Глава одиннадцатая

Luke 11:1. It happened that when He was praying in one place and stopped, one of His disciples said to Him: Lord! teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples. The disciple of Christ is jealous of John’s disciples and therefore wants to learn how to pray. The Savior did not reject the desires of the disciples, but taught. Luke 11:2. He said to them: when you pray, say: Our Father who art in heaven! “Our Father,” he says, “who art in heaven.” Notice the power of prayer. She immediately leads you to what is above and, since you call God Father, convinces you in every possible way not to lose your likeness to the Father, but to try to become like Him. He did not say “My Father,” but “Our Father,” rousing you to brotherly love and encouraging you to love everyone as brothers in general. Having said: “in heaven,” he does not limit God to them, but he raises the listener to heaven and takes him away from earthly things. “Hallowed be Thy name,” instead of “let it be glorified,” that is, arrange our life so that it is for Thy glory. For just as the name of God is blasphemed by the wicked, so is it glorified by those who lead a good life. Thy kingdom come; The sinner does not pray for the Kingdom of God, because he does not want its coming because of the punishments awaiting him there. On the contrary, the righteous man prays for it to come soon, so that he can be freed from the temptations here and calm down. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; “Thy will be done..., as it is in heaven” - with the Angels, so with us people “on earth”. For Angels act in everything and in everything according to the will of God. Luke 11:3. Give us our daily bread; It teaches us to ask for “bread” only for “daily”, that is, useful for our existence and for maintaining life, not at all superfluous, but necessary. Luke 11:4. and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every debtor to us; and do not lead us into temptation, Not entering “into temptation” means not rushing into temptation. For we should pray to God not that He would send temptation upon us, but that He would turn it away; and if it befalls, one must endure it with courage. It must be said that there are two types of temptations. Some are arbitrary, for example, drunkenness, murder, adultery and other passions; for we ourselves fall into these temptations arbitrarily. Other temptations are involuntary, to which rulers and the powerful expose us. We must run away from arbitrary temptations, that is, from passions, pray for deliverance from them and say “lead us not,” that is, do not allow us to fall “into temptation,” that is, into arbitrary passion. but deliver us from evil. For he brings involuntary and voluntary temptations. Therefore, when you unwittingly suffer temptation from a person, do not consider this person to be the culprit of your temptation, but the evil one. For he incites man to rage against you and rage. Luke 11:5. And he said to them: suppose that one of you, having a friend, comes to him at midnight and says to him: friend! lend me three loaves of bread, Luke 11:6. for my friend came to me from the road, and I have nothing to offer him; The Lord, teaching us to pray without laziness, tells a parable and an example. What does the parable mean? “Midnight” refers to the last days of life, which when people reach, they begin to sympathize with goodness and rush to God. For He is a friend who loves everyone and desires the salvation of everyone (1 Tim. 2:4). So, many “at midnight,” that is, at the end of life, come to God as a friend and say: “give me three loaves,” that is, faith in the Trinity; for “a friend has come,” that is, an Angel taking up a soul. However, every Angel is a friend, just as the Lord says that there is joy in heaven over the salvation of a person (Luke 15:10). Luke 11:7. and he from the inside will tell him in response: don’t bother me, the doors are already locked, and my children are with me on the bed; I can't get up and give it to you. The “children” resting “on the bed” are people who were converted and therefore became children of the Lord and were worthy to rest with Him. Luke 11:8. If, I tell you, he does not get up and give him out of friendship with him, then, out of his persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he asks. “Persistence” refers to intense and prolonged prayer with patience. Understand this differently, namely: by “midnight” we mean the strength and middle of temptations. For every temptation is night, and the midst of temptation, without a doubt, is midnight. So, when someone is in the midst of temptation, he comes to God who loves us and says: “lend me three loaves of bread,” that is, the salvation of body, soul and spirit. For temptations threaten these three with danger. Who is the “friend” who came in from the road? Without any doubt, the Lord tests us in temptations and wants to taste our salvation. He who has fallen into temptation, not being able on his own to resist them and to receive the Lord, has nothing to offer Him. “The doors are locked” means that we must be prepared before temptation, and when we fall, then the door to preparation is already locked, and we, being unprepared, will suffer danger if God does not help. “Children” are (since they were first converted) those who through virtue have become sons of God, recline and rest in God. Luke 11:9. And I will tell you: ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you, Look how precise the words are. The Lord did not say, “Ask,” and it will be given to you, but “ask,” that is, continually seek. Luke 11:10. