Ephrem the Syrian

In his own words on John

• John 1:1

  The things that were hidden were revealed through him [our Lord], just as the secrets of the heart are made known by a word.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 1.2

• John 1:14

  Why did our Lord clothe himself with our flesh? So that this flesh might experience victory and that [humanity] might know and understand the gifts [of God]. For if God had been victorious without the flesh, what praise could one render him? Second, so that [our Lord] might show that, at the beginning, he experienced no jealousy toward him [who had wanted] to become God. For he in whom [our Lord] was abased is greater than he in whom he was dwelling when [Adam] was great and glorious. This is why [it is written], "I have said, 'You shall be gods.' " Thus, the Word came and clothed itself with flesh, so that what cannot be grasped might be grasped through that which can be grasped, and that, through what cannot be grasped, the flesh would raise itself up against those who grasp it. For it was fitting that our Lord be the haven of all good things to whom [people] might be gathered together, the end of all mysteries toward whom they would hasten from everywhere, and the treasure of all the parables so that everyone, lifted up [as though] on wings, might rest in him alone.[See] the wisdom [of God], that in the fall of him who fell, there fell with him the One who was destined to raise him up. Because the body of Adam was in existence before his [evil] passions, [our Lord] did not assume the passions with which [Adam subsequently] clothed himself, since they were a kind of additional weakness to a healthy nature. Our Lord clothed himself therefore with a healthy nature that had lost its health, so that the original health of this nature might thereby be restored.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 1.1

• John 1:14

  In his mercy he [our Lord] used our body, so that we might endure the sight of him and hear the sound of his voice, and so that we not suffer what the foremost disciples suffered on the mountain, when through his body his glory shone upon them. Sleep fell upon them, and they were rendered speechless and were astounded by his glory. … And this was so that we might learn why he was seen without glory, and why he came in a body. If indeed the apostles and foremost of the disciples saw his deity when it was not completely revealed, what would surely have happened to us if he had appeared to us openly, in the incorporeal glory of his deity?

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 14.5

• John 1:14

  On this day on which the Lord of all came among servants, let the lords also bow down to their servants lovingly.On this day when the rich One was made poor for our sake, let the rich man also make the poor man a sharer at his table. On this day a gift came out to us without our asking for it; let us then give alms to those who cry out and beg from us.… This Lord of natures today was transformed contrary to his nature; it is not too difficult for us also to overthrow our evil will. Bound is the body by its nature for it cannot grow larger or smaller; but powerful is the will for it may grow to all sizes. Today the Deity imprinted itself on humanity, so that humanity might also be cut into the seal of Deity.

  HYMNS ON THE NATIVITY 1.93-99

• John 1:30-31

  Eliezar sought Rebekah as a bride at a well of water. Jacob sought Rachel at a well of water, as Moses did so with Zipporah. Thus, all of these were types of the Lord, who sought his church as a bride by the baptism at the Jordan River. And just as Eliezar made Rebekah known to his master when he came to meet her in the field, so also John made our Savior known at the Jordan: "See, the Lamb of God, for he takes away the sin of the world."

  Commentary on Tatian's DIATESSARON 3.17

• John 1:37

  Because the disciples of John heard him when he spoke about our Lord, they left their teacher and went after our Lord, because [John's] voice was not able to keep the disciples with him [John], but it sent them to the Word. It was indeed right that when the light of the sun came into view, the light of the lamp should vanish. Truly for this reason John remained, that his baptism would be brought to an end by the baptism of our Lord. Soon he died, so that he might be foremost among the dead, just as he was a sign of Sheol in his mother's womb.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 4.17

• John 1:41

  The statement "We have found the Messiah" affirms that the report about him was circulating and came from the time of the Magi; it was renewed by John who had baptized him, and by the witness of the Spirit. Then he was again left alone in his fast of forty days. For that reason, the souls of the chosen ones were filled with a desire for a report concerning him. They were indeed his instruments, as he said, "You were chosen by me before the world." He chose Galileans, a people without education, whom the prophets proclaimed as "dwellers in darkness," for they had seen the light, so that he could bring reproach on those who were learned in the law. "For he chose the foolish of the world, so that through them he might put the wise to shame."

