Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas
5:31–40
31. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.
32. There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.
33. Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth.
34. But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved.
35. He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.
36. But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.
37. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.
38. And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.
39. Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
40. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xl. 1) He now brings proof of those high declarations respecting Himself. He answers an objection: If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. These are Christ’s own words. But does not Christ in many places bear witness of Himself? And if all this is false, where is our hope of salvation? Whence shall we obtain truth, when the Truth Itself says, My witness is not true. We must believe then that true, here, is said, not with reference to the intrinsic value of His testimony, but to their suspicions; for the Jews might say, We do not believe Thee, because no one who bears witness to himself is to be depended on. In answer then, he puts forth three clear and irrefragable proofs, three witnesses as it were, to the truth of what He had said; the works which He had done, the testimony of the Father, and the preaching of John: putting the least of these foremost, i. e. the preaching of John: There is another that beareth witness of Me: and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of Me is true.
AUGUSTINE. (de Verb. Dom. s. 43) He knew Himself that His witness of Himself was true, but in compassion to the weak and unbelieving, the Sun sought for candles, that their weak sight might not be dazzled by His full blaze. And therefore John was brought forward to give his testimony to the truth. Not that there is such testimony really, for whatever witnesses bear witness to Him, it is really He who bears witness to Himself; as it is His dwelling in the witnesses, which moves them so to give their witness to the truth.
ALCUIN. Or thus; Christ, being both God and man, He shews the proper existence of both, by sometimes speaking according to the nature he took from man, sometimes according to the majesty of the Godhead. If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true: this is to be understood of His humanity; the sense being, If I, a man, bear witness of Myself, i. e. without God, My witness is not true: and then follows, There is another that beareth witness of Me. The Father bore witness of Christ, by the voice which was heard at the baptism, and at the transfiguration on the mount. And I know that His witness is true; because He is the God of truth. How then can His witness be otherwise than true?
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xl. 2) But according to the former interpretation, they might say to Him, If Thy witness is not true, how sayest Thou, I know that the witness of John is true? But His answer meets the objection: Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness of the truth: as if to say: Ye would not have sent to John, if ye had not thought him worthy of credit. And what is more remarkable, they did send to him, not to ask Him about Christ, but about himself. For they who were sent out did not say, What sayest thou of Christ? but, Who art thou? what sayest thou of thyself? (c. 1:22) In so great admiration did they hold him.
ALCUIN. But he bore witness not to himself, but to the truth: as the friend of the truth, he bore witness to the truth, i. e. Christ. Our Lord, on His part, does not reject the witness of John, as not being necessary, but shews only that men ought not to give such attention to John as to forget that Christ’s witness was all that was necessary to Himself. But I receive not, He says, testimony from men.
BEDE. Because I do not want it. John, though he bore witness, did it not that Christ might increase, but that men might be brought to the knowledge of Him.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xl. 2) Even the witness of John was the witness of God: for what he said, God taught him. But to anticipate their asking how it appeared that God taught John, as if the Jews had objected that John’s witness might not be true, our Lord anticipates them by saying, “Ye sought him yourselves to enquire of him; that is why I use his testimony, for I need it not.” He adds, But these things I say that ye might be saved. As if He said, I being God, needed not this human kind of testimony. But, since ye attend more to him, and think him more worthy of credit than any one else, while ye do not believe me, though I work miracles; for this cause I remind you of his testimony. But had they not received John’s testimony? Before they have time to ask this, He answers it: He was a burning and a shining light, and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. He says this to shew, how lightly they had held by John, and how soon they had left him, thus preventing him from leading them to Christ. He calls him a candle, because John had not his light from himself, but from the grace of the Holy Spirit.
ALCUIN. John was a candle lighted by Christ, the Light, burning with faith and love, shining in word and deed. He was sent before, to confound the enemies of Christ, according to the Psalm, I have ordained a lantern for Mine Anointed; as for His enemies, I shall clothe them with shamem. (Ps. 131)
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xl. 2) I therefore direct you to John, not because I want his testimony, but that ye may be saved: for I have greater witness than that of John, i. e. that of my works; The works which the Father hath given Me to finish, the same works that I do bear witness of Me, that the Father hath sent Me.
ALCUIN. That He enlightens the blind, that He opens the deaf ear, looses the mouth of the dumb, casts out devils, raises the dead; these works bear witness of Christ.
