Thomas Aquinas

Above it was treated of the glory shown to Christ by various men; here he treats of the glory shown to Christ by God, and first the petition for this glory is set down; second the promise of glory is added, where it says, "there came therefore a voice from heaven," and so on. Concerning the first he does two things. First he sets forth the affection of his soul; second he proposes the petition, where it says, "and what shall I say?" and so on. But note, concerning the first, that it is a wonderful thing that he says, "now is my soul troubled." For above he had exhorted his faithful to hold their soul in hatred in this world, and now, with death imminent, we hear the Lord himself saying, "now is my soul troubled." On account of which Augustine says: Lord, you command my soul to follow, and I see your soul troubled: what foundation shall I seek, if the rock itself gives way? And therefore we must see, first, what this troubling is in Christ; second, why he willed to undergo it.

As to the first, it must be known that a thing is properly said to be troubled when it is stirred; hence we also say that the sea, when stirred up, is troubled. Whenever, therefore, something exceeds the measure of its quiet and tranquility, then it is said to be troubled. Now in the human soul there is a sensitive part and a rational part. In the sensitive part of the soul, indeed, troubling occurs when it is stirred by certain movements; as when it is contracted by fear, lifted up by hope, expanded by joy, or affected by some other passion. But this troubling sometimes remains under the rule of reason, and sometimes exceeds the limit of reason, namely when reason itself is thrown into disorder. This indeed happens frequently in us, but it has no place in Christ, since he is the very wisdom of the Father; nor even in any wise man — hence the opinion of the Stoics is that the wise man is not troubled, namely as regards reason. According to this, then, the sense is: "now is my soul troubled," that is, it was affected by the passions of fear and sadness as regards the sensitive part, by which passions, however, reason was not troubled nor did it abandon its order; Mark 14:33: "Jesus began to fear and to be weary."

Now passions of this kind are in us in one way, and were in Christ in another way. For in us they exist of necessity, inasmuch as we are moved and affected as it were from without; but in Christ they are not of necessity, but from the command of reason, since in him there was no passion except what he himself stirred up. For to such a degree were the lower powers subject to reason in Christ, that they could do and suffer nothing except what reason ordained for them; and therefore it is said above, John 11:33, that Jesus groaned in spirit, and troubled himself; Psalm 59:4: "you have shaken the earth" (that is, human nature) "and have troubled it." Thus, then, the soul of Christ was troubled in such a way that the troubling in him was not against reason, but according to the order of reason.

As to the second point, it must be known that the Lord willed to be troubled for two reasons. First, indeed, for the instruction of faith, namely that he might confirm the truth of human nature; and therefore, now drawing near to the Passion, he does everything in a human manner. Second, for the sake of example; for if he had done everything with unshaken constancy and had felt no passion in his soul, it would not have been a sufficient example to men for enduring death. And therefore he willed to be troubled, so that, when we are troubled, we might not refuse to endure death, nor fail; Hebrews 4:15: "we have not a high priest who cannot have compassion on our infirmities, tempted in all things, in the likeness of sin, without sin." Whence from this the continuity with what precedes appears. For because he had said, "he who hates his soul in this world keeps it unto life eternal," in which he had exhorted the disciples to the Passion, lest some should say: O Lord, you can safely dispute and philosophize about death, since you, being outside human sorrows, are not troubled on account of death — and therefore, that he might exclude this, he willed to be troubled.

This troubling of Christ, moreover, was natural; for just as the soul naturally loves union with the body, so also it naturally shrinks from separation from it, especially since the reason of Christ permitted the soul and the lower powers to act as was proper to them. On account of this also, that he says, "now is my soul troubled," and so on, the error of Arius and Apollinaris is destroyed, who said that in Christ there was no soul, but the Word in its place.

Consequently the Lord sets down the petition for glory, saying, "and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour": where the Lord transfers to himself the affection of a troubled man. In the manner of this he does four things concerning his petition: for first he sets down the question of one deliberating; second he proposes the petition, which proceeds from one movement; third he excludes that movement by reason; fourth he sets down another petition caused by another movement.

Now he proposes the question of one in doubt, because it is natural for men placed in straits to deliberate; hence the Philosopher says in the Rhetoric that fear makes men disposed to take counsel. Therefore Christ, after the manifestation of his troubling, at once adds, "and what shall I say?" As if he were to say: what is to be done after this troubling? A similar thing is found in Psalm 54:6: "fear and trembling have come upon me." And it follows at once: "who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly away and be at rest?" For those who are in anguish and troubled by passion are weighed down, and seek a help by which they may be freed.