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 4.18

• John 1:47

  Because the prophet had said that a ruler and governor would arise from Bethlehem, but Nathanael heard that he [our Lord] was from Nazareth, he thus asked, "Can a good leader come forth who is from Nazareth?" For this was not what was written. Thus, when our Lord saw him [Nathanael], he gave excellent testimony about him, that he was not like the scribes who were being deceitful about the readings [from Scripture], striving to establish their interpretations according to their own will. He said, "This is a scribe of Israel in whom no deceit is seen," because before he knew [our Lord], he asked if Nazareth could bring forth a leader as Bethlehem [was able].

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 4.19

• John 2:6

  Why did our Lord change nature at the beginning of his signs, if it was not to show that the divinity that changed nature in the interior of the jars was the same that changed nature in the womb of the virgin? And at the conclusion of the signs, he opened the tomb to show that the insatiable nature of death would not keep hold of him; he confirmed and ratified these two uncertainties of his birth and of his death. As to their nature, these waters were turned into the [fruit of] the vine; their stone vessels were not changed within their own nature. They were a symbol of his body, which was wonderfully conceived in a woman, and in a marvelous way by [the intervention of] no man within the virgin. He thus made wine out of water to teach about the manner of his conception and birth. He called upon the six jars as witness to the one virgin who gave birth to him; for the jars conceived in a unique way that was not customary for them, and they brought forth wine, and then they did not continue to produce [it]. Thus did the virgin conceive and give birth to Immanuel, and then she ceased and did not continue [to give birth]. The offspring of the jars was from smallness to grandeur, and from vileness to excellence, for from water came good wine. In this case [the birth from the virgin], however, it was from grandeur to weakness and from glory to contempt. Yet in the case of these jars, they were for the purification of the Jews, and our Lord poured his instruction into them, to teach that he came in the way [found in] the Law and the Prophets, and he transformed everything by his teaching, just as wine [was made] from water.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 5.6-7

• John 2:7

  Let Cana thank you for gladdening her banquet! The bridegroom's crown exalted you for exalting it, And the bride's crown belonged to your victory. In her mirror allegories are expounded and traced, For you portrayed your church in the bride, And in her guests, yours are traced, And in her magnificence she portrays your advent. Let the feast thank him, for in multiplying his wine Six miracles were beheld there: The six wine jugs set aside for water Into which they invited the King to pour his wine.

  HYMNS ON VIRGINITY 33.1-2

• John 2:9

  He who did not want to change stones changed water at Cana.

  HYMNS ON VIRGINITY 14.11

• John 3:10

  Indeed, he [Nicodemus] should have known what came from the Law and the Prophets: the cleansing with hyssop, the waters for ceremonial sprinkling, the baptisms for cleansing, and all the rest. If these had not been signified as types before the coming of the Son, our Lord would have been accusing Nicodemus falsely because of them. But if they were hidden from him in his Scriptures, and he did not clearly identify them, he [our Lord] rightly put to flight his sleep, healed his infirmity by his gentle voice, and reminded him of the baptism of atonement that existed in Israel.… But this was done gently, because he [our Lord] saw that he [Nicodemus] was sick but close to healing. And since he did not understand what was previously written down in the Law, our Lord showed him the baptism of complete atonement for both body and soul. Truly, Nicodemus, did you not perceive that Jacob was born into the right of the firstborn without [the aid of] belly or womb, or that Naaman was renewed apart from a womb when Elisha spoke to him? … And likewise for Miriam. Come now, was it not known that this was a sign of baptism given to the nations, for hyssop makes what was stained white?

