The Great Commentary of Cornelius a Lapide: S. John
More aptly and naturally, the flesh, i.e., the carnal understanding, in sooth ye suppose that My Flesh is to be visibly cut and eaten like the flesh of sheep, profits nothing for the bestowal of everlasting life : but the spirit and the spiritual intelligence, we believe that the Flesh of Christ united to His spiritual Divinity, in a sacramental manner, veiled and hidden in the Eucharist under the species of bread and wine, is to be eaten — this gives life to soul and body. So S. Chrysostom, &c. No otherwise is S. Augustine’s meaning on the 98th Ps. (Vulg.), if he be carefully read : He says, “ It is not this body which ye see nor the blood which those who crucify Me will shed, that ye are about to eat and drink. I commend unto you a sacrament which spiritually understood will quicken you. And although it be necessary that it be visibly celebrated, yet it ought to be understood in an invisible sense.” These words the Calvinists understood thus, that in the Eucharist we eat the Flesh of Christ not really, but figuratively and mystically by faith. But they are in error. For the meaning of S. Augustine is, In the Eucharist we do not eat the Flesh of Christ by visibly cutting and masticating it, as the Capharnaites supposed, but under a sacrament, sacramentally and invisibly, lying hid under the species of bread and wine. For if understood otherwise, S. Augustine would conflict with himself (Serm. 1. in Ps . xxxiii. and Lib. 22, Civit. c. 8, and elsewhere), where he manifestly upholds the truth of Christ’s Body in the Eucharist.
Wherefore Christ subjoins, the words which I speak, &c. : Spirit, i.e., are spiritual, and must be understood spiritually, i.e., Sacramentally , in the manner in which I have now explained, and not carnally, as ye Capharnaites, like butchers, understand them. So they are life , i.e., vital , and bestow life on him who heareth and eateth Me. There is a hebraism, by which the abstract is put for the concrete. Thus frequently elsewhere the flesh and spirit are put for the carnal and spiritual understanding and sense. Thus 2 Cor. iii. 6, “The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.” Matt. xvi. 17, “Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee.” Moreover it
is common in Scripture to play upon the meanings of words.
Wherefore it is not surprising that flesh is to be understood differently from what it is in verse 56, &c. My Flesh is truly Food. For there real, but here figurative flesh is meant. So Christ plays upon the meaning of water (c. iv. ), rising from the corporeal to the spiritual sense. So the Apostle plays upon the word sin (2. Cor. v. 21), “ He who knew no sin, was made sin,” i.e., a Victim for
Thirdly, the fullest sense will be if we join both meanings previously given, and with Bede unite them into one, thus — The virtue of giving life which My Flesh eaten in the Eucharist possesses, is not derived so much from the flesh as from the Spirit of the Word which is living and life-giving. And consequently this eating of My Flesh is not to be taken in the carnal manner of butchers, but in a spiritual manner, and accommodated to the spirit, that is to say in a hidden and sacramental manner. For from the words of Christ ignorantly understood the Capharnaites alleged the contrary of both, and turned away, as is plain from the words. And so this spiritual, i.e., sacramental, manner of eating the Flesh of Christ by taking the species of bread and wine, under which in reality lie hid the Body and Blood of Christ, and His Divinity Itself, occasions no horror to the eater, and causes no wounding or harm to the Flesh of Christ which is eaten. For here Christ lies hid, and is invisible and indivisible like an angel. So Euthymius says, “ They are things spiritual and life-giving. For we ought not simply to look at them (for that is carnally to understand them), but we ought to suppose something else, and to look upon them as mysteries with our inward eyes.”
Ver. 65. — But there are some, &c. The reason why some of you do not receive, but oppose, My words concerning the Eucharist, is not because My saying is hard, as ye say, but because ye are faithless , and will not believe My many miracles and signs. For here there is need of humble faith, which ought by lowly prayer to be asked and waited for from God the Father. But ye lack humility both of prayer and faith, and therefore ye neither pray to God, nor believe in Me. So S. Augustine, Bede and Rupert.
For Jesus knew , &c. It means that Christ as God knew from eternity what would happen, and this foreknowledge He communicated to His Humanity from the beginning of His conception. And who should betray Him . By this John intimates that Judas the traitor was one of those who did not believe ; indeed, that he was offended at Christ’s sayings concerning the eating His flesh : that he conceived and cherished a dislike to Christ, which at last broke out into treachery against Him. The connection makes this conclusion necessary. Otherwise this mention of the traitor would be inopportune, unless from this discourse of Christ Judas had taken the first initiative of his unbelief and subsequent treachery. So S. Augustine, Bede, &c.