He sets down the petition caused by one movement, because when someone is in doubt as to what he ought to do, he ought to have recourse to God; 2 Chronicles 20:12: "when we know not what we ought to do, this only we have as a refuge, that we direct our eyes to you, our God"; Psalm 121:1: "I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains, whence help shall come to me." And therefore, having recourse to the Father, he says, "Father, save me," that is, free me from the tribulation which is imminent in the hour of the Passion; Psalm 69:2: "save me, O Lord, for the waters have come in even unto my soul." And, as Augustine says, it is the same thing that the Lord here says, "now is my soul troubled," and "Father, save me," as what is said in Matthew 26:38: "my soul is sorrowful even unto death." But it must be noted that this petition is not proposed from the proper movement of reason, but reason itself, as it were summoned as an advocate, speaks in the person of the natural affection, which desired not to die; and therefore reason marks the movement of natural affection in this petition.

From this is resolved the question that is customarily raised, because, as it is said in Hebrews 5:7, "he was heard in all things for his reverence." And yet in that which he asked, he was not heard. To which it must be said that he was heard in those things which reason itself, on its own part, was asking, and asking as things to be granted. But what he here asks he does not propose on his own part, nor as something to be granted, but as expressing natural affection; and therefore, according to Chrysostom, it is read as a question: "And what shall I say? Shall I say this: Father, save me from this hour?" As if he were to say, I will not say this.

He rejects this petition, which was proposed from the movement of natural appetite, saying, "for this cause I came unto this hour," as if he were to say: it is not just that I be freed from this hour of the Passion, because I came for this purpose, that I might suffer — not led by fatal necessity, not compelled by human violence, but offered up of my own accord; Isaiah 53:7: "he was offered because it was his own will"; above, John 10:18: "no man takes it from me," namely my soul, "but I lay it down of myself."

Reason then sets forth its own petition, when he says, "Father, glorify your name." Here by "your name" we can understand two things. Namely, the Son himself. For a name is so called from knowledge, as it were a mark of notice; hence a name is that by which a thing is made manifest; but the Son manifests the Father; below, John 17:6: "Father, I have manifested your name to men." And of this name it is said, Isaiah 30:27: "behold, the name of the Lord comes from afar." The sense, therefore, is: "Father, glorify your name," that is, your Son; below, John 17:5: "glorify me, Father, with the glory which I had, before the world was, with you." Or, the name of the Lord is the knowledge of the Father; and then the sense is: do this, Father, glorify your name, that is, do that which is the glory of your name. And it comes to the same thing, because when the Son is glorified, the name of the Father is glorified. He says this, moreover, because by the Passion the Son was to be glorified; Philippians 2:8: "he became obedient," to the Father, "unto death, even the death of the cross. For which cause God also has exalted him." As if he were to say: natural affection asks that I be saved, but reason asks that your name be glorified, that is, that the Son may suffer, because, namely, by the Passion of Christ the knowledge of God was to be made glorious. For before the Passion God was known only in Judea, and his name was great in Israel; but after his Passion his name was made glorious among the nations.

Consequently, where it says, "there came therefore a voice from heaven," and so on, the promise of glory is set down, and first the voice promising glory is introduced; second the opinion of the devout but doubting crowd is set down, where it says, "the crowd therefore that stood and heard said that it thundered"; third the exposition of the voice that was uttered is set down, where it says, "Jesus answered and said: this voice came not for me." He says, then, as to the first: "there came therefore a voice from heaven." This voice is the voice of God the Father, just as that which came above Christ when he was baptized, Matthew 3:17: "this is my beloved Son," and likewise that which came upon him when he was transfigured, Matthew 17:5. Although every such voice is formed by the power of the whole Trinity, it is nevertheless formed specially to represent the person of the Father, and hence it is called the voice of the Father: just as the dove was formed by the whole Trinity, to signify the person of the Holy Spirit; and likewise the body of Christ was formed by the whole Trinity, but was specially assumed by the person of the Word, because it was formed for this, that it should be united to him.

This voice, then, does two things. First it manifests the past, saying, "and I have glorified it," that is, I have begotten it glorious from eternity, because the Son is nothing other than a certain brightness and splendor of the Father; Wisdom 7:26: "she is the brightness of eternal light, and the unspotted mirror of the majesty of God"; Hebrews 1:3: "who being the brightness of his glory, and the figure of his substance." Or, "I have glorified it," at his nativity, when the Angels sang, "glory to God in the highest," Luke 2:14, and in the miracles done through him. Second it foretells the future: "and again I will glorify it," in the Passion, in which he triumphed over the Devil, and in the resurrection and ascension, and in the conversion of the whole world; Acts 3:13: "the God of our fathers has glorified his Son Jesus."