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. “Everyone who asks receives.” Does the one who asks for something useless actually receive it? No. For, firstly, asking for something useless cannot be called a petition before God. For whoever prays to God must ask for what He gives. But if someone asks for something useless, he is not making a request to God, for He does not give something that is useless. Luke 11:11. Which father among you, when his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? or, when he asks for a fish, will he give him a snake instead of a fish? Luke 11:12. Or, if he asks for an egg, will he give him a scorpion? Luke 11:13. So, if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. Then listen to how the Lord Himself teaches us to ask for what we should ask. He says: the son asks for “bread” and “fish” and “eggs”. Therefore, just as these items constitute human food, so our petitions should be useful to us and serve to help. By asking for “bread” we understand, perhaps, anyone who asks that faith in the Trinity and the correctness of dogmas be revealed to him. For they, as those who strengthen the heart, are bread. And “fish” is asked by someone who, being in the sea of ​​this life, asks God for help, so that he, like a fish, can remain alive and unimmersed among temptations. And he asks for “eggs” who wants to be given the offspring of virtuous souls, which souls, like those who took wings, ascended in spirit and flew over the earth, in justice, can be likened to birds. Luke 11:14. One day He cast out a demon who was mute; and when the demon came out, the dumb man began to speak; and the people were surprised. “Mute” is often called someone who does not speak; but it is also called the one who does not hear, or rather the one who does not hear and does not speak. Those who never hear, don’t speak. This happens to them out of necessity. For we speak what we learn by hearing. When someone does not hear, in all likelihood he does not speak. Unless someone's hearing is subsequently damaged due to illness, nothing prevents him from speaking. The one brought to Christ was mute in both respects: both of the tongue and of the ear. He is the image of human nature, which, being possessed by demons, was incapable of hearing the words of God, much less retelling them. But the Lord, having come and cast out demons, that is, passionate and demonic deeds, made sure that we not only spoke, but also preached the truth. For the words of God must not only be heard, but also retold to others. So, let us listen, we who have demonic works in us, who think to teach others and allow people to be called teachers. For when the demon comes out, then there is true talkativeness and teaching, but as long as the works of demons (passions) are within us, we do not speak, although we seem to speak. Luke 11:15. Some of them said: He casts out demons by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of the demons. Luke 11:16. And others, tempting, demanded from Him a sign from heaven. The Pharisees slander the miracle and blaspheme the Lord as a deceiver. They say: He is friendly with the prince of demons and with his assistance “casts out demons.” Luke 11:17. But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: Every kingdom divided against itself will be desolate, and a house divided against itself will fall; Luke 11:18. But if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? and you say that by the power of Beelzebub I cast out demons; The Lord says to them: how is it possible for a demon to cast out another demon? This would already be the destruction of his kingdom. For if they place their kingdom and rest in living among people, and their prince expels them, then it is clear that he is destroying himself. For “every kingdom divided” and rebelled is disorganized, and “a house divided... will fall.” By “house” do you mean a building? Fine. For the building stands as long as it remains connected, and when the walls separate from each other, it falls. Will you mean by “house” those living in the house? And as long as they keep peace, they stand, but if they rise up against each other, they fall. Luke 11:19. and if I cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub, by whose power do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. Let it be that “I cast out demons... the power of Beelzebub”; but “your sons”, that is, the apostles, “whose power they drive out”? Is it not obvious that in My name? How then do you say about Me that I drive out through Beelzebub, needing his power, when your sons, namely the apostles, drive out in My name? Truly, they will judge you. For if they drive out in My name, then I Myself obviously have no need of the power of another. Luke 11:20. If I cast out demons with the finger of God, then, of course, the Kingdom of God has reached you. I cast out “by the finger of God,” that is, by the Holy Spirit, and not by the evil spirit. He calls the Spirit “finger” so that you know that just as the finger of one being with the whole body, so the Holy Spirit is consubstantial with the Father and the Son. Or maybe it’s not because he calls it this way because the Son is called the right hand of God, and the seven powers of the Spirit rested on Him, and not as on an instrument of the Spirit, but as on one in essence with Him; one of the gifts and actions of the Spirit is the power to heal. He says that I cast out demons “by the finger of God,” that is, by the gift of the Spirit. For just as the finger is part of the hand, so the spirit of healing was part of those spirits, that is, the powers of the Spirit, which Jesus had. If, he says, “I... cast out demons” by the power of God, then “the Kingdom of God has truly come to you.” And this has the following meaning: the kingdom of the devil is finally destroyed, and God reigns, casting out demons. For listen to what he says next. Luke 11:21. When a strong man guards his house with arms, then his property is safe; Luke 11:22. when his strongest attacks him and defeats him, then he will take all his weapons in which he hoped and divide what was stolen from him. Before My coming,” he says, “Satan was strong and “guarding his house,” that is, he dominated human nature firmly and safely. But when I came, “his strongest,” then I conquered the world and all “his... weapons... in which