John 1:10

10. ἐν τῷ
κόσμῳ ἦν, καὶ ὁ κόσμος δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ ὁ κόσμος αὐτὸν οὐκ ἔγνω.

10. He, through whom the world was made, was in the
world, and the world treated him as a stranger.

10. In mundo erat, et mundus per ipsum factus est,
et mundus eum non cognovit.

Blue Letter Bible Reference

## John Chrysostom (c.346-407)

Homily 8 on the Gospel of John

*“He was in the world.”*

But not as of equal duration with the world. Away with the
thought. Wherefore he adds, “And the world was made by Him”; thus leading you
up again to the eternal existence of the Only-Begotten. For he who has heard
that this universe is His work, though he be very dull, though he be a hater,
though he be an enemy of the glory of God, will certainly, willing or
unwilling, be forced to confess that the maker is before his works. Whence
wonder always comes over me at the madness of Paul of Samosata, who dared to
look in the face so manifest a truth, and voluntarily threw himself down the precipice.
For he erred not ignorantly but with full knowledge, being in the same case as
the Jews. For as they, looking to men, gave up sound faith, knowing that he was
the only-begotten Son of God, but not confessing Him, because of their rulers,
lest they should be cast out of the synagogue; so it is said that he, to
gratify a certain woman, sold his own salvation. A powerful thing, powerful
indeed, is the tyranny of vainglory; it is able to make blind the eyes even of
the wise, except they be sober; for if the taking of gifts can effect this,
much more will the yet more violent feeling of this passion. Wherefore Jesus
said to the Jews, “How can you believe, which receive honor one of another, and
seek not the honor that comes from God only?” (John 5:44)

“And the world knew Him not.” By “the world” he here means
the multitude, which is corrupt, and closely attached to earthly things, the
common turbulent, silly people. For the friends and favorites of God all knew
Him, even before His coming in the flesh. Concerning the Patriarch Christ
Himself speaks by name, “that your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and
he saw it, and was glad.” (John 8:56) And concerning David, confuting the Jews
He said, “How then does David in spirit call Him Lord, saying, the Lord said unto
my Lord, Sit on My right hand.” (Matthew 22:43; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42) And in
many places, disputing with them, He mentions Moses; and the Apostle (mentions)
the rest of the prophets; for Peter declares, that all the prophets from Samuel
knew Him, and proclaimed beforehand His coming afar off, when he says, “All the
prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have
likewise foretold of these days.” (Acts 3:24) But Jacob and his father, as well
as his grandfather, He both appeared to and talked with, and promised that He
would give them many and great blessings, which also He brought to pass.

“How then,” says one, “did He say Himself, 'Many prophets
have desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them; and to
hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them'? (Luke 10:24) Did
they then not share in the knowledge of Him?” Surely they did; and I will
endeavor to make this plain from this very saying, by which some think that
they are deprived of it. “For many,” He says, “have desired to see the things
which you see.” So that they knew that He would come [to men] from heaven, and
would live and teach as He lived and taught; for had they not known, they could
have not desired, since no one can conceive desire for things of which he has
no idea; therefore they knew the Son of Man, and that He would come among men.
What then are the things which they did not hear? What those which they did not
know? The things which you now see and hear. For if they did hear His voice and
did see Him, it was not in the Flesh, not among men; nor when He was living so
familiarly, and conversing so frankly with them. And indeed He to show this
said not simply, “to see” “Me”: but what? “the things which you see”; nor “to
hear” “Me”: but what? “the things which you hear.” So that if they did not
behold His coming in the Flesh, still they knew that it would be, and they
desired it, and believed on Him without having seen Him in the Flesh.

When therefore the Greeks bring charges such as these
against us, and say; “What then did Christ in former time, that He did not look
upon the race of men? And for what possible reason did He come at last to
assist in our salvation, after neglecting us so long?” we will reply, that
before this He was in the world, and took thought for His works, and was known
to all who were worthy. But if you should say, that, because all did not then
know Him, because He was only known by those noble and excellent persons,
therefore He was not acknowledged; at this rate you will not allow that He is
worshipped even now, since even now all men do not know Him. But as at present
no one, because of those who do not know Him, would refuse credit to those who
do, so as regards former times, we must not doubt that He was known to many, or
rather to all of those noble and admirable persons.

