Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You shall seek me; and as I said to the Jews: Whither I go you cannot come; so I say to you now.

“(Hom. lxxii. 3) And therefore He said, little children; for He did not mean to speak to them, as He had to the Jews. Ye cannot follow Me now, He says, in order to rouse the love of His disciples. For the departure of loved friends kindles all our affection, and especially if they are going to a place where we cannot follow them. He purposely too speaks of His death, as a kind of translation, a happy removal to a place, where mortal bodies do not enter.”

“After He had said, And shall straightway glorify Him, that they might not think that God was going to glorify Him in such a way, as that He would no longer have any converse with them on earth, He says, Little children, yet a little while I am with you: as if He said, I shall indeed straightway be glorified by My resurrection, but I shall not straightway ascend to heaven. For we read in the Acts of the Apostles, that He was with them forty days after His resurrection. These forty days are what He means by, A little while I am with you.”

“After the going-out of Judas to procure the death of the Lord, the Lord deals with his own departure to glory, and first he announces to them the glory to which he goes, that they may be consoled thereby; secondly he foretells to them his departure, at the place, "Little children, yet a little while I am with you," and so on. Now the glory to which he goes is the glorification and exaltation of Christ inasmuch as he is the Son of man: and this is what he says: "When therefore he was gone out," namely Judas, "Jesus said," to his disciples, "Now is the Son of man glorified," and so on. Here it must be known that to be clarified is the same as to be glorified: for glory is said as it were claria (brightness). Whence according to Ambrose, glory is "a bright knowledge accompanied with praise." Whence the expositors, where in the Greek it is "to clarify," translate "to glorify," and conversely. And thus what is said here, "now is the Son of man clarified," is the same as "glorified." It can therefore be expounded in a fourfold way, namely by referring it to the fourfold glory of Christ. First indeed to the glory of the cross; secondly to the glory of judiciary power; thirdly to the glory of the resurrection; fourthly to the glory of the knowledge of Christ in the faith of the peoples. For Scripture attributes this fourfold glory to Christ. First, then, Christ was clarified in the exaltation of the cross, whence also Paul says that his glory is in the cross itself, Galatians, last chapter, 14: "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." And Chrysostom expounds concerning this glory. Whence regarding this the Lord touches upon four things about the glory of the cross. First the glory itself, secondly the fruit of the glory, thirdly the author of the glory, fourthly the time of the glory. As to the first he says, "Now is the Son of man clarified," and so on. For it must be known that when something begins to come about, it seems as it were already to have been done. Now with Judas going out to lead the soldiers, the business of the Passion of Christ, through which he was to be glorified, seems to have been begun; and therefore he says "now is the Son of man clarified," etc., that is, the passion begins in which he will be glorified. For Christ was clarified through the passion of the cross, because through it he triumphed over his enemies, namely death and the Devil; Hebrews 2:14: "that through death he might destroy him who had the empire of death." Likewise because through it he joined earthly things to heavenly things; Colossians 1:20: "making peace through the blood of his cross, both as to the things that are on earth, and the things that are in heaven." Likewise because through it he obtained all kingdoms. Psalm 95:9, according to another reading: "Say among the nations, that the Lord hath reigned from the wood." Likewise because in it he showed many miracles: for the veil of the temple was torn, the earth was moved, the rocks were split, and the sun was darkened, and many bodies of the saints rose again, as is said in Matthew 27:51 and following. On account of this, then, with the passion imminent, he says "now is the Son of man clarified": as if to say, now my passion begins, which is my glorification. Now the fruit of this glory is that God may thereby be glorified; and therefore he says, "and God is clarified in him," that is, in the Son of man glorified: because the glory of the passion tends to this, that God may thereby be glorified. For if God is glorified by the death of Peter — below, last chapter, 19: "this he said, signifying by what death he should glorify God" — much more is he clarified through the death of Christ. Now the author of this glory is neither an angel nor a man, but God himself: and therefore he says, "if God is glorified in him," that is, if the glory is so great that God is thereby glorified, he ought not to have been clarified through another; but God himself "clarified him in himself," that is, through himself; below, chapter 17:5: "Father, glorify me with the glory which I had, before the world was, with thee." Now the time of this glory is speedy, because "immediately," that is, at once, "he will clarify him," that is, he will give him the clarification of the cross. For the cross, although to the Gentiles and to those who perish it is foolishness, yet to us who believe it is the greatest wisdom of God, and the power of God: 1 Corinthians 1:30. Now the second glory of Christ is the glory of judiciary power; Mark 13:26: "then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds, with great power and glory." And Augustine expounds concerning this glory, as is touched upon in the Gloss. Whence according to this he does four things here. First he sets down the glory of judiciary power; secondly he shows the merit by which one arrives at this; thirdly he expounds this; fourthly he demonstrates the principle of this glory. He says, then, as to the first, "now is the Son of man clarified." Here it must be known that in Sacred Scripture the things signified are called by the name of the things signifying, the signification not being expressed, according to that saying, 1 Corinthians 10:4: "and the rock was Christ." Where it does not say, the rock signifies Christ. Now in this deed, that Judas went out from the apostles, the figure of the future judgment is represented, where the wicked will be separated from the good, when he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left, as is had in Matthew 25:33. In this, then, that Judas went out, because the future judgment was figured; therefore the Lord, after the going-out of Judas, deals with the glory of judiciary power, by which he is to judge, saying "now is the Son of man clarified," that is, through his going-out the glory of the Son of man is represented, which he will have in the judgment, where none of the wicked will remain, where none of the good will perish. Now it is not said: now the glorification of the Son of man is signified; but "now is the Son of man clarified," according to the manner of Sacred Scripture aforesaid. Now the merit of this glorification is that God may be glorified in him. For God is clarified in those who seek to do his will, not their own; and such was Christ; above, chapter 6:38: "I came not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me." And therefore "God is clarified in him." Now he