John 12:44

Contrary to His wont He cries aloud, and the cry convicts the ill-timed fear of men which influenced those who believed on Him and yet veiled their belief. For He wishes to be honoured of men that choose to admire Him, not stealthily, but openly. For He assumed that while faith ought to be laid up in the heart, nevertheless the most wise confession that is founded thereon ought to be made with great boldness. And forasmuch as, being by Nature God, He condescended to take a form like ours, He refuses for the time to declare in plain words into the ears of men who hate Him that they ought to believe in Him, although He often did say this; and with fullest adaptation to the needs of those who suffer the distemper of untamable envy at Him, He gradually accustoms their minds to penetrate towards the depth of the mysteries concerning Himself, [leading them] not to the Human Person, but to That Which was of the Divine Essence; inasmuch as the Godhead is apprehended completely in the Person of God the Father, for He, hath in Himself the Son and the Spirit. Exceeding wisely He carries them onwards, saying: He that believeth on Me believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent Me; for He does not exclude Himself from being believed on by us, because He is God by nature and has shone forth from God the Father. But skilfully (as has been said) He handles the mind of the weak to mould them to piety, in order that thou mightest understand Him to say something of this kind: "When ye believe on Me, Who for your sakes am on the one hand a man like yourselves, but on the other hand am God by reason of My own Nature and of the Father from Whom I am, do not suppose that it is upon a man you are setting your faith. For I am by Nature God, notwithstanding that I appear like one of yourselves, and I have within Myself Him Who begat Me. […]

He gradually accustoms their minds to penetrate towards the depth of the mysteries concerning Himself, [leading them] not to the Human Person, but to That Which was of the Divine Essence; inasmuch as the Godhead is apprehended completely in the Person of God the Father, for He, hath in Himself the Son and the Spirit. Exceeding wisely He carries them onwards, saying: He that believeth on Me believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent Me; for He does not exclude Himself from being believed on by us, because He is God by nature and has shone forth from God the Father. But skilfully (as has been said) He handles the mind of the weak to mould them to piety, in order that thou mightest understand Him to say something of this kind: "When ye believe on Me, Who for your sakes am on the one hand a man like yourselves, but on the other hand am God by reason of My own Nature and of the Father from Whom I am, do not suppose that it is upon a man you are setting your faith. For I am by Nature God, notwithstanding that I appear like one of yourselves, and I have within Myself Him Who begat Me. Forasmuch therefore as I am Consubstantial with Him that hath begotten Me, your faith will assuredly pass on also to the Father Himself." As we said therefore, the Lord, gradually training them to something better, and profitably interweaving the human with what is God-befitting...

"He that believeth on Me, believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent Me." As though He had said, "Why fear ye to believe on Me? Faith passeth to the Father through Me, as doth also unbelief." See how in every way He showeth the unvaryingness of His Essence. He said not, He that believeth "Me," lest any should assert that He spake concerning His words; this might have been said in the case of mere men, for he that believeth the Apostles, believeth not them, but God. But that thou mightest learn that He speaketh here of the belief on His Essence, He said not, "He that believeth My words," but, "He that believeth on Me." "And wherefore," saith some one, "hath He nowhere said conversely, He that believeth on the Father, believeth not on the Father but on Me?" Because they would have replied, "Lo, we believe on the Father, but we believe not on thee." Their disposition was as yet too infirm. Anyhow, conversing with the disciples, He did speak thus: "Ye believe on the Father, believe also on Me" (c. xiv. 1); but seeing that these then were too weak to hear such words, He leadeth them in another way, showing that it is not possible to believe on the Father, without believing on Him. And that thou mayest not deem that the words are spoken as of man, He addeth, "He that seeth Me, seeth Him that sent Me." What then! Is God a body? By no means. The "seeing" of which He here speaketh is that of the mind, thence showing the Consubstantiality. And what is, "He that believeth on Me"? It is as though one should say, "He that taketh water from the river, taketh it not from the river but from the fountain"; or rather this image is too weak, when compared with the matter before us.

