Глава 12

The Lord multiplied the loaves of bread in the desert and turned water into wine in Cana. He accustomed and adapted their mouths to His bread and wine until the time came when He gave them His Blood and Flesh to eat. He nourished them with the pleasure of passing bread and wine, in order to lead them to the delight of His life-giving Body and Blood. He gave them small things without payment, so that they would know that the gifts of His grace are all the more given freely. What they could get from Him for payment, He gave them freely, just as what they wanted (that is, should have, but could not) get from Him for payment, He did not give them for payment, so that they would know that He did not require payment from them. Since payment for bread and wine, which could be given, should not have been given, then payment for Body and Blood, of course, could not be given. But he not only gave us freely, but also used some cunning to attract us. After all, he gave us such small things freely in order to induce us to go and receive without any payment what is superior (to them). Those crumbs of bread and wine that he gave were sweet for the larynx, but the gift of Body and Blood was useful for the minds. Through what is sweet to the larynx, he aroused us in order to attract us to what gives life to souls. For this reason, he mixed sweetness into the wine he made to show how great treasures were hidden in His Life-Giving Blood. At the beginning of His miracles, He made wine for the guests, which makes them glad, in order to let them know that His Blood will fill all generations of the pagans with joy. All existing joys are connected with wine, and all possible salvation is connected with the Sacrament of His Blood. He gave sweet wine, which changes hearts, to show that he would give them teachings that change hearts. What was previously water, he changed into wine in waterpots, and so he changed the ancient commandment into perfection. He turned water into a more excellent substance, and the law raised it to perfection. The guests drank the same water, but they did not drink it like water; so we, although we hear the former law, nevertheless taste it as if at the end (having reached perfection). After this, he connected cheek to cheek, precisely then, if we do what is perfect, as he said: “if someone hits you on ... the cheek, offer him the other as well” (cf. Matt. 5:39). But consider His creative power, which extends to everything. The Lord took some bread and multiplied it in the blink of an eye. What people do by toil for ten months, His ten fingers did suddenly. He put his hand under the bread, as if it were earth, and, like thunder, spoke over them. He scattered the movement of His lips like rain over them, and the warming breath of His lips took the place of the sun, and (thus) in (one) instant of time accomplished and produced what everyone else does for a long time. So, bread, despite its small number, from this very small number gave birth to a multitude in order to be in accordance with the One who first blessed and said: “grow and multiply and fill the earth” (cf. Gen. 1:28). After all, these unleavened loaves, like barren and childless women, by His blessing, sprouted and multiplied with twelve boxes of remnants that were born from them. Next. By His Word, Christ showed the power of His might to those to whom He gave the commandment, and the quick action of His gifts to those who received them. However, he did not multiply the loaves as much as he could, but as much as those who ate could eat. For He measured his miracles not according to His power, but to the needs of the hungry. After all, if His miracles were commensurate with His power, then no one could calculate how great a victory His power would bring. (Miracle-working) His art was commensurate with the hunger of those thousands of people, which it outnumbered twelve boxes 191. For all artists, the need of those in need is greater than their (own) power, because artists cannot do as much as those in need want. But the work of Christ exceeded the needs. He also said: “Gather up the remnants of the supper” (cf. John 6:12), so that none of them are lost, and so that they do not think that He only apparently did this. After all, since the remnants were preserved for the next day and the next, they were convinced that the Lord truly did this, and not an empty vision. When they were satisfied and saw that both Moses with his prayers and the Lord with His power had delivered food to the people, they began to exclaim and say: “This is truly the Prophet of whom ... it was said that He should come into the world” (cf. John 6:14); With these words they quoted the prophecy of Moses: “A prophet... the Lord will raise up for you” (cf. Deut. 18:18), and not some weak one, but “one like