expounds this when he says, "if God is clarified in him," that is, if in doing the will of God he clarifies God, deservedly "God will clarify him in himself," namely that the human nature which was taken up by the eternal Word may also be granted immortal eternity; and therefore "in himself," that is, in his own glory; Philippians 2:9: "for which cause he hath exalted him, and hath given him a name which is above all names." That very glorification, then, by which God is glorified in Christ, is the merit in which Christ, according as he is man, is glorified "in himself," that is, in the glory of God. And this was when human nature, having laid aside infirmity through the death of the cross, received the glory of immortality in the resurrection. Hence the resurrection itself was the principle by which this glory was begun. Therefore he says, "and immediately he will clarify him," in the resurrection, which indeed will be at once, according to that Psalm 107:3: "I will rise early." And elsewhere, Psalm 15:10: "Thou shalt not suffer thy holy one to see corruption." The third glory of Christ is the glory of the resurrection, concerning which it is said, Romans 6:4: "as Christ is risen through the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life." And Hilary, and also in part Augustine, expound concerning this glory. And according to this, first Christ foretells this his glory, saying "now is the Son of man clarified." And he speaks of the future by way of the past: because the things which we believe will come about immediately, we hold as it were already done. Now the glory of the resurrection was near at hand and imminent; and therefore he says "now is he clarified," as though the body, by association with the divine nature, had in a certain manner attained the glory of the divinity. Secondly he adjoins the cause of this glorification, and very subtly: for, as he himself says, the humanity of Christ was glorified in the resurrection from the conjunction of the divine nature assuming it in the person of the Word, because this is said in Psalm 15:10: "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, nor wilt thou suffer thy holy one" — who is the holy of holies — "to see corruption." Such glory is also owed to Christ as man inasmuch as he is God. We too shall have the glory of the resurrection only insofar as we are participants of the divinity; Romans 8:11: "he who raised up Jesus Christ from the dead, shall also quicken your mortal bodies, because of his Spirit that dwelleth in you." And therefore he says that "the Son of man," namely Christ, according to his human nature, "is clarified," through the resurrection. And who will clarify him? "God," he says, "will clarify him in himself," that is, that Christ as man, who reigns in the glory that is from the glory of God, may himself thence pass over into the glory of God, namely remaining wholly in God; as if deified from that dispensation by which he is man. Just as if I were to say: the lamp is bright, because fire shines brightly in it. That, then, which sends forth rays of brightness to the humanity of Christ is God: and thus the humanity of Christ is clarified by the glory of his divinity, and the humanity of Christ is brought into the glory of the divinity, not through a transmutation of nature, but through a participation of glory, inasmuch as Christ himself, as man, is adored as God; Philippians 2:9: "for which cause God also exalted him, and gave him a name which is above all names, that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow." And therefore he says, "and God is clarified in him," that is, if it is so that the glory of the divinity overflows onto the glory of the humanity, "God clarified him," that is, made him a partaker of his own glory, taking him up into his own glory. Philippians 2:11: "every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus is in the glory of God the Father." And thus the glory of Christ is twofold. One is that which is in his humanity, derived from the divinity; the other is that of the divinity, to which the humanity is in a certain manner taken up, as has been said: but the one and the other in a different way. For the first glory had a beginning in time, and therefore he speaks of it in the past, saying "and God clarified him in himself," which was on the day of the resurrection. The second glory is perpetual, because from eternity the Word of God is God, to which glory the humanity of Christ, once assumed, will be glorified forever; whence of this he speaks in the future, saying "and immediately he will clarify him," that is, he will always make him to be in that glory forever. The fourth glory of Christ is the glory of the knowledge had of him in the faith of the peoples; and Origen expounds concerning this. Here it must be noted that glory, according to him, is understood in one way in the common usage of men, and in another way in Scripture. For according to common usage, glory is nothing other than praises conferred by many, or "a bright knowledge accompanied with praise," as Ambrose says; in Sacred Scripture glory imports a certain divine sign upon men. Whence Exodus 40:32: "the glory of the Lord appeared upon the tabernacle," that is, a certain divine sign rested upon it. And likewise that which is said of the face of Moses, that it had been glorified. And just as glory bodily denotes a certain divine sign upon men, so also spiritually the understanding of man is said to be glorified when, thus deified, and transcending all material things, it is raised to the knowledge of God: for by this he is made a partaker of his glory, 2 Corinthians 3:18: "but we, with open face beholding the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image." If, then, whoever knows God is glorified, and is made a partaker of glory, it is manifest that Christ, who most perfectly knew God, being as it were the splendor of the whole divine glory, Hebrews 1:3, and being able to receive the brightness of the whole divine glory; if, I say, it is so; Christ is most perfectly glorified, and also all who know God have this from Christ. But that Christ was thus glorified in the most perfect knowledge and participation of the divinity, men did not yet know: and therefore, although he was glorified in himself, he was not yet glorified in the knowledge of men. But he began to have this glory in the resurrection and in the passion, in which men began to know his power and his divinity. Concerning this, then, his glorification, the Lord, speaking here, says "now is the Son of man clarified," namely, according to his humanity, in his passion, which was imminent, he became clear in the knowledge of men; and "God," namely the Father, "is glorified in him." For the Son not only reveals himself, but also the Father; below, chapter 17:6: "Father, I have manifested thy name": and therefore not only is the Son clarified, but also the Father; Matthew 11:27: "no one knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him." And he says "in him," because he who sees the Son, sees also the Father: below, chapter 14:9. Now it belongs to one who is greater to repay something greater, and therefore he adds, "and if God is clarified in him," that is, if from the brightness of the Son of man the glory of God the Father in a certain manner grows, inasmuch as he is known the more by all, "God also clarified him in himself," that is, made it known, that Jesus Christ is in his own glory. And this is not delayed, because "immediately he will clarify him," that is, at once, and so on.”