Christ added this that the Jews might not think that He had, unaware of his future treachery, admitted Judas to the Apostolate. He had done it consciously and advisedly, that so His Passion and man’s redemption might be fulfilled as God had decreed.
Ver. 66. — And said, &c., except it be given him, &c., i.e., except My Father draw him, as He said in verse 44. Graciously does Christ not attribute the unbelief of the Jews to their fault, but excuses them on the ground that it was not given them of the Father: at the same time He consoles Himself, as it were, thus — “ I do not distress Myself because many do not believe in Me, but I console
Myself because the Father will cause to believe in Me those whom He hath chosen, and will cause them to come to Me. With these I am content I am not ambitious of others. For whom the
Father willeth (to come), those I also will ; and those whom He willeth not (to come), those likewise I do not will” Yet those who would not come, i.e., would not believe in Christ, sinned, both because they had sufficient grace, by which they might have believed if they had wished (although they had not efficacious grace, whereby they would really and actually believe), as also because they did not humbly ask of God efficacious grace, also because by their pride, and other sins, they had rendered themselves unworthy of that grace. Yea, by their obstinacy they repelled the grace and faith of God, as S. Cyprian learnedly explains (lib. 1, epist. 3, ad Cornel.).
Ver. 67. — From this time, say Euthymius and others : otherwise the Syriac, on account of this discourse: Arabic, because of this , left Jesus, &c. These disciples were not the Apostles, for Christ excepts them in the following verse. Neither were they the seventy-two disciples. For those had not yet been designated and chosen by Christ.
But they were His more constant hearers and followers, “who,”
as Theophylact says, “ followed Him in the rank of His disciples, and remained with Him longer than the multitudes, and so, compared with the rest of the crowd, were called His disciples. These persons therefore up to this time being allured by the sweet doctrine of Christ, fed by the loaves miraculously multiplied, and hoping to be fed in future by similar food, when they heard Christ substituting His own Flesh in the place of bread, and willing that they should eat It, thought either that He was mad, or else was contriving some horrible and savage scheme, or perchance a conspiracy against the
Romans, and would inaugurate it by their tasting His flesh and blood, as Cataline had done before at Rome. Thus, to provide for their own safety, they fell away from Christ.
S. Epiphanius declares expressly that one of these was S. Mark, who was afterwards brought back by S. Peter, and became an Evangelist (Haeres. 51): but others deny this, and assert that S. Mark neither saw nor heard Christ (in the flesh), but was converted by S. Peter after His death. So S. Jerome on Ecclesiastical Writers, and others.
Ver. 68.— Jesus said therefore, &c. For when the others were scandalized and went away from Christ “the Twelve remained,” says S. Augustine, “for not even did Judas go away:” partly for shame's sake, not to be the only Apostle to go away, and be called an apostate ; partly that he might be fed by Christ without labour on his part, as he had been hitherto ; and that as he bore the bag and was a sort of purveyor for Christ’s family, he might steal and enrich himself. For he was a thief.
Christ asks the question of the Apostles for five reasons. The first was that He might leave them their liberty. As though He said, “I give you your choice : if ye wish to go away, depart : if ye wish to remain with Me, remain. I will not retain you either by force or shame.” Listen to S. Chrysostom. “Jesus neither flattered, nor drove away : but He asked the question, not because He despised them, but that they might not seem to be retained .” For if they had remained unwillingly, He would have been in exactly the same condition as if they had gone away.
(2.) To show His greatness of soul ; and that He did not need the work of Apostles, forasmuch as He by Himself could do all things : and when they were sent away, He could substitute others who were better in their place.
(3.) That the Apostles might understand that by remaining, they did not commend, or show favour to Jesus, but to themselves. “That they received rather than conferred a benefit,” says Theophylact.
(4.) That by this freedom of choice He might the more bind them to Himself, and invite them to remain. For it often occurs, as a natural consequence, that when we are asked, we decline ; when we are not asked, we desire ; when we are invited, we flee ; when we are not invited, we draw near.
(5.) That by this interrogation He might prove their affection, and try their constancy, and draw a confession of their true faith concerning Himself. So S. Cyril. And that such a confession was drawn forth is plain from the next verse.