For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father who sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
All Commentaries on John 12:49 Go To John 12
Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
For I have not spoken of Myself, &c. This gives the reason why the word of Christ would condemn the Jews, because He spake at the command of the Father, and therefore he who believed not in Him believed not in God. He who despised Him despised God, and would therefore experience Him as his judge. So the Syriac version. Rupertus somewhat differently says, "The word which I spake has the force of a judgment, for I speak not of Myself." SS. Augustine, Ambrose, and Bede think that Christ is here speaking of Himself as God. I, as God, speak not from Myself, but from the Father who gave Me My Divine Nature, and with It omniscience, and My full power of saying and speaking. Hear S. Augustine, "In the Wisdom of the Father, which is the Word, are all the commands of the Father. But the command is said to be given, since He to whom it is given, is not of Himself. But to give to the Son is the same as begetting the Son." "All these things were said," says S. Chrysostom, "for their sakes that they might have no excuse." And the Gloss, "The Father gave the command to the Song of Solomon , by begetting Him, as His Very Word and Wisdom of Solomon , as He gave Him life by begetting Him who is life."
More simply S. Cyril and Chrysostom think that Christ is here speaking of Himself as man. For thus did He properly receive a command from the Father to say or speak this or that, and nothing else. Christ speaks of Himself in an humble manner, in order to move the haughty Jews, who believed Him not to be God. As if He said, "Granting that I am a mere Prayer of Manasseh , as ye think, yet ye ought to believe Me, for I speak nothing of Myself, but all things which I speak I have heard of the Father." Hence theologians infer (though some deny it) that Christ received a command from God for saying everything He said, and for doing everything He did. For if the Father commanded Him in these lesser matters, He did so in greater matters, as the working of miracles and mighty deeds. What Rupertus says is an adaptation to circumstances. "I have received a commandment from the Father what to say now forbearingly to those who gainsay Me, and what I shall pronounce terribly in the last judgment, when no one will dare to gainsay Me."
What I shall say, and what I shall speak. Between saying and speaking there is this difference. To say (dicere) is solemnly to assert anything, to teach, to preach. To speak (loqui) is to say anything in a more familiar manner, colloquially. (See Varro, de Lingua Latina, lib. v, Cicero, de Oratore, and Quintilian, lib. x. chap7.)