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 14.13

• John 3:14

  It was shown by the brazen [serpent], which by its nature cannot suffer, that he would suffer on the cross, who by his nature cannot die.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 14.15

• John 3:16

  Abraham had many servants. Why did he [God] not tell him to offer up one of them as a sacrifice? It was only because his love would not be shown in a servant. His son was thus needed, so that through him Abraham's love would be revealed. God had servants like this, but he did not show his love through any of them for his creatures, but rather through his Son, so that through him his love toward us might be proclaimed.…From [the time of] Abraham, the symbols of the wood and of the lamb began to take shape. Isaac was a symbol of the lamb [caught] in the tree, and Jacob showed the wood that was life-giving for water. Thus wood was esteemed as worthy for him to hang upon it, because not a bone in him was broken. As for the earth, its fruits are stimulated by wood, and for the sea, its treasures are taken by means of wood. This is also the case for the body and the soul. Thus it [the wood of the cross] was carved by the fury of the savage crowd. It was like a mute person in its silence, but in its use it bore fruit exalting the status of human beings.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 21.7, 9

• John 4:8

  Our Lord came to the spring of water like a hunter. He asked for water in order to give water, with water as a pretext. He sought something to drink, like a thirsty person, so that the way could be opened for him to quench thirst. He asked from her in order to teach her, and she in turn would ask from him. He was not ashamed as a rich person to ask like one in need, to teach poverty how to make a petition. He was not afraid of reproach because he was speaking to a woman by herself, in order to teach me that whoever keeps to the truth will not be shaken. "They were indeed amazed that he was standing and talking with a woman." He had dismissed his disciples from his presence so that they would not chase his prey away. He had cast bait for the dove so that by means of her he might capture the entire flock. He asked her in a way that was opposite to the real situation, so that she could answer honestly. "Give me water to drink." Here was the beginning of the meeting. He asked for water, and he made a promise about living water. He made a request, and he ceased from his request, even as she also left her pitcher. He ceased pretexts because she came to the truth, for the sake of which the pretexts [had arisen].

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 12.16

• John 4:26

  "And if you are a king, how is it that you are asking me for water?" It was not in this way that he first made reference about himself to her, but rather first as a Jew, and then as a prophet, and thereafter as the Messiah. Step by step he brought and placed her at the highest level. At first, she saw him as a thirsty person, then as a Jew, then a prophet, and afterwards as God. As he was thirsting, she was persuading him; as he was a Jew, she loathed him; as he was a person of learning, she made enquiry of him; in his being a prophet, she was rebuked by him; as he was the Messiah, she worshiped him.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 12.18

• John 5:8

  Was it not enough to say, "Rise up and go"? For was it not a miracle that the one who could not turn about on his bed could rise up easily and go? Yet to show that he had given him a full healing, he also made him carry his bed—and not like the sick who return [to health] little by little. [Our Lord said], "Take up your bed and go." And even if he remained silent, his bed would cry out.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 13.2

• John 5:33-34

  If he [our Lord] was not receiving testimony from human beings, why did he go to John to receive testimony from him? John, however, was sent from God: "He who sent us spoke to me." Through John, the Father was testifying about him, just as he [our Lord] said, "Moses also wrote about me," along with other statements.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 13.11

• John 5:35

  "He [John] was a lamp that was burning," which even as it grew was also passing away, for he was shining in the night so that he might show that the appointed time of the sun's power was fading, and its beams of light were vanishing.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 13.10

• John 6:12

  But it was not because he had the ability to multiply it [the loaves of bread and the fish] that he did thus multiply them, but rather because there would then be enough food for those who would eat them. His miracle, therefore, was not in proportion to his own power, but rather in proportion to the hunger of those who were hungry. For if his miracle were to be proportional to his power, there would be no way to measure how much his power overcame. Rather, his miracle was in proportion to the hunger of thousands, and it surpassed the number of the twelve baskets. In the case of all artisans, the desire of those who seek their services is greater that the ability of the artisans, for the artisans are unable to work in line with the desires of those who need them. For God, however, his activity surpasses [the desires of] those who need him. [He said], "Gather up the pieces so that absolutely nothing may be lost," so that it not seem concerning him that he had made use of an apparition; but when a remainder for a day or two was left, they might believe that he had truly acted, and that this was not some vacuous vision.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 12.4