“Little children, yet a little while I am with you,.... Christ having removed the scandal of his death, by observing, that both he and his Father would be glorified by it, begins more freely to open his mind to his disciples, and acquaint them with it; whom he addresses in the most kind, tender, and affectionate manner, "little children", expressing the relation which subsisted between them, of which he was not unmindful; his great affection for them, his consideration of their weakness, and sympathy with them on that account; who were very ill able to bear his departure, which he now thought high time to acquaint them with, that it would be very shortly: it was but a little while he was to be with them, a few days more; the time of his departure was at hand, his hour was as it were come, and the last sands were dropping: ye shall seek me; as persons in distress, under great concern, not knowing what to do, or where to go: and as I said unto the Jews, Joh 7:33; whither I go ye cannot come, so now I say unto you; but with this difference, whereas the unbelieving Jews, who died in their sins, could never come whither he went, these his disciples, though they could not come now, yet they should hereafter, all of them, as well as Peter, Joh 13:36.”

“Little children - Or, rather, beloved children. Τεκνια, a word frequently used by this apostle in his epistles. It is an expression which implies great tenderness and affection, and such as a fond mother uses to her most beloved babes. Now that Judas was gone out, he could use this epithet without any restriction of meaning. Yet a little while - The end of my life is at hand; Judas is gone to consummate his treason; I have but a few hours to be with you, and you shall be by and by scattered. Ye shall seek me - For a few days ye shall feel great distress because of my absence. Whither I go, ye cannot come - Your time is not up. The Jews shall die in their sins, martyrs to their infidelity; but ye shall die in the truth, martyrs for your Lord.”

“Little children--From the height of His own glory He now descends, with sweet pity, to His "little children," all now His own. This term of endearment, nowhere else used in the Gospels, and once only employed by Paul (Gal 4:19), is appropriated by the beloved disciple himself, who no fewer than seven times employs it in his first Epistle. Ye shall seek me--feel the want of Me. as I said to the Jews-- (Joh 7:34; Joh 8:21). But oh in what a different sense!”