not think him to be contrary to God. And 'loose him and let him go', so that being led, he might not be praised with boasting (John 11:51).

It was not spoken by Caiaphas as a prophecy of the Spirit; for the prophetic Spirit did not devise a plot against Christ, but by some coincidence with the truth and the happening thing, he was granted the opportunity to sense such a thought, because he was high priest, so that he might foretell through his mouth the thing hidden from men until then and unknown. Mary fulfills a type of the Church, the Church of those from the Gentiles being set free from demons as 'seven demons had gone out' from this one, offering the fragrance of faith to the death of Christ and receiving from Christ power for her own head through the zeal and healing love concerning him, filling the whole world with the fragrance, as Paul says: 'we are the fragrance of Christ to God' (2 Cor 2:15).

Making the pity of the penitents a pretext for his own greed, he did not even receive this ministry as more faithful than the others, but...