• John 6:14

  Thus, when they were satisfied, they saw that he had fed them in the wilderness, as Moses [had done] with prayer, and they cried out, saying, "This is the prophet about whom it was said that he is coming into the world." They were repeating the [prophecy] of Moses that "The Lord will raise up a prophet for you," not someone ordinary, but rather "like me," who will fill you with bread in the desert; "like me," he walked on the sea, and appeared in the cloud. He set his church free from circumcision, and he appointed John, the virgin, in place of Joshua son of Nun. He entrusted Mary, his church, to him, as Moses his flock to Joshua, so that this [prophecy] "like me" would be fulfilled.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 12.5

• John 6:31-32

  From a little bread, our Lord made an abundance of bread in the midst of the desert, and in Cana he turned water into wine. At first he set out to give instruction to their mouths about his bread and wine, until the time came for him to give them his blood and his body also. He gave them the taste of a superabundance of transitory bread and wine in order to give them an eager desire for the superabundance of his living body and blood. He gave them these lesser things without price, so that they might know that this gift of his, of highest value, was free. He gave to them freely those things that they were able to purchase from him at a price. He therefore did not sell to them anything that they were able to buy, so that they might know that there was no fee he required from them for that which they did not have; for they were able to pay the price of his bread and wine, but they could not pay the price of his body and blood. It was in this way that he not only gave to us freely, but he was even enticing us as well; for he gave these lesser things freely to captivate us to come and receive this of highest value, which is without price. These lesser things that he gave of bread and wine delighted the mouth; that [highest gift] of body and blood brings aid to the mind. He captivated us with these things, which bring pleasure to the palate, in order to draw us to that which brings life to [our] souls. For this reason, he hid the sweetness in the wine he made, so that they might know what treasure is hidden in his life-giving blood.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 12.1

• John 6:50

  There remained yet another act that would abolish that Passover and would become the Passover of the Gentiles, a source of life until the end. Our Lord Jesus took bread in his hands, plain bread at the beginning, and blessed it, made the sign of the cross over it and sanctified it in the name of the Father and in the name of the Spirit, and he broke and distributed it in morsels to his disciples in his kindness. He called the bread his living body, and he filled it with himself and with his Spirit. He stretched forth his hand and gave them the bread that his right hand had sanctified: "Take, eat, all of you of this bread that my word has sanctified. Do not regard as bread what I have given you now … eat it, and do not disdain its crumbs. For this bread that I have sanctified is my body. Its least crumb sanctifies thousands of thousands, and it is capable of giving life to all who eat it. Take, eat in faith, doubting not at all that this is my body. And he who eats it in faith eats in it fire and the Spirit. If anyone doubts and eats it, it is plain bread to him. He who believes and eats the bread sanctified in my name, if he is pure, it will keep him pure; if he is a sinner, he will be forgiven. He, however, who despises it or spurns it, he may be sure that he is insulting the Son, who has called the bread his body and truly made it so. Receive of it, eat of it, all of you, and eat in it the Holy Spirit, for it is truly my body, and he who eats it will live forever. This is the heavenly bread that has come down from on high onto the earth. This is the bread that the Israelites ate in the wilderness and did not esteem. The manna that they gathered, which came down to them, was a figure of this spiritual bread that you have now received. Take and eat of it, all of you. In this bread you are eating my body. It is the true source of forgiveness.