The opinion of the doubting crowd concerning the voice is set down, where it says, "the crowd therefore that stood, and heard, said that it had thundered." In this crowd, indeed — and in every crowd — some were of coarser and slower understanding, others of keener understanding, although all were imperfectly disposed toward the knowledge of the voice itself. For the slothful and carnal did not perceive the voice itself except as to its sound; and therefore they said that it had thundered. But they were not altogether deceived: for the voice of the Lord was indeed a thunder, both because it had a wonderful signification, and because it contained the greatest things; Job 26:14: "seeing we have heard scarce a little spark of his words, who shall be able to behold the thunder of his greatness?" Psalm 76:19: "the voice of your thunder in a wheel." Those of keener understanding, however, perceived of the voice itself that it was the sound of an articulate and significant voice; hence they said that it was a speaking. But believing Christ to be a mere man, they fell short, attributing that speaking to an Angel; hence they said, "an Angel has spoken to him"; and these indeed suffered something similar to the Devil, who believed that Christ needed the assistance of Angels; hence he said, Matthew 4: "he has given his Angels charge concerning you, and in their hands they shall bear you up." For he does not need the guardianship and help of Angels, but he himself glorifies and guards the Angels.

The exposition of the voice follows, where it says: "Jesus answered, and said," and so on, and first he expounds the voice that was uttered; second he sets down the contradiction, where it says, "the crowd answered him"; third he adds the Lord's response, where it says, "Jesus therefore said to them." Concerning the first he does two things. First he sets down the cause of the voice; second he adds its signification, where it says, "now is the judgment of the world," and so on.

It must be known, as to the first, that because they had said, "an Angel has spoken to him" — and an Angel speaks to someone by revealing something for the benefit of him to whom he speaks, as is clear in Apocalypse 1 and Ezekiel 1 — therefore the Lord, showing that he does not need any voice or the assistance of angelic revelation, says: "not for me," namely to be instructed, "did this voice come, but for you." For it signified nothing that he did not already know, since "in him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge of God," Colossians 2:3, so that he knew all that the Father knows. "But for you it came," namely to be instructed. In which it is given to be understood that many things were done concerning Christ by way of dispensation for our sake, not because Christ needed them; Romans 15:4: "whatever things were written, were written for our instruction."

Consequently, where it says, "now is the judgment of this world," he sets down the signification of the voice, and first he sets down the judgment by which he was to be glorified; second he adds the effect of the judgment, where it says, "now shall the prince of this world be cast out"; and third the manner of the glorification, where it says, "and if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things to myself." He says, then, "now is the judgment of this world." But if this is so, what then do we await, that the Lord should come again to judge? To which it must be said that he has already come to judge with the judgment of discernment, by which he would discern his own from those who are not his own; above, John 9:39: "for judgment I have come into this world." And of this he says, "now is the judgment of this world." But he is to come to judge with the judgment of condemnation, for which he did not come the first time; above, John 3:17: "for God sent not his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him."

Or it must be said that judgment is twofold. One by which the world is condemned, and of this it is not speaking here; the other is the judgment of the world by which judgment is rendered on behalf of the world, inasmuch as the world is freed from the servitude of the Devil. In this way is to be understood that saying in Psalm 34:1: "judge, O Lord, those that wrong me; overthrow them that fight against me," and so on. And these two come to the same thing: because by this very fact that judgment is rendered on behalf of the world, the Devil being excluded, the good are discerned from the evil.

The effect of the judgment is the exclusion of the Devil, hence he says, "now shall the prince of this world be cast out," by the power of the Passion of Christ. Hence his Passion is his glorification, so that by this he explains, as it were, what he said, "and I will glorify it," inasmuch, namely, as "the prince of this world shall be cast out," as though through the Passion he should have victory over the Devil; 1 John 3:8: "for this the Son of God appeared, that he might destroy the works of the Devil."

But concerning this there is doubt about three things. First, concerning his saying that the Devil is the prince of this world; from which the Manichaeans say that he is the creator and lord of all visible things. To this it must be said that the Devil is called the prince of this world, not by natural dominion, but by usurpation, inasmuch as worldly men, having despised the true Lord, have subjected themselves to him; 2 Corinthians 4:4: "the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers." He is, therefore, the prince of this world, inasmuch as he rules among worldly men, as Augustine says, who are spread over the whole earth. For the name "world" is sometimes taken in a bad sense for men who love the world, above, John 1:10: "the world knew him not"; but sometimes in a good sense for good men who so live in the world that yet their conversation is in heaven; 2 Corinthians 5:19: "God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself."

