John 11:54

After this resolution of the Chief Priests and Pharisees, Jesus was more cautious in strewing Himself among the Jews, and retired to remote parts, and avoided populous places: Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went from there into a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim.

Not that His power had failed Him; for, had He pleased He might still have walked openly among the Jews, and they done nothing to Him. But He wished to show the disciples, by His own example, that believers did not sin by retiring out of the sight of their persecutors, and hiding themselves from the fury of the wicked, rather than inflame that fury in their presence.

It is praiseworthy, when struggles are at hand, not to avoid confession, or refuse to suffer death for the truth’s sake. And it is no less praiseworthy now to avoid giving occasion for such trial. Which we should take care to do, not only on account of the uncertainty of the event of a trial in our own case, but also not to be the occasion of increasing the impiety and guilt of others. For he who is the cause of sin in another, shall be punished. If we do not avoid our persecutor, when we have the opportunity, we make ourselves responsible for his offence. But our Lord not only retired Himself, but to remove all occasion of offence from His persecutors, took His disciples with Him: And there stayed with His disciples.

How must it have troubled the disciples to see Him save Himself by merely human means? While all were rejoicing and keeping the feast, they remained hidden, and in danger. Yet they continued with Him; as we read in Luke, You are they which have continued with Me in My temptations.

Mystically, Jesus walked openly among the Jews, when the Word of God used to come to them by the Prophets. But this Word ceased, i.e. Jesus went from there. And He went to that town near the wilderness, whereof Isaiah says, More are the children of the desolate, than the children of the married wife. Ephraim signifies fertility. Ephraim was the younger brother of Manasses: Manasses stands for the elder people forgotten; the word Manasses meaning forgotten. When the elder people were forgotten and passed over, there came an abundant harvest from the Gentiles. Our Lord left the Jews’ and went forth into a country - the whole world - near the wilderness, the deserted Church, to Ephraim, the fruitful city; and there continues with His disciples up to this day.

He who came from heaven to suffer, wished to draw near the place of His Passion, His hour being now at hand: And the Jews’ passover was near at hand. That passover they had resolved to celebrate by shedding our Lord’s blood; the blood which consecrated the Passover, the blood of the Lamb. The Law obliged everyone to go up to the feast: And many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover to purify them. But ours is the true Passover; the Jewish one was a shadow. The Jews held their passover in the dark, we in the light: their posts were stained with the blood of a slain animal, our foreheads are signed with the blood of Christ.

They went up before the passover, to be purified. For whoever had sinned willingly or unwillingly could not keep the passover, unless they were first purified by washings, fastings, and shaving of the head, and also offering certain stated oblations. While engaged in these purifications, they were plotting our Lord’s death: Then sought they for Jesus, and spoke among themselves, as they stood in the temple, What think you, that He will not come to the feast?

They lay in wait for Him at the passover, and made the feast time the time of His death.

Wherefore the Evangelist does not call it the Lord’s passover, but the Jews’ passover. For then it was that they plotted our Lord’s death.

They sought Jesus with bad intent. We seek Him, standing in God’s temple, mutually encouraging one another, and praying Him to come to our feast, and sanctify us by His presence.

If the common people only had done these things, the Passion would have seemed owing to men’s ignorance; but the Pharisees it is, who order Him to be taken: Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where He were, he should show it, that they might take Him.

Observe, they did not know where He was; they knew that He had gone away. Mystically, they did not know where He was, because, in the place of the divine commandments, they taught the doctrines and commandments of men.

Let us at least show the Jews where He is; O that they would hear, that they would come to the Church, and take hold of Him for themselves!

3. But it is greatly to be wondered at, how it has come to pass that, while affirming that they have found out the mysteries of God, they have not examined the Gospels to ascertain how often after His baptism the Lord went up, at the time of the passover, to Jerusalem, in accordance with what was the practice of the Jews from every land, and every year, that they should assemble at this period in Jerusalem, and there celebrate the feast of the passover. First of all, after He had made the water wine at Cana of Galilee, He went up to the festival day of the passover, on which occasion it is written, “For many believed in Him, when they saw the signs which He did,” as John the disciple of the Lord records. …

Ver. 54 . “But Jesus walked no more openly in Jewry.”

On this occasion Athanasius read to those present the Defense which he had composed some time before in justification of his flight; a few passages from which it may be of service to introduce here, leaving the entire production, which is too long to be transcribed, to be sought out and perused by the studious. See the daring enormities of the impious persons! Such are their proceedings: and yet instead of blushing at their former clumsy intrigues against us, they even now abuse us for having effected our escape out of their murderous hands; nay, are grievously vexed that they were unable to put us out of the way altogether. …

Wherefore also the Word Himself, being made man for our sakes, condescended to hide Himself when He was sought after, as we do: and also when He was persecuted, to flee and avoid the designs of His enemies. For it became Him, as by hunger and thirst and suffering, so also by hiding Himself and fleeing, to shew that He had taken our flesh, and was made man. Thus at the very first, as soon as He became man, when He was a little child, He Himself by His Angel commanded Joseph, ‘Arise, and take the young Child and His Mother, and flee into Egypt; for Herod will seek the young Child’s life.’ And when Herod was dead, we find Him withdrawing to Nazareth by reason of Archelaus his son. …