The Gift of the Father and the Fall of Judas
"Bread" and "the one coming down" is the nourishing word of God, which the one coming to Him eats by making virtue active. Or, those partaking in His teaching by practicing virtue are said to eat, but by the intellectual examination of the hidden meaning of Scripture, they are said to drink, just as Christ says: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness" (Matt 5:6), those partaking in this by both practice and thought.
The Jews present, having misunderstood the Savior's saying that the one keeping the word will not see death (John 8:51), supposed that to taste it meant the same as seeing death; for it seemed to them that based on His words, He would not taste death without having experienced the cosmic death; but this seems to overturn the Lord's promise, since those who kept His word have died, and their desire has become a deceitful trickery through a false similarity. For the one keeping the word of Jesus will not see the death that follows sin (John 8:52), even if he shall taste the common and bodily death. Since the prophets also said "they died" without adding "all," Enoch and Elijah do not fight against the not having died.
What does He mean by "day"—the intellectual day of the Lord (John 8:56)?
The "eyes of the heart" have been enlightened (John 9:37), shining by the light of the true one. The one opposite, being blinded by that which causes ignorance, seems not to have sin because he does not act willingly or sluggishly sinning. But this ignorance in another way is sin; for it was logical to have the knowledge of good and evil. Therefore, he is accused for the neglect of this, in favor of that ignorance. For this, the "slave who did not know the will of the master will be given little" (Luke 12:47).
The word of God becomes a door to those entering toward God according to "enter before Him in gladness" (Ps 100:2); with this, the mind is inside the man, but the body is outside.
Saying that one, attending to the inner man, enters through the Word which is a door, just as the dead, surrounding 'the members upon the earth' and 'the death of Jesus in the flesh' around himself, goes out 'through the door' striving to be pleasing even to one not residing within. 16 John 10:29 The Father gives to the Son those having been made according to the good as having an unsurpassed quality; for 'all that the Father gives to me shall come to me', and 'behold, I and the children whom God has given to me'. For just as the Son leads to the Father and hands over to him those to whom he touches himself to provide for understanding according to the one who 'having seen me has seen the Father', so the Father gives these to the Son, whom he makes known to them, just as to Peter; for not 'flesh and blood, but the Father has revealed' the Son. All those having known the Son thus from the Father attain to those things given to the Son through the exceeding perfection of these having such things. How about Judas? Being one of those given by the Father to the Son according to the ones 'whom I have given', and 'no one was lost of them except the son of perdition', he fell from such great magnitude as to be called 'a son of perdition'; for there was not yet room in the construction for Judas to be evil, as the heterodox suppose, such a change being found concerning him.
17 John 14:28 How did the greater here depart? Was it as a greatness of bodies? Or as greater in time? Or as more adorned in virtue? But all these things are within quantity, both the potential and the actual. And nothing potential or actual exists in God. Therefore, it has not been said of the greater and the lesser concerning the Word of God or concerning the Father; for it is not the nature of God to be measured or to be inscribed. If, however, you will say that the Father is greater, since he is unbegotten and the Son is begotten, we will say: that it concerns the modes of the essences, not the existences. And especially regarding the ones who are purely acting and incorporeal, the lesser does not diminish the value of the ones of the same essence, the lesser or the...