Second, there is doubt concerning his saying "shall be cast out." For if he were cast out, he would not tempt now as he tempted before, since yet he has not ceased to tempt; therefore he is not cast out. To which it must be said, according to Augustine, that although the Devil tempts men who have ceased to be of the world, he does not tempt in the same manner as before. For then he tempted and reigned from within, but afterward only from without. For as long as men are in sin, then he reigns from within, and tempts; Romans 6:12: "let not sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey the lusts thereof." Thus, then, he is cast out, because the effect of sin in man is not from within, but from without.

Third, it is asked concerning his saying, "now shall the prince of this world be cast out": from which it seems to follow that before the Passion of Christ he was not cast out, and consequently, since he is cast out then when men are freed from sins, that Abraham, Isaac, and the others of the Old Testament were not freed from sin. To which it must be said, according to Augustine, that before the Passion of Christ he was cast out from individual persons, but not from the world, as afterward. For that which was then done in very few men, is now recognized to have been done, by the power of the Passion of Christ, in many and great peoples of Jews and Gentiles converted to Christ.

Or it must be said that the Devil is cast out by this, that men are freed from sin; but before the Passion of Christ, all the just were freed from sin, but not totally, because they were still detained from being brought into the kingdom; and as to this he still had some right over them, which, however, was totally taken away by the Passion of Christ, when the flaming sword was removed, when it was said to the man: "today you shall be with me in Paradise."

Now the manner of the Passion is by way of exaltation, hence he says, "and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself." Concerning this it must be known that Chrysostom uses this example: that if some tyrant, who had been accustomed to oppress, strike, and cast into chains certain of his subjects, should then, out of the same madness, treat in the same manner even one who is in no way subject to him, dragging him too into the same prison, deservedly ought he also to be deprived of dominion over the others who were subject to him: so also did Christ act against the Devil. For the Devil, on account of the sin of the first parent, had some right over men, whence he was able in some way to rage justly against them. But because he dared to attempt the same things even against Christ, in whom he had no right — since the tempter attacked him in whom he had nothing, as is said below, John 13 — therefore it was fitting that he should be deprived also of dominion, through the death of Christ. And this is what he says: "if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things to myself."

Here he first sets forth the manner of his death; second the Evangelist expounds what he says, where it says, "but this he said, signifying by what death he should die." Now the manner of death is by exaltation on the wood of the cross. The exposition, moreover, is that in this he signified by what death he was to die. It must be known, moreover, that the Lord willed to die the death of the cross for a twofold cause. One indeed on account of the disgracefulness of that death; Wisdom 2:20: "let us condemn him to a most shameful death." Hence Augustine also says: therefore the Lord willed to die in this manner, so that the very disgrace of death might not drive man back from the perfection of righteousness. Second, because in this way death is by way of exaltation; hence the Lord also says, "if I be lifted up." And this kind of death was indeed fitting to the fruit, the cause, and the figure of the Passion. Fitting to the fruit, indeed, because by the Passion he was to be exalted. Philippians 2:8: "he became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross: for which cause God has exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name." And therefore in Psalm 20:14 it was said: "be exalted, O Lord, in your own strength."

It was fitting, moreover, to the cause of the Passion in two ways: both on the part of the Demon, and on the part of men. On the part of men, indeed, because he was dying for their salvation; but they had perished, because they had been cast down and sunk into earthly things; Psalm 16:11: "they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth." He willed, therefore, to die exalted, that he might lift up our hearts to heavenly things. For thus he himself is our way into heaven. On the part of the Demons, indeed, so that he, being lifted up in the air, might trample underfoot those who exercised principality and power in the air.

It was fitting also to the figure, because the Lord commanded that the bronze serpent be made in the desert, as is found in Numbers 21:9; above, John 3:14: "as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up," and so on.

Thus, then, being exalted, "I will draw all things," by charity, "to myself"; Jeremiah 31:3: "with an everlasting love have I loved you, therefore have I drawn you, taking pity on you." In this also the charity of God toward man appears most greatly, inasmuch as he deigned to die for them; Romans 5:8: "God commends his charity toward us, because when as yet we were sinners, according to the time, Christ died for us." In this he fulfilled what the bride asks, Song of Songs 1:3: "draw me after you, we will run in the odor of your ointments." It must be noted, moreover, that the Father draws, and the Son also draws; above, John 6:44: "no man can come to me, except the Father, who has sent me, draw him." Therefore he says here, "I will draw all things," to show that the operation of both is the same. He says, however, "all things," not "all men," because not all are drawn to the Son. "All things," I say, "I will draw," that is, soul and body. Or, all kinds of men, namely Gentiles and Jews, slaves and free, males and females. Or, all things predestined to salvation. And it must be noted that this very thing, that he says he will draw all things to himself, is that the prince of this world shall be cast out: for there is no agreement of Christ with Belial, nor of light with darkness.