2. And if any one say, “Why did not all men give heed to
Him? Nor all worship Him, but the just only?” I also will ask, why even now do
not all men know him? But why do I speak of Christ, when not all men knew His
Father then, or know Him now? For some say, that all things are borne along by
chance, while others commit the providence of the universe to devils. Others
invent another God besides Him, and some blasphemously assert, that His is an
opposing power, and think that His laws are the laws of a wicked dæmon. What
then? Shall we say that He is not God because there are some who say so? And
shall we confess Him to be evil? For there are some who even so blaspheme Him.
Away with such mental wandering, such utter insanity. If we should delineate
doctrines according to the judgment of madmen, there is nothing to hinder us
from being mad ourselves with most grievous madness. No one will assert,
looking to those who have weak vision, that the sun is injurious to the eyes,
but he will say that it is fitted to give light, drawing his judgments from
persons in health. And no one will call honey bitter, because it seems so to
the sense of the sick. And will any, from the imaginations of men diseased (in
mind) decide that God either is not, or is evil; or that He sometimes indeed
exerts His Providence, sometimes does not so at all? Who can say that such men
are of sound mind, or deny that they are beside themselves, delirious, utterly
mad?

“The world,” he says, “knew Him not”; but they of whom the
world was not worthy knew Him. And having spoken of those who knew Him not, he
in a short time puts the cause of their ignorance; for he does not absolutely
say, that no one knew Him, but that “the world knew him not”; that is, those
persons who are as it were nailed to the world alone, and who mind the things
of the world. For so Christ was wont to call them; as when He says, “O Holy
Father, the world has not known You.” (Luke 17:25) The world then was ignorant,
not only of Him, but also of His Father, as we have said; for nothing so
darkens the mind as to be closely attached to present things.

Knowing therefore this, remove yourselves from the world,
and tear yourselves as much as possible from carnal things, for the loss which
comes to you from these lies not in common matters, but in what is the chief of
goods. For it is not possible for the man who clings strongly to the things of
the present life really to lay hold on those in heaven, but he who is earnest
about the one must needs lose the other. “You cannot,” He says, “serve God and
Mammon” (Matthew 6:24), for you must hold to the one and hate the other. And
this too the very experience of the things proclaims aloud. Those, for
instance, who deride the lust of money, are especially the persons who love God
as they ought, just as those who respect that sovereignty (of Mammon), are the
men who above all others have the slackest love for Him. For the soul when made
captive once for all by covetousness, will not easily or readily refuse doing
or saying any of the things which anger God, as being the slave of another
master, and one who gives all his commands in direct opposition to God. Return
then at length to your sober senses, and rouse yourselves, and calling to mind
whose servants we are, let us love His kingdom only; let us weep, let us wail
for the times past in which we were servants of Mammon; let us cast off once
for all his yoke so intolerable, so heavy, and continue to bear the light and
easy yoke of Christ. For He lays no such commands upon us as Mammon does.
Mammon bids us be enemies to all men, but Christ, on the contrary, to embrace
and to love all. The one having nailed us to the clay and the brickmaking, (for
gold is this,) allows us not even at night to take breath a little; the other releases
us from this excessive and insensate care, and bids us gather treasures in
heaven, not by injustice towards others, but by our own righteousness. The one
after our many toils and sufferings is not able to assist us when we are
punished in that place and suffer because of his laws, nay, he increases the
flame; the other, though He command us to give but a cup of cold water, never
allows us to lose our reward and recompense even for this, but repays us with
great abundance. How then is it not extremest folly to slight a rule so mild,
so full of all good things, and to serve a thankless, ungrateful tyrant, and
one who neither in this world nor in the world to come is able to help those
who obey and give heed to him. Nor is this the only dreadful thing, nor is this
only the penalty, that he does not defend them when they are being punished;
but that besides this, he, as I before said, surrounds those who obey him with
ten thousand evils. For of those who are punished in that place, one may see
that the greater part are punished for this cause, that they were slaves to
money, that they loved gold, and would not assist those who needed. That we be
not in this case, let us scatter, let us give to the poor, let us deliver our
souls from hurtful cares in this world, and from the vengeance, which because
of these things is appointed for us in that place. Let us store up
righteousness in the heavens. Instead of riches upon earth, let us collect
treasures impregnable, treasures which can accompany us on our journey to
heaven, which can assist us in our peril, and make the Judge propitious at that
hour. Whom may we all have gracious unto us, both now and at that day, and
enjoy with much confidence the good things prepared in the heavens for those
who love Him as they ought, through the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord
Jesus Christ, with whom, to the Father and the Holy Ghost, be glory, now and
ever, and world without end. Amen.

## Rev. George Haydock (1774-1849)

Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

*He was in the world,* &c. Many of the ancient interpreters understand this verse of Christ as God, who was*in the world* from its first creation, producing and governing all things: but the blind sinful world did not know and worship him. Others apply these words to the Son of God made man; whom even God's own chosen people, the Jews, at his coming, refused to receive and believe in him. (Witham)

1. ↑ Translated by Charles Marriott. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 14. Edited by Philip Schaff. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1889.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/240108.htm>.
2. ↑ Haydock, George. "ST. JOHN - Chapter 1." *Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary*. 1859 ed. <http://haydock1859.tripod.com/id92.html>