Now he shows how Christ rebuked the Jews for their unbelief: first, he shows their duty to believe; secondly, he mentions the fruit of faith (v 46); thirdly, he warns the unbelievers about punishment (v 47). But because vision comes after faith, with regard to …

Jesus, yielding to the fury of the Jews, hid Himself for a time, and then appears again and cries out openly. Showing that He Himself is equal to the Father and not an adversary of God, He says: "He who believes in Me believes not …

But Jesus cried out and said. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the strengthening of those weak in faith, which is accomplished by Christ's affectionate exhortation, by which he lifts up the minds of believers to the dignity of the Divinity. On account …

Jesus cried and said,.... Upon this occasion, on account of the prevailing hardness and unbelief of the Jewish nation, and the non-confession of him by those who did believe him to be the Messiah.

Jesus said with a loud voice - This which follows to the end of the chapter, is with St. John the epilogue of our Lord's public discourses, and a kind of recapitulation of them. Believeth not on me - Not on me alone, but also on him that sent me: because the Father hath sent the Son, and because he and the Father are one.

4 Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, 5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture

These verses throw light on two subjects which we can never understand too well. Our daily peace and our practice of daily watchfulness over ourselves are closely connected with a clear knowledge of these two subjects. One thing shown in these verses is, the dignity of our Lord Jesus Christ. We find Him saying, "He that sees Me, sees Him that sent Me. I have come as a Light into the world, that whoever believes on Me should not abide in darkness." Christ's oneness with the Father, and Christ's office, are clearly exhibited in these words.

These verses throw light on two subjects which we can never understand too well. Our daily peace and our practice of daily watchfulness over ourselves are closely connected with a clear knowledge of these two subjects. One thing shown in these verses is, the dignity of our Lord Jesus Christ. We find Him saying, "He that sees Me, sees Him that sent Me. I have come as a Light into the world, that whoever believes on Me should not abide in darkness." Christ's oneness with the Father, and Christ's office, are clearly exhibited in these words. Concerning the unity of the Father and the Son , we must be content to believe reverently, what we cannot grasp mentally or explain distinctly. Let it suffice us to know that our Savior was not like the prophets and patriarchs, a man sent by God the Father, a friend of God, and a witness for God. He was something far higher and greater than this. He was in His Divine nature essentially one with the Father —and in seeing Him, men saw the Father who sent Him. This is a great mystery; but a truth of vast importance to our souls. He that casts His sins on Jesus Christ by faith is building on a rock. Believing on Christ, he believes not merely on Him, but on Him that sent Him. Concerning the office of Christ, there can be little doubt that in this place He compares Himself to the sun. Like the sun, He has risen on this sin-darkened world with healing on His wings, and shines for the common benefit of all mankind. Like the sun, He is the great source and center of all spiritual life, comfort, and fertility. Like the sun, He illuminates the whole earth, and no one need miss the way to heaven, if he will only use the light offered for his acceptance. Forever let us make much of Christ in all our religion . We can never trust Him too much, follow Him too closely, or commune with Him too unreservedly. He has all power in heaven and earth.

Jesus cried and said - This is our Lord’s concluding discourse to this wicked people: probably this and the following verses should be understood as a part of the discourse which was left off at the 36th verse. Jesus cried - he spoke these words aloud, and showed his earnest desire for their salvation.

Jesus cried and said - John does not say where or when this was; it is probable, however, that it was a continuation of the discourse recorded in Joh 12:30-36. Jesus saw their unbelief, and proceeded to state the consequence of believing on him, and of rejecting him and his message. Believeth not on me - That is, not on me alone, or his faith does not terminate on me. Compare Mat 10:20; Mar 9:37. It involves, also, belief in him that sent me. Jesus uniformly represents the union between himself and God as so intimate that there could not be faith in him unless there was also faith in God. He did the same works Joh 5:17, Joh 5:20, Joh 5:36; Joh 10:25, Joh 10:37, and taught the very doctrine which God had commissioned him to do, Joh 8:38; Joh 5:30, Joh 5:20-23.