me,” who will satisfy you with bread in the desert. “Like me” (cf. Deut. 18:18) - says (Moses). He walked on the sea, was revealed in a cloud, freed His Church from the law of circumcision, and made John the virgin leader of God instead of Jesus, the son of Joshua, and gave him Mary, His Church, just as Moses gave the people to Jesus, so that what was said: “one like me” would be fulfilled. “And when evening came, the disciples got up and got into the boat to go to Capernaum. The Lord went up to the mountain to pray alone” (cf. Matt. 14:22–23). “Behold,” he says, “on the mountains are the feet of the evangelist” (Nahum.1:15). Who this (evangelist) is, the prophet himself explains, adding: “who brings good news...peace.” To whom? - to the pagans. “He said,” he says, “peace to the nations” (Zechariah 9:10). “Celebrate, O foreign tribe of Judah, your annual feast” (cf. Nahum 1:15), for during the Feast of Unleavened Bread the Lord made a sign on the loaves. The Prophet says: “Celebrate, Judah, your annual holiday,” since our annual holiday has come. And “fulfill your vow,” since the true lamb has come, and the ancient covenant is canceled, and its memorials are abolished. “Because iniquity will no longer be committed in you” (cf. Nahum.1:15). Who? - the power of kings or priests. Why won't it happen? - because the Lord destroyed her. “All power of king and priest destroys” (cf. Nahum.1:15). So, when they got into the boat and were exposed to the action of the wind in it, and the stormy sea rose on them, (then) the Lord came and appeared to them, but they thought that what appeared to them was a ghost. For they knew for sure that Christ was clothed with a body that was subject to the law of gravity, and therefore it occurred to them that a heavy body could not walk on the waters. Since this was (in fact) so, they were not unreasonably alarmed. But if Jesus, as you say, Marcion, was not clothed with a body, 192 then it was unreasonable to be surprised that He walked on the waters; After all, it is not difficult for the spirit to walk on the sea. So why were they surprised? If they knew that He was incorporeal, they were foolishly surprised and shouted stupidly; if he was corporeal, then they were rightly alarmed, because they saw something new, namely: a corporeal (man) walking on the waves of the sea without plunging (into them). If it is objected that He could not be visible, since it was night, then we answer that there is no difficulty in this for the spiritual Christ (for Christ as the God-man), Who, when He desired, revealed Himself on the mountain as the sun. And since the Lord Himself knew that they were rightly alarmed, He strengthened their spirit, saying: “It is I, do not be afraid” (Matthew 14:27), that is, it is I who possesses the body that you know. Simon, realizing that the words “it is I” (Matthew 14:27), He spoke about His body, answered and said that “if this is really so, then, behold, I am also clothed with flesh. If I walk on the waters in the same way, then I will know that You walk on them with the very body that I know You have.” And when he came down (from the boat) to walk on the sea and began to drown, he did not reject Christ, because Christ did not say to him: “unfaithful,” but: “of little faith” (Matthew 14:31). The sea lifted Christ and carried him on its waves, and thus marked the path that the Lord prepared for the apostles in His countries, and thus the words of Scripture were fulfilled: “You rule over the power of the sea and You tame the movement of its currents” (cf. Ps. 89:10). “When the Lord appeared and entered into the boat with Peter, the wind ceased and subsided” (cf. Matthew 14:32). Arius, who contradicts the birth of Christ from the Father, is also denounced by the word that was said in this boat: “those sailing in the boat came to the Lord and began to worship Him and say: Truly You are the Son of God” (cf. Matt. 14:33). This is consistent with what is written about Him: “The waters saw You and were afraid, and... The deeps are confused and Your traces are not revealed” (cf. Ps. 77:17, 20). So, with these words the apostles confessed that He is truly the Son of God about whom all this was said. “What... sign will you do so that we... can see and believe in you?” (cf. John 6:30). And behold, the Lord showed them many signs. But since they desired one thing, they despised (everything) else that He did, and spoke as if rumors and rumors about Him had never reached their ears. What was it that they wanted? They told Him about this in clear words: “Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven for food” (cf. John 6:31, Ps. 77:24). As if they were saying: “If you do such a sign, then it’s good, if it’s a lesser one, then we don’t want to see you anymore, because Moses told us: A prophet like me... the