he hoped,” that is, all types of sin. For sin is the weapon of the devil, and with it he boldly overcame people. I crushed all his weapons, because no sin was found in Me (1 Pet. 2:22); since then he has weakened. And “what was stolen from him,” that is, people who were, as it were, his prey, I snatched from him and entrusted each one to a special Angel, a faithful guardian, so that instead of the demon who had him in power, an Angel would rule over him. Luke 11:23. He who is not with Me is against Me; and whoever does not gather with Me scatters. Luke 11:24. When the unclean spirit leaves a person, he walks through dry places, looking for rest, and, not finding it, says: I will return to my house from where I came; Luke 11:25. and, having arrived, finds it swept and put away; Luke 11:26. then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and entering, they live there - and for that person the last thing is worse than the first. And otherwise. What kind of communication is there between Me and Beelzebub? My business is to gather the scattered children of God; and his business is that he wastes those who have been gathered. How do you conclude about Me that I have fellowship with Satan? Truly, such a thought has appeared in you because you are now in greater communion with demons. The unclean spirit lived in you before, when you served idols and killed prophets. Then, apparently, he left you. And now he has returned again “to his house,” that is, to your souls, with “seven spirits,” that is, many (for the number “seven” in Scripture is often used to mean “many”), and has done for you “the last worse than the first.” For then, when you served idols, you killed the prophets, but you did not yet openly insult the Son of God, who appeared in the flesh for your sake. And now what hope of salvation is there when you remain with the same ingratitude and insolence even after the Son became incarnate and performs miracles for your sake? “Waterless places” are the souls of those who do not have any softness, (souls) callous and preoccupied with themselves. Since the evil one has no place to dwell in such souls, he returns to the Jews, and the latter for them becomes worse than the former. So, now they no longer have either prophets, for they killed the Word, or anointing, for they crucified Christ (the anointed one). Previously, although they served idols, they had visible prophets and anointing; and now they have lost everything, because they have sinned against the Son of God. Luke 11:27. While He was saying this, one woman raised her voice from among the people and said to Him: Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts that nourished You! While the Pharisees and scribes denigrate the miracles of the Lord, the wife, an ingenuous and simple face, glorifies Him. Where are those who say that the Lord appeared in ghosts? For here is evidence that He also fed on breasts! Luke 11:28. And He said: Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it. And He pleases those who keep the word of God, however, not at all in order to deprive His Mother of pleasure, but in order to show that She would not have received any benefit from giving birth to Him and feeding Him with her breasts, if she had not had all the other virtues. He says this together because he goes with the time. Since those who envied Him and those who did not listen to His words reviled those who listened, He, in spite of them, especially pleases those who listen. Perhaps He also says this for the sake of the healed deaf man, so that he, having heard the word, would observe it, so that the ability to hear (given to him) would not serve as a condemnation for him. Luke 11:29. When the people began to gather in large numbers, He began to say: This generation is evil, it seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah; “When... the people began to gather in large numbers,” the Lord began to rebuke the foolish. There were several among them who wanted Jesus to perform a sign from heaven; for they said: the signs that He does are from the earth, and He does them by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of peace, who has power over the earth; but He cannot do a sign from heaven, because He is not the Son of the Heavenly Father. Since some said so, the Lord denounces them and says: a sign will be given to you that will prove that I am the true Son of the Heavenly Father. Which one? “The Sign of Jonah”, that is, the sign of the Resurrection (Jon. 2:1). Luke 11:30. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. For just as he spent three days in the belly of the whale, so I will remain three days in the belly of the whale, the great animal, that is, hell, and will rise again. When Jonah, cast out by a whale and seemingly revived again, began to preach, the Ninevites obeyed (Jon. 3:3-6); and even after My Resurrection this generation will not believe Me. Therefore they will be condemned for not imitating the Ninevites, although there is more Jonah here. For My dignity and the way of preaching make a great difference. I am the Master, he is the slave. I preach the Kingdom of Heaven, he is salvation from threatening destruction, I perform miracles, he did not perform any miracle. Luke 11:31. The queen of the south will rise up in judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, there is more Solomon here. Luke 11:32. The Ninevites will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented from the preaching of Jonah, and behold, there is more Jonah here. In the same way, the “queen of the south... will judge” this generation, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon. By “queen of the south” we mean, perhaps, every soul that is strong and constant in goodness. I'll explain. The north, when it serves as a symbol of the location of the enemy, is not approved by Scripture, because it is cold and induces deadness and numbness; and the south (as the opposite of the north) is approved, because the south wind