  MEMRA FOR THE FIFTH DAY OF GREAT WEEK (HOLY THURSDAY), SERMON 4

• John 8:56

  "Abraham was hoping to see my day." He is the one about whom it was said, "The nations will be blessed by your seed." "He indeed saw and rejoiced," because he saw in the symbol of the lamb the salvation of all the nations. "You are not fifty years old, but Abraham saw you?" He said to them, "Before Abraham was, I am," because he existed but he was concealed when Isaac was redeemed; his sign was seen in the lamb. When, moreover, there descended into Egypt the seed of the one who was saved by a lamb, and they were there for quite some time—this was shown beforehand in a type by Isaac—they were also delivered by a type, by a lamb. And from that time onwards they would sacrifice a lamb until the time that the true lamb came. When he drew near to John, he [John] announced him by saying, "See, the Lamb of God!" And when the true lamb had come, these others, which were types, ceased.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 16.27

• John 9:5

  And he brought forth the light from the dust, just as he had done in the beginning, when there was a shadow of the heavens. "Darkness was spread out over everything." He gave a command to the light, and it was born from the darkness. Thus also here, he formed clay from his saliva, and he supplied was what lacking in creation, which was from the beginning, to show that what was lacking in nature was being supplied by his hand.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 16.28

• John 9:7

  For Siloam did not open [the eyes of] the blind man, just as the waters of the Jordan did not purify Naaman, but rather it was the command [by our Lord] that brought the healing. Also, it is not the waters of our atonement that bring purification; rather, it is the names invoked over it that produce atonement for us.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 16.29

• John 9:10

  Those who could see were clearly being drawn to the blind man, who saw inwardly. The blind man was being drawn secretly to those who could see but who were blind inwardly. He [the blind man] washed away the clay from his eyes and appeared to himself. They washed the blindness from their hearts and gained approval for themselves. When our Lord opened up the eyes of one blind man clearly in that moment, he opened up [the eyes of] many blind people secretly. For that blind man was [surely] blind. He was like a source of profit for our Lord, for by him our Lord acquired many blind people [by healing them] from the blindness of their heart.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 16.30

• John 9:12

  His saliva was thus the key for closed eyes, for with water he healed the eye. From the water [he formed] clay and brought to wholeness what had been lost. When [later] they were spitting at his face, the blind eyes that had been opened by his saliva would accuse them.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 16.32

• John 11:14

  All physicians wear themselves out for their patient lest he die. But Lazarus's physician was waiting for his death in order to show his victory over death.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 17.3

• John 11:35

  His tears were like the rain, and Lazarus like a grain of wheat, and the tomb like the earth. He gave forth a cry like that of thunder, and death trembled at his voice. Lazarus burst forth like a grain of wheat. He came forth and adored his Lord who had raised him.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 17.7

• John 12:3

  An abundance is oil with which sinners do business: the forgiveness of sins. By oil the Anointed forgave the sins of the sinner who anointed [his] feet. With [oil] Mary poured out her sin upon the head of the Lord of her sins. It wafted its scent; it tested the reclining as in a furnace: It exposed the theft clothed in the care of the poor. It became the bridge to the remembrance of Mary to pass on her glory from generation to generation. In its flowings is hidden joy, for oil does indeed gladden the face. It brings its shoulder to all burdens in rejoicing and grieving with everyone: For it serves joy yet is obeyed by gloom, For faces joyful of life by it are resplendent, And with it, the gloomy face of death is prepared for burial and dies.

  HYMNS ON VIRGINITY 4.11-12

• John 12:6

  Our Lord, because he saw that Judas was greedy for money, had placed him in charge of the money to satisfy him and to prevent him becoming a traitor for the sake of money. It would have been better for him, however, to have stolen the money rather than to have betrayed the Creator of money.… Should not the thief of money fear the Creator of money? Perhaps that is what he remembered when he hanged himself.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 17.13

• John 12:7

  He restored Lazarus to life and died in his stead. For after he had drawn [Lazarus] from the tomb and had seated himself at table with him, he was himself buried by the symbol of the ointment that Mary "poured over his head." … Thus, [the Lord] came to Bethany, raised his friend and buried himself through the symbol of the ointment. He made Mary and Martha joyful and exposed both Sheol and greed, Sheol because it would not always be holding onto him and greed because it would not always be selling him.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 17.7-8