Lord will raise up for you” (cf. Deut. 18:18). Since the Lord saw that they boasted about Moses and abhorred Him, he refused to do what they wanted, not because he could not do it, but because it would become useless for them. After all, Moses did this to them, and there was no benefit; on the contrary, they turned away from the alliance with him and corrupted their morals. The Lord, not disdaining the gifts of Him who sent Him, but reproaching those who accepted the gifts (and) knowing what goal their cruel soul was striving for, said to them: “This is the bread... which comes down from heaven; If anyone eats from it, will he really die? (cf. John 6:33). In no way, he says, because this is the bread that is given to the whole world. Moses was given imperfect manna, therefore his manna was given only to the Israelites. And to show that the gifts of Moses are surpassed by His gifts, just as the calling of the stiff-necked people is surpassed by the calling of the pagans, he says: “Whoever eats the bread of this will live forever” (cf. John 6:51). Because the bread of God came down from heaven and was also given to the whole world. “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him to Himself” (cf. John 6:44). He said this so that the teaching given to them from God could be called into action in them. But where is that (said by Him): “I am the way and the door of the sheep 193” (cf. John 10:7)? Further, he said this so that each of them would become perfect, as if attracted by God, and thus become His reliable property. For those who came to Christ were named in the name of the Father, but those who perished were named after Satan. “And none of them perished, except the son of destruction” (John 17:12). On this basis, the people of Israel, who sinned, were named after Moses, because they stubbornly stood on the commands of Moses. “Whoever curses his father or... his mother... let him die” (cf. Matthew 15:4, Exodus 20:12, 21:17), and whoever blasphemes God must be crucified (Lev.24:16). With these words, God compared honoring parents with honoring Himself; The prophet made a similar comparison, saying: “If I am a father, then where is the respect for Me? and if I am the Lord, then where is the fear of Me? (Mal.1:6). The Lord confirms this, saying: “God said: Honor your father and your mother. But you say to each of your fathers and mothers: this is a gift... something that you would benefit from from me” (cf. Matt. 15:4-5). And the son to whom you gave such a law will not subsequently try to honor his father and mother. Perhaps this is why he said to the Pharisees, who incited their followers against the Lord: “Because of the food offered, I do not look at the face of that Pharisee who invited Me to the feast, as you usually do,” for he also does not honor his father and mother. The words: “every plant that... My Heavenly Father has not planted... will be uprooted” (Matthew 15:13) must be understood in relation to the traditions of their elders. “The woman... screamed and followed Him, saying: Have mercy on me. But he did not give her any answer” (cf. Matt. 15:22–23). The silence of the Lord turned out to be like a loud voice and made the lips of the Canaanite woman fruitful. He rejected her with silence, but she did not back down; confronted her with words, but she did not stop; He honored the hostile Israel, but she did not succumb to envy. On the contrary, the woman belittles herself and exalts Israel, saying: “and the dogs eat the crumbs... from their master’s table” (cf. Matt. 15:27), so that the Jews appeared as lords of the Gentiles. The disciples approached Him and began to ask and pray that He would let her go. The Lord wanted, in the person of this woman, to offer them an example of the strong love of the pagans. The Lord called the pagans dogs, and the Israelites sons, but the pagans, whom he allegorically called dogs, had love and chastity, while the Israelites, whom he allegorically called sons, showed (in themselves) the rage of dogs. “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs” (Matthew 15:26). The Lord spoke many derogatory words to the woman so that her faith would be revealed. Listen to what she answered: “Yes, Lord!” (Matthew 15:27). She was not ashamed to call herself a dog for her own benefit. Therefore: “I tell you, woman! great is your faith” (Matthew 15:28). Since he called the pagans dogs, he compared his gifts to bread. He performed this miracle among Israel in order to teach them that by resisting Him, they are resisting the power of the Most High. For the people of Israel, who once took under (their) control the so-called Joshua, the son of Nun, did not recognize the coming of the true Jesus; The descendants of the Canaanites, observing the signs that they had once seen in Jesus, the son of Nun, came