Ἔτι πολλὰ ἔχω λέγειν ὑμῖν, “I have yet many things to say to you”; after all I have said much remains unsaid. There is, then, much truth which it is desirable that Christians know and which yet was not uttered by Christ Himself. His words are not the sole embodiment of truth, though they may be its sole criterion. ἀλλʼ οὐ δύνασθε βαστάζειν ἄρτι, “but you cannot bear them now,” therefore they are deferred; truth can be received only by those who have already been prepared for its reception. “'Tis the taught already that profit by teaching” (Sir 3:7; 1 Corinthians 3:1; Hebrews 5:11-14). The Resurrection and Pentecost gave them new strength and new perceptions. βαστάζειν, similarly used in 2 Kings 17:14, ὃ ἐὰν ἐπιθῇς ἐπʼ ἐμὲ, βαστάσω. To those who wish to become philosophers Epictetus gives the advice, Ἄνθρωπε, σκέψαι τί δύνασαι βαστάσαι (Diss. iii. 15, Kypke).

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Old Testament