Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 1 · Cyril of Alexandria

012 - Chapter 9 part 3

·35 min·2 clips

“The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus.”

1. Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 1, Chapter 9 Part 3 centers on John 1:14-17 and Cyril of Alexandria’s reading of “the Word was made flesh.” 2. Cyril of Alexandria is the commentator, and Rev. Philip Edward Pusey is named as the translator of the text. 3. The episode asks what “the Word was made flesh” means and why John links it to “glory,” “grace,” and “truth.” 4. Cyril says “the Word was made flesh” signifies that the Only Begotten became man, not merely that he entered flesh as the prophets did. 5. He uses Adam, “Dust thou art,” and “the breath of life” to argue that human mortality needed restoration. 6. He describes the incarnation with paired images like “the wound and the medicine,” “the sick and the physician,” and “that which was overcome of corruption.” 7. He insists the evangelist says the Word “was made flesh,” not that he “came into flesh,” to avoid the idea of a mere outward presence. 8. He reads “dwelt among us” as the Word dwelling in flesh through “the temple that is from the Holy Virgin.” 9. He connects this to Paul’s language about “all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” and to the idea that the Word dwelt in “one temple.” 10. He then turns to “we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” 11. Cyril argues that this glory surpasses the glory seen in the saints because it is “essentially inexistent” in the Son rather than received from outside. 12. He says the saints are “true servants about the house,” while Christ is “a son over his own house.” 13. He uses John the Baptist’s statement, “He that cometh after me has become before me, for he was before me,” as testimony to Christ’s superiority. 14. He rejects reading that line as a simple remark about the six-month gap in their births, citing Luke’s chronology as insufficient. 15. He explains the line through rank and honor, saying the one once “behind me in honor” is shown to be “more glorious.” 16. He returns to “of his fullness have all we received,” describing grace as a gift that flows from “a perennial fountain” to each worthy soul. 17. He contrasts John 1:17, “for the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ,” with the law’s “condemnation” and Christ’s “righteousness.” 18. He compares circumcision, baptism, and the tabernacle under Moses with spiritual circumcision, the Holy Ghost, fire, and “the truer tabernacle” in Christ. 19. The tone is dense, scriptural, and argumentative, with frequent quotations from John, Luke, Isaiah, Joel, Paul, and the Psalms. 20. Listeners who want patristic interpretation of John 1 and detailed Christology will fit this episode; listeners wanting light or fast-paced content will probably skip it.

As heard by us

A grave, cumulative reading of witness, glory, and public testimony.

This chapter keeps Johannine arguments about witness and glory in view, and it gives the Baptist's cry real force. It treats testimony as public and weighty rather than private recollection.

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Why you'd press play

For when you want the Gospel of John explained through John the Baptist's witness, not a loose paraphrase.

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