Tractates (Lectures) on the Gospel of John — Tractate 103

St. Augustine of Hippo

1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3

The inward state of Christ's disciples, when before His passion He talked with them as with children of great things, but in such a way as befitted the great things to be spoken to children, because, having not yet received the Holy Spirit, as they did after His resurrection, either by His own breathing upon them, or by descent from above, they had a mental capacity for the human rather than the divine, — is everywhere declared through the Gospel by numerous testimonies; and of a piece therewith, is what they said in the lesson before us. For, says the evangelist, His disciples say unto Him: Lo, now do You speak plainly, and utterest no proverb. Now we are sure that You know all things, and needest not that any man should ask You: by this we believe that You came forth from God. The Lord Himself had said shortly before, These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: the hour comes, when I shall no more speak to you in proverbs. How, then, say they, Lo, now do You speak plainly, and utterest no proverb? Was the hour, indeed, already come, when He had promised that He would no more speak unto them in proverbs? Certainly that such an hour had not yet come, is shown by the continuation of His words, which run in this way: These things, said He, have I spoken unto you in proverbs: the hour comes, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of my Father. At that day you shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father, and have come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father [[John 16.25]]-28. Seeing that throughout all these words He is still promising that hour when He shall no more speak in proverbs, but shall show them openly of the Father; the hour, when He says that they will ask in His name, and that He will not pray the Father for them, on the ground that the Father Himself loves them, and that they also have loved Christ, and have believed that He came forth from the Father, and had come into the world, and was again about to leave the world and go to the Father: when thus that hour is still the subject of promise when He was to speak without proverbs, why say they, Lo, now do You speak plainly, and utterest no proverb; but just because those things, which He knows to be proverbs to those who have no understanding, they are still so far from understanding, that they do not even understand that they do not understand them? For they were babes, and had as yet no spiritual discernment of what they heard regarding things that had to do not with the body, but with the spirit.