to know the true Life-Creator through His pre-images. And after this unclean one appeared from the seed of the Canaanites, who knew the truth from images and likenesses, then, turning, she entered clean into (the midst of Israel), for which, despite long-term preparation through images and likenesses, the Lord unexpectedly came, signified through (these) images. But the same evil spirit took possession of them (as at that time) when, upon returning from exploring the land (Canaan), they, driven by rage, rose in a crowd against Moses to stone him (Num. 13:18-34, 14:1-8), but Joshua restored peace and suppressed their anger. This name (Jesus) destroyed the giants before them, and the evil one (spirit) entered into the Canaanites, and they came to make war with Joshua the son of Nun. When the (true) Jesus appeared, then, through the true faith of the Canaanites (in Him), he drove out the evil spirit from this maiden (Matthew 15:22, 28), who served as an image of the Canaanite people. For the sake of the name of Jesus, they abandoned the worship of various idols, and if you look at the Israelites of our time, you will find that they have all the rage, irritation, anger, hatred and envy characteristic of the pagans. But when you listen to this, be careful and do not follow the story about this unclean spirit and his seven companions (Matthew 12:43-45) directly and completely (literally and in detail), but with sound judgment perceive the power of the similarity or the meaning of the parable, and do not extend (it) to all parts of the similarity, but to the entire outer shell of the parable. For where the parable goes into details of description, there, as if with some kind of clothing, the expression used on this occasion is clothed, which, being freed from this superfluous (garment), is revealed in its truth. And just as the Canaanites, who waged war against that name, were uprooted from their land, so the Israelites were driven out from their place of residence. Our Lord came to the well as a hunter (John 4:6–42). He demanded water so that, taking the occasion from the water, he would give water. As a thirsty man asked for water in order to arrange for Himself an opportunity to quench His thirst with a drink (of a different kind). He made a request to the woman, teaching her so that she, in turn, would ask Him. The richest did not disdain to ask as one in need, in order to motivate (others) to ask by His need. And His embarrassment did not frighten Him to speak alone with a woman, in order to teach us that one who stands firm in the truth cannot be embarrassed: “They were amazed that He spoke to a woman” (John 4:27). He removed the disciples from Himself so that they would not drive away His prey. He threw grain to the pigeon so that through it (the pigeon) he could catch the whole flock. He asked her about various objects so that she could tell the truth. “Give Me water to drink” (cf. John 4:7). Notice how he started the conversation. He who promised (to give) living water desired water. The Lord asked and left His request, just as the woman (left) her waterpot, which she had to lift (John 4:28). The reasons (for the conversation) were multiplied in order for the truth to appear, for the sake of which (these) reasons were brought in. “Give Me some water to drink. The woman said to Him: Behold, You are a Jew. He says to her, “If only you knew” (cf. John 4:7-10), - with these words he showed her that she was ignorant and unskilled and, out of ignorance, was in error, and at the same time directed her to the knowledge of the truth in such a way, however, as to gradually remove the veil from her heart. After all, if from the very beginning he had openly told her that He was Christ, then the woman would have run away from Him in horror and, with the help of instruction and teaching, would not have become His disciple. “If you knew the One who said to you: Give me this water to drink, then you yourself would have asked Him... The woman said to Him: I have not drawn from You, but the well is deep” (cf. John 4:10-11). He tells her: “My water comes down from heaven.” It is precisely this that is the teaching about high things, the heavenly drink, the drinkers of which thirst no more. There is only one baptism for believers. “Whoever drinks this water that I will give him will never thirst... The woman says to Him: Master! give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty and next time I will not go to this well to draw water from it” (cf. John 4:14–15). “He said to her: And call your husband to Me” (cf. John 4:16). He opened the way for Himself in order to show her the hidden things as a prophet. “You have changed five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband... The woman says to Him: Lord! I see that You are a prophet” (cf. John 