HILARY. (vi. de Trin. c. 27) The Only-begotten God shews Himself to be the Son, on the testimony not of man only, but of His own power. The works which He does, bear witness to His being sent from the Father. Therefore the obedience of the Son and the authority of the Father are set forth in Him who was sent. But the testimony of works not being sufficient evidence, it follows, And the Father Himself which hath sent Me, hath borne witness of Me. Open the Evangelic volumes, and examine their whole range: no testimony of the Father to the Son is given in any of the books, other than that He is the Son. So what a calumny is it in men now saying that this is only a name of adoption: thus making God a liar, and names unmeaning.
BEDE. (v. Joan.) By His mission we must understand His incarnation. Lastly, He shews that God is incorporeal, and cannot be seen by the bodily eye: Ye have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape.
ALCUIN. The Jews might say, We heard the voice of the Lord at Sinai, and saw Him under the appearance of fire. If God then bears witness of Thee, we should know His voice. To which He replies, I have the witness of the Father, though ye understand it not; because ye never heard His voice, or saw His shape.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xl. 3) How then says Moses, Ask—whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is: did ever people hear the voice of God, speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard and seen? (Deut. 4:32, 33) Isaiah too, and many others, are said to have seen Him. So what does Christ mean here? He means to impress upon them the philosophical doctrine, that God has neither voice, or appearance, or shape; but is superior to such modes of speaking of Him. For as in saying, Ye have never heard His voice, He does not mean to say that He has a voice, only not an audible one to them; so when He says, Nor have even His shape, no tangible, sensible, or visible shape is implied to belong to God: but all such mode of speaking is pronounced inapplicable to God.
ALCUIN. For it is not by the carnal ear, but by the spiritual understanding, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, that God is heard. And they did not hear the spiritual voice, because they did not love or obey Him, nor saw they His shape; inasmuch as that is not to be seen by the outward eye, but by faith and love.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xl. 3) But it was impossible for them to declare that they had received, and obeyed God’s commands: and therefore He adds, Ye have not His word abiding in you; i. e. the commandments, the law, and the prophets; though God instituted them, ye have them not. For if the Scriptures every where tell you to believe on Me, and ye believe not, it is manifest that His word is gone from you: For whom He hath sent, Him ye believe not.
ALCUIN. Or thus; they cannot have abiding in them the Word which was in the beginning, who came not to keep in mind, or fulfil in practice, that word of God which they hear. Having mentioned the testimonies of John, and the Father, and of His works, He adds now that of the Mosaic Law: Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of Me: as if He said, Ye think ye have eternal life in the Scriptures, and reject Me as being opposed to Moses: but you will find that Moses himself testifies to My being God, if you search the Scripture carefully. All Scripture indeed bears witness of Christ, whether by its types, or by prophets, or by the ministering of Angels. But the Jews did not believe these intimations of Christ, and therefore could not obtain eternal life: Ye will not come to Me, that ye may have life; meaning, The Scriptures bear witness of Me, but ye will not come to Me notwithstanding, i. e. ye will not believe on Me, and seek for salvation at My hands.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xl. 3) Or the connection may be given thus. They might say to Him, How, if we have never heard God’s voice, has God borne witness to you? So He says, Search the Scriptures; meaning that God had borne witness of Him by the Scriptures. He had borne witness indeed at the Jordan, and on the mount. But they did not hear the voice on the mount, and did not attend to it at the Jordan. Wherefore He sends them to the Scriptures, when they would also find the Father’s testimony. (Hom. xli. 1). He did not send them however to the Scriptures simply to read them, but to examine them attentively, because Scripture ever threw a shade over its own meaning, and did not display it on the surface. The treasure was, as it were, hidden from their eye. He does not say, For in them ye have eternal life, but, For in them ye think ye have eternal life; meaning that they did not reap much fruit from the Scriptures, thinking, as they did, that they should be saved by the mere reading of them, without faith. For which reason He adds, Ye will not come to Me; i. e. ye will not believe on Me.
BEDE. (in v. Joan.) That coming is put for believing we know, Come unto Him, and be lightened. He adds, That ye might have life; (Ps. 33) For, if the soul which sinneth dies, they were dead in soul and mind. And therefore He promises the life of the soul, i. e. eternal happiness.
Catena Aurea John 5