• John 13:11

  In his gentleness our Lord humbled his wise hands by washing the feet of his betrayer, who expressed his gratitude for the cleansing with the nails of the cross.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 18.22

• John 13:26

  All approached and drank from the cup, that is, only eleven of them. For when Jesus had given his bread indiscriminately to the eleven, Judas also approached to receive, just as his comrades who had approached and received. But Jesus dipped the bread in water and thus gave it to Judas. He washed the blessing from it and thereby marked off the offender. This is how the apostles recognized that it was he who would betray him. Jesus had dipped the bread and thus gave it to him so that its blessing might be removed from the bread. Thus Judas did not eat the blessed bread, nor did he drink from the cup of life. He grew angry that his bread had been dipped, for he knew that he was, then, not worthy of life. And the rage about this removed him from drinking from the cup of the blood of Jesus. He went out to the crucifiers and no longer saw the hallowed cup. Satan rushed to drive the Iscariot away from his comrades, so that he would not be a sharer with them of the living and life-giving sacrament.

  MEMRA FOR THE FIFTH DAY OF GREAT WEEK (HOLY THURSDAY), SERMON 4

• John 15:2

  The sons of truth grow large on this Branch of Truth; they have been perfected and have become fruits fit for the kingdom. But, although the Branch is living, on it are also dead fruits that only seem to blossom. The wind tested them and shook down the wild grapes. Blessed is he who crowned by [the Spirit] those who held fast in him!… Jesus, bend down to us your love that we may grasp this Branch that bent down her fruits for the ungrateful; they ate and were satisfied, yet they demeaned her who had bent down as far as Adam in Sheol. She ascended and lifted him up and with him returned to Eden. Blessed is he who bent her down toward us that we might seize her and ascend on her. Who indeed will not weep that although the Branch is great, the weakness of one unwill ing to seize her greatness maintains that she is a feeble branch— she who has conquered all kings and cast a shadow upon the entire world! By suffering her power has increased. Blessed is he who made her greater than that vine from Egypt! Who will not hold fast to this Branch of Truth. She bore the true ones; she shed the false. Not because they were too heavy for her did she shed them. For our sake she tested them in the breeze; it shook down the shriveled; it ripened the firm.

  HYMN AGAINST JULIAN: ON THE CHURCH 5, 8-10

• John 15:12

  "This is my commandment." Have you then only one precept? This is sufficient, even if it is unique and so great. Nevertheless he also said, "Do not kill," because the one who loves does not kill. He said, "Do not steal," because the one who loves does even more—he gives. He said, "Do not lie," for the one who loves speaks the truth, against falsehood. "I give you a new commandment." If you have not understood what "This is my commandment" means, let the apostle be summoned as interpreter and say, "The goal of his commandment is love." What is its binding force? It is that of which [the Lord] spoke, "Whatever you want others to do to you, you should do also." "Love one another" in accordance with this measure, "as I have loved you." That is not possible, for you are our Lord who loves your servants. But we who are equals, how can we love one another as you have loved us? Nevertheless, he has said it.… His love is that he has called us his friends. If we were to give our life for you, would our love be equal to yours?… How then can what he said be explained, "As I have loved you"? "Let us die for each other," he said. As for us, we do not even want to live for one another! "If I, who am your Lord and God, die for you, how much more should you die for one another."