4:18–19). With these words he elevated her to a higher degree (of understanding). “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain... He answered her: neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem,... but... true worshipers will worship... in spirit and truth" (cf. John 4:20-21, 23). With these words he elevated her to perfection. Further, he said this in order to show that this woman was not a barren land, and thus through her, whom he took as a testimony to Himself, He made it known that His seed would bring a hundredfold harvest. The woman says: “Behold, Christ is coming, and when... he comes, he will give us everything... He says to her: It is I who speak to you” (cf. John 4:25–26). - “If You are a king, then why did you ask me for water?” So, from the very beginning of the conversation, he did not announce His face to her, but revealed himself to her first as a Jew, then as a Prophet, and finally as Christ. Having started at an ordinary level, he elevated it to the highest level. I saw Him first as a thirsty man, then as a Jew, then as a Prophet and, finally, as God. She wanted to convince a thirsty man, she turned away from the Jew, questioned the Teacher, was convicted by the Prophet, and worshiped Christ. Since the Jews considered it shameful to marry a Samaritan woman, observing the example of Judah, who removed Shelah from Tamar (Gen. 38:11, 14, 26), therefore this woman, being led astray, indulged in adultery, for Christ said to her: “the one whom you now have is not your husband” (John 4:18). And since the woman confessed her sins, they believed her; for our attention is attracted 194 when crimes are discovered; even more (they believed her) because they saw that they themselves did not know what Christ had revealed to her. However, they wisely judged this and said: if He were Christ, then not in this one matter (only), but in many others He would have shown His power. And, indeed, the Lord, fulfilling their desires, revealed His power to them in many matters (John 4:40–41). When they saw these miracles and heard about the wonderful and amazing revelation made to the Samaritan woman, they hastened to warn of the reason for ridicule on the part of the Jews, who would begin to say that their faith was based on the confession of an adulterous woman. Therefore they said to the woman: “It is no longer because of your words that we believe in Him, but because we ourselves have heard His teaching and seen His works, because He is God, and we have known that He really is the true...Christ” (cf. John 4:42). And truly, in our knowledge we must lay the foundation of our faith. “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain” (John 4:20). This was said about Jacob and his sons, because they worshiped on Mount Shechem, or in Bethel, or on Mount Simgriazin 195. The words: “neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem will I worship” (cf. John 4:21), mean the same as (the words): “in every place where they remember my name” (cf. Exodus 20:24). Then, since the woman said: “You say that only in Jerusalem should there be a place of worship, and our fathers worshiped on this mountain,” in order to show her that God is not corporeal, he says: “Truly I say to you, neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem will I worship... but... the true worshipers will worship the Father through the Holy Spirit in truth” (cf. John 4:21, 23). “Neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem will I worship,” - this showed that worship will spread throughout the whole earth after the fig tree dries up. prevented worship 196. “If you want,... Lord, you can heal me” (cf. Matt. 8:2). The leper reasoned to himself: “Perhaps He keeps the law like Elisha, who did not go out to Naaman” (2 Kings 5:9-11). The Lord resolved this doubt by touching him and (at the same time) taught that the law cannot hinder the legislator. Or the leper assumed that He was alien to the law and adversary of the law; therefore the Lord healed him both secretly and openly, so that, being healed physically, he would not suffer spiritual condemnation. “And show yourself” (cf. Matthew 8:4) - that is, show yourself for the sake of the priests. Since he was afraid to touch the Lord, so as not to make Him unclean, the Lord Himself touched him in order to show him that He not only cannot become unclean through him, but by His command also destroys uncleanness in (other) unclean people. What the Lord showed to the leper was for testing purposes. Before testing him in faith, I knew him; To tempt without foreknowledge is characteristic of ignorance. The Lord was angry with both: after all, if he had not touched the leper, then through this the thought would have been strengthened in him that the Lord was afraid of leprosy; and if he had