Greek
“ἄρτος” “ὁ καταβαίνων” ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ θρεπτικὸς λόγος ἐστίν, ὃν ἐσθίει ὁ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐρχόμενος τῷ τὴν ἀρετὴν ἐνεργεῖν. ἢ καὶ οἱ κατὰ μέθεξιν τῆς αὐτοῦ διδασκαλίας πρακτικὴν ἀρετὴν μετιόντες ἐσθίειν λέγονται, κατὰ δὲ τὴν διανοητικὴν ἐξέτασιν τοῦ κεκρυμμένου τῆς γραφῆς πίνειν λέγονται καθώς φησιν ὁ Χριστός· “μακάριοι οἱ πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην” οἱ καὶ πρᾶξιν καὶ νόησιν ταύτης μετιόντες. 12 Jo 8, 51–52 Τοῦ σωτῆρος εἰρηκότος μὴ θεωρήσειν θάνατον τὸν τηροῦντα τὸν λόγον οἱ παρόντες Ἰουδαῖοι σφαλέντες τὸ θεωρῆσαι θάνατον ταὐτὸν εἶναι τῷ γεύσασθαι αὐτοῦ ὑπέλαβον· δοκεῖ γὰρ αὐτοῖς ὅJoν ἐπὶ ταῖς αὐτῶν λέξεσιν ἐκεῖνον μὴ γεύσασθαι θανάτου τὸν πεῖραν τοῦ κοσμικοῦ μὴ λαβόντα θανάτου· τοῦτο δὲ δοκεῖ ἀνατρέπειν τὴν κυριακὴν ἐπαγγελίαν, τεθνηκότων καὶ τῶν τηρησάντων αὐτοῦ τὸν λόγον, γέγονε δὲ αὐτοῖς ἀπάτη τὸ θέλημα πανούργως Joφίσασθαι ἐξ ὁμωνυμίας· ὁ γὰρ τηρῶν τὸν Ἰησοῦ λόγον τὸν ἑπόμενον τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ θάνατον οὐ μὴ θεωρήσει, εἰ καὶ γεύσεται τοῦ κοινοῦ καὶ σωματικοῦ θανάτου. ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ ἀπροσδιορίστως εἶπον οἱ προφῆται ἀπέθανον μὴ προσθέντες τὸ πάντες, οὐ μάχεται τὸ μὴ τεθνάναι Ἐνὼχ καὶ Ἠλίαν. 13 Jo 8, 56 Ζητητέον τίνα λέγει ἡμέραν–τὴν νοητὴν τοῦ κυρίου ἡμέραν. 14 Jo 9, 37 Πεφώτισται “τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῆς καρδίας” ἐλλαμπόμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ φωτὸς τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ. ὁ ἀπ' ἐναντίας ἔχων τούτῳ τυφλωθεὶς ὑφ' ἧς ἔχει ἀγνοίας δοκεῖ μὴ ἔχειν ἁμαρτίαν τῷ μὴ ἑκουσίως πράττειν ἁδρὰ ἡμαρτηκώς. αὐτὸ δὲ τὸ ἀγνοεῖν κατ' ἄλλον τρόπον ἁμάρτημά ἐστιν· ἐνῆν γὰρ λογικὸν ὄντα ἐπιστήμην ἀγαθοῦ καὶ κακοῦ ἔχειν. ἀμελήσεως οὖν τούτου ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀγνοίας ἐγκαλεῖται. εἰς τοῦτο λήψῃ τὸ “ὁ δοῦλος ὁ μὴ γνοὺς τὸ θέλημα τοῦ κυρίου δαρήσεται ὀλίγας”. 15 Jo 10, 9 Θύρα ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος τυγχάνει τοῖς πρὸς θεὸν εἰσερχομένοις κατὰ τὸ “εἰσέλθετε ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ ἐν ἀγαλλιάσει”· πρὸς τούτοις ἔσω ἀνθρώπου τοῦ νοὸς ὄντος, ἔξω δὲ ἀνθρώπου τοῦ σωματικωτέρου ὁ ἐπιμέλειαν ποιούμενος τοῦ ἔσω ἀνθρώπου εἰσέρχεται διὰ τοῦ λόγου ὄντος θύρας, ὡσαύτως ὁ νεκρῶν “τὰ μέλη τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς” καὶ “τὴν νέκρωσιν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἐν τῷ σώματι” περιφέρων τῷ ἑαυτοῦ ἐξέρχεται “διὰ τῆς θύρας” φιλοτιμούμενος μηδὲ ἐνδημοῦντι εὐάρεστος αὐτῷ εἶναι. 16 Jo 10,29 ∆ίδωσιν ὁ πατὴρ τῷ υἱῷ τοὺς κατὰ τὸ ἀγαθὸν πεποιωμένους ὡς ἀνυπερβλήτῳ ποιότητι· “πᾶν” γὰρ “ὃ δίδωσίν μοι ὁ πατὴρ πρὸς ἐμὲ ἥξει”, καὶ “ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ καὶ τὰ παιδία ἅ μοι ἔδωκεν ὁ θεός”· ὡς γὰρ ἄγει πρὸς τὸν πατέρα ὁ υἱὸς καὶ παραδίδωσι αὐτῷ τοὺς οἷς ἅπτει ἑαυτὸν εἰς κατανόησιν παρασχὼν κατὰ τὸ ὁ “ἑωρακὼς ἐμὲ ἑώρακεν τὸν πατέρα”, οὕτω δίδωσιν ὁ πατὴρ τῷ υἱῷ τούτους, οἷς γνωρίζει αὐτόν, καθάπερ τὸν Πέτρον· οὐ γὰρ “σὰρξ καὶ αἷμα, ἀλλ' ὁ πατὴρ ἀπεκάλυψεν” τὸν υἱόν. πάντες οἱ οὕτως ἐκ πατρὸς γνόντες τὸν υἱὸν ἐπιτυγχάνουσιν τῶν δοθέντων τῷ υἱῷ δι' ὑπερβάλλουσαν τελειότητα τούτων οὕτως ἐχόντων. πῶς Ἰούδας; εἷς ὢν καὶ αὐτὸς τῶν δοθέντων ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς τῷ υἱῷ κατὰ τὸ οὓς “δέδωκάς μοι” ἐτήρησα καὶ “οὐδεὶς ἀπώλετο ἐξ αὐτῶν εἰ μὴ ὁ υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας” μετέπεσεν ἐκ τοῦ τηλικούτου μεγέθους ὡς “υἱὸς ἀπωλείας” χρηματίσαι· οὐ γὰρ ἔτι 3 χώραν εἶχεν ἐκ κατασκευῆς κακὸν εἶναι τὸν Ἰούδαν ὡς οἴονται οἱ ἑτερόδοξοι τοσαύτης μεταβολῆς περὶ αὐτὸν εὑρισκομένης. 17 Jo 14,28 Τὸ μείζων ἐνταῦθα πῶς ἐξείληφεν; ἆρα ὡς ἐπὶ μεγέθους σωμάτων; ἢ ὡς μείζων ἐν χρόνῳ; ἢ ὡς ἐν ἀρετῇ πλείονι κεκοσμημένος; ἀλλὰ ταῦτα πάντα ἐντὸς ποσότητός ἐστι καὶ τῶν ἐνδεχομένων καὶ μεμετρημένων. οὐδὲν δὲ ἐνδεχόμενον καὶ μεμετρημένον ἐν τῷ θεῷ. οὐκ ἄρα τὸ μεῖζον καὶ ἔλαττον ἐπὶ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγου ἢ ἐπὶ τοῦ πατρὸς εἴρηται· θεὸς γὰρ μετρεῖσθαι ἢ διαγράφεσθαι οὐ πέφυκεν. εἰ δὲ φήσεις μείζονα εἶναι τὸν πατέρα, ὅτιπερ ἀγέννητος, ὁ δὲ υἱὸς γεννητός, ἐροῦμεν, ὅτι τῶν οὐσιῶν οἱ τρόποι, οὐ τῶν ὑπάρξεων. καὶ μάλιστα ἐπὶ τῶν ἀποίων καὶ ἀσωμάτων οὐκ ἐλαττοῦσι τὴν ἀξίαν τῶν ὁμοουσίων τὸ ἔλαττον ἢ τὸ
About this text
Surviving fragments of Didymus's lost commentary on John, on the Word made flesh.
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG (Khazarzar) (Greek)
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