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 19.13

• John 17:5

  The Lord also said, "Give me glory in your presence from that which you gave me before the world was made." [This was] when the Father was fashioning creatures through his Son, according to the psalmist's account, "He is clothed with glory and magnificence," after which he drew them out of nothingness and established them as spotless creatures. "Lord God," he said, "you are exceedingly great. You are clothed with glory and magnificence, and you have covered yourself with light as with a cloak." … Following Adam's fall, [however], creatures were clothed in [Adam's] humiliation … and the Son of the Creator came to heal them so as to remove, at the moment of his coming, all uncleannesses through the baptism of his death, as he himself has said, "The hour has come and is at hand; glorify your Son that your Son may glorify you." He asked this not as a beggar wishing to receive something, but wishing to restore and accomplish the first order of creation. [He asked] for the glory with which he was clothed at the time when creatures were clothed [with glory].For just as he formed the first essence [of creatures] through grace so that [they would be] without stain, in the glory and magnificence with which he himself was clothed, [so] too, by the mercy of God, there will be a new creation of all things, without any stain, in the glory with which he is clothed. What he said, "Give me," is to be understood of the glory that he possessed before creatures, with the Father and in the Father's presence. For the Greek text says clearly, "Glorify me with that glory that I possessed in your presence, before the world was made." Even more, in saying, "Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you," he did not reveal a need but a desire. The Father does not receive glory from the Son as though he had need of it, and the Son is not glorified by his Father as if he were lacking this [glory].

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 19.17

• John 19:23

  "His tunic was not torn" since it represented his divinity, which was undivided because it was not composite. "His clothing, divided into four parts," symbolized his gospel, which was to go forth into the four parts of the world. Share then, for love of him, the body of him who, for love of you, shared his garment between those who were crucifying him. Take it, all of you, absorb it in its entirety, just as he, on his own, took and absorbed your death for everyone. Open the doors of your hearts to him who opened the doors of his kingdom to you.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 20.27

• John 19:34

  "There came forth blood and water," which is his church, and it is built on him, just as [in the case of] Adam, whose wife was taken from his side. Adam's rib is his wife, and the blood of our Lord is his church. From Adam's rib there was death, but from our Lord's rib, life. The olive tree [symbolizes] the mystery of Christ, from which spring forth milk, water and oil; milk for the children, water for the youths and oil for the sick. The olive tree gave water and blood through its death, [just as] the Messiah gave these through his death.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 20.11

• John 20:17

  He said, "Do not touch me," first of all, because this body was [like] a first-flowering fruit from Sheol that our Lord, as priest, was preserving carefully from contact with any [human] hand, so as to offer it to the [only] hand capable of receiving such a gift and capable of paying the price for an offering such as this. Second, [he did not want anyone to touch him] in order to show that this body was [already] glorified and magnified. Thus he showed them that, while he had been a servant, everyone had power over him, since even tax collectors and sinners used to come and touch him. But when he was made Lord, fear of him was over everyone like [the fear of] God. Even kings and nobles convince us [of this], for those who see [them] are afraid to touch them.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 21.26

• John 21:7

  Men stripped their clothes off and dived and drew you out, pearl! It was not kings that put you before people, but those naked ones who were a type of the poor and the fishers and the Galileans. For clothed bodies were not able to come to you. They came that were stripped as children. They plunged their bodies and came down to you. And you much desired them, and you helped them who thus loved you. They gave you good news: their tongues before their hearts did the poor [fishermen] open and produced and showed the new riches among the merchants. On the wrists of people they put you as a medicine of life. The naked ones in a type saw your rising again by the seashore. And by the side of the lake, they, the apostles of a truth, saw the rising again of the Son of your Creator. By you and by your Lord the sea and the lake were beautified. The diver came up from the sea and put on his clothing. And from the lake too Simon Peter came up swimming and put on his coat; clothed as with coats, with the love of both of you, were these two.

  THE PEARL, HYMN 5.3-4

• John 21:19

  The Lord did not hand over his little flock to its pastor until he had received genuine pledges. He received the threefold [confession] that [Simon] had professed as trustworthy pledges for the three [denials]. Therefore, when his Master said [to him], "Do you love me?" our Lord was wanting to receive from him his true love so that, after having given the pledge of his love, [Simon] might receive [Jesus'] sheep as a flock. When [the Lord] saw that his mouth was confessing and that his tears were a seal, he gave him the reward reserved for pastors, namely, death, since this is the crown of victory of the pastors and their shepherds. [The Lord] was not able to give Simon the allotted portion of death until he had received from him [the pledge of] his love. For in the same way our Lord would not have given his life for his little flock if it had not been on account of his love for it.

  COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 9.5