touched him, then (then) the opposite thought would have arisen in his soul, that the Lord is an opponent of the law. Therefore, stretching out His hand, He showed the Divinity and cast out uncleanness; with the word of His mouth He revealed His way of thinking and eliminated the suspicion that He was alien to the law and an opponent of the law. Or, since he (the leper) was a Jew and heard from the priests that Jesus was an opponent of the law and an enemy of the Scriptures, he thought that Christ did not want to heal the Jews. “If you want, you can” (Matthew 8:2). The thought and expression of the request exposes the doubter. I know, he says that you can, whether you want - I don’t know. And the Lord (also) showed him two things for this duality: reproach, because he was angry with him, and mercy, because he healed him. He was angry that (the leper) said: “if you want,” (but) since he added: “you can” (Matthew 8:2), he healed him in order to cleanse both the leper’s body from uncleanness and his spirit from wrong thoughts. He teaches him with the words: “and teach” (cf. Matthew 8:4) - to those who themselves are unclean and cannot teach you, and - “bring a gift” (Matthew 8:4) for your cleansing. And he says: “Do not tell anyone” (Matthew 8:4), so that the priests would not think that the leper remembered them and made a sacrifice because they accused (Jesus). Be silent, he says, and when you come to them and they ask you how you were healed, then let them know that I make sure that the law of Moses is not neglected. “If you want, you can cleanse me” (Matthew 8:2). That man saw that the Lord does not raise all the dead and does not heal all the sick; on this basis he thought that he was healing (only) those whom he wanted (to heal), and therefore he said to Him: “Lord, if you want, you can cleanse me.” As a result of this, the Lord, through disfavour, showed that He does not heal according to partiality. However, since (the leper) believed, saying: “If you want, you can cleanse me,” the Lord revealed by healing him that He does not reject faith. In addition, since the leper saw that the lepers were (only) burdened with various instructions regarding leprosy by the priests without receiving healing from them, the rites of the law for this reason lost their power in his eyes, and therefore he said: “If you want, you can cleanse me” (Matthew 8:2). And the Lord, because of such (his) thoughts, was angry with him and then commanded him: “And show yourself to me, priest, and fulfill the law that you despise” (cf. Matt. 8:4). Further, he did this because the leper thought that Christ had the same opinion (about the law as he did), since he saw that He was breaking something from the law. But notice also that Christ was not angry with him, but with leprosy. “If you want, you can cleanse me... And you stretched out... your hand” (cf. Matt. 8:2, 3). That he stretched out his hand, this, they say, is a violation of the law, for according to the law everything that concerns leprosy is unclean. But the Lord did not touch the leper at all, but extended His healing right hand over him. Whether he turned out to be an enemy of the law, we will see by rereading again what follows (in the story later). He showed that nature (in itself) is good, because he replenished its deficiency, and, by sending him to the priests, he established the priesthood. Then, by commanding (him) to bring gifts for his purification, did he not confirm the law (by this), as well as by adding: “as ... Moses commanded you” (cf. Matt. 8:4)? Moses gave them many commandments about leprosy, but they could not get any benefit from them; with the appearance of Christ, healing through the word also appeared and abolished many kinds of commandments (of Moses), to which, it seems, the law on leprosy also applies. “And go to the priests for their testimony” (cf. Matt. 8:4), for it was prescribed that they examine leprosy before cleansing and after suffering (cleansing from) leprosy, serve as witnesses (recovery). Christ said this about the commandments of the ancient law of Moses and called them as evidence of His teaching, saying: “As ... Moses commanded” (cf. Matt. 8:4). With these words he taught that they are not canceled by Him, but (on the contrary) become His heralds in the face of the people. The Lord's miracle not only fed all the hungry, but also provided twelve boxes of leftovers. Wed Irenaeus. Against heresies. Chr. 1–2 (ed. Oehler, 2, 425 sq.). Those. How could Christ call Himself “the way and the door,” if not He, but the Father draws people to Himself? Saint Ephrem did not deign to answer this objection. Literally: “our ears are delighted.” This is how the name of Mount Gerizim is expressed in Armenian manuscripts. This refers to the Jews (Matthew 21:19). You might be interested in: