Homilies on the Gospel of John

“The Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these.”

Do you see how great is the humility of this? And with reason; for what I said before, what I shall not cease to say, I will now repeat, that when He utters anything low or humbly, He puts it in excess, that the very poverty of the expression may persuade even the indisposed to receive the notions with pious understanding. Since, if it be not so, see how absurd a thing is asserted, making the trial from the words themselves. For when He says, “And shall show Him greater works than these,” He will be found not to have yet learned many things, which cannot be said even of the Apostles; for they when they had once received the grace of the Spirit, in a moment both knew and were able to do all things which it was needful that they should know and have power to do, while Christ will be found to have not yet learned many things which He needed to know. And what can be more absurd than this?

What then is His meaning? It was because He had strengthened the paralytic, and was about to raise the dead, that He thus spoke, all but saying, “Wonder ye that I have strengthened the paralyzed? You shall see greater things than these.” But He spoke not thus, but proceeded somehow in a humbler strain, in order that He might soothe their madness. And that you may learn that “shall show” is not used absolutely, listen again to what follows.