brings warmth, revitalization, and warms up the numb parts. Therefore, in the Song of Songs, the bride, driving away the north, says: “Arise... from the north and be brought from the south” (Song. 4:16), and the prophet again says: “And the one who came from the north I will remove from you,” that is, Satan (Joel 2:20). So, the soul, reigning in the south, that is, in the fertile country of spiritual life, and strengthened through exercise in activity, comes to listen to wisdom, that is, it ascends to contemplation. For the wisdom of Solomon, the peaceful king, is the contemplation of our Lord and God, which no one will achieve otherwise unless, through exercise in activity, he becomes a king and ruler in a virtuous life. Luke 11:33. No one, having lit a candle, puts it in a secret place, not under a bushel, but on a candlestick, so that those who enter may see the light. Since the envious Jews, looking at the miracles, out of the malice of their minds, misinterpreted them, the Lord says the following: people who received a “lamp” from God, that is, the gift of the mind with which we look, as if given to us by light, hid their prudence and, darkening themselves with envy, do not see miracles and blessings, although for this purpose we received the mind to put it on the candlestick, so that others “could see the light.” In my opinion, He says this: Pharisee! you have knowledge - this is a lamp. You should have used this knowledge to recognize miracles yourself and to declare and explain to others that they are the works of the Son of God, and not Beelzebub. In this way, those “entering”, that is, those newly introduced and beginning, would see the light. For he who is wise has already entered; and whoever is still studying is just entering. Luke 11:34. The lamp of the body is the eye; So, if your eye is clean, then your whole body will be bright; and if it is bad, then your body will be dark. Luke 11:35. So, look: is not the light that is in you darkness? Luke 11:36. If your body is all light and does not have a single dark part, then everything will be as light as if a lamp illuminated you with radiance. But you, Pharisees, did not want to do this, and the eye of the soul, that is, the mind, hitherto straight, bent and darkened. For just as the eye of the body, what it is, makes the body such, for example, if it is pure, then the body is light, and if it is dark, then the body is dark, so in the same way the soul is located according to the state of the mind. If the eye and light she received from God begin to be darkened by envy or covetousness, generally speaking, by love for material things, then she too becomes darkened. Luke 11:37. While He was saying this, a certain Pharisee asked Him to have dinner with him. He came and lay down. Although the Lord knows the ill will of the Pharisees, nevertheless, he dines with them because they were crafty and needed correction. For this is why He dines with them, so that he may have a reason to improve their morals. Luke 11:38. The Pharisee was surprised to see that He did not wash His hands before dinner. For example, even now, looking at their unreasonable custom of washing before eating food, they teach that the soul must be cleansed by good deeds, since rinsing with water cleanses not the soul, but the body. They, foolish, thought that by immersing in water and washing the body, their soul would be cleansed along with the body. Therefore, the Lord used the wonderful example of the cup. Luke 11:39. But the Lord said to him: “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and the platter, but your insides are full of robbery and wickedness.” And as it was the time of the table, He mentions the cup and platter and, borrowing evidence from what lay before his eyes, convinces the Pharisee that just as there is no benefit if the cup is clean on the outside and filled with all kinds of dirt on the inside, so there is no benefit if, when washing the body, the soul is filled with all uncleanness, for example, “theft and wickedness.” The Lord hinted at the two dominant passions of the Jews: with the word “theft” - covetousness, and with the word “wickedness” - with envy and the consequences of envy. So, there is no benefit if the soul is in such a state. Luke 11:40. Foolish! Didn't the same One who created the external also create the internal? Reckless! Wasn’t it the same one who created the soul, who created the body on which you dwell so much? Therefore, you must cleanse your soul. Luke 11:41. Better give alms from what you have, then everything will be clean for you. Then he teaches them how the inside is cleansed, namely: he points to “alms.” Look, perhaps, how He, pointing to alms, heals both of their passions, I mean envy and theft. For he who is truly merciful will neither steal from the one to whom he gives alms, nor envy him. So, since He condemned two passions in them, He drives them out with one medicine, namely alms, which is the first door of idolizing love. Where is love, where is covetousness and envy? “From what you have,” that is, from your property. He said well: “from what you have,” and not simply: “from what you have,” because possessions are in the heart of the covetous and dominate in him. Why does David command “not to attach... hearts” to wealth (Ps. 61:11), that is, not to nail it down or tie it. Luke 11:42. But woe to you Pharisees, for you give tithes of mint, rue and all kinds of vegetables, and neglect the judgment and love of God: this should have been done, and not forsaken. The Pharisees, precisely in order not to break the Law, gave tithes from the most insignificant items, and if anyone reproached them for pettiness, they referred to the Law, which commanded the priests to bring tithes from everything (Deut. 14:22-23). Therefore, the Lord says: just as you do not neglect this, so it was fitting for you to practice the judgment and love of God. Since the Pharisees were unjust, oppressing widows and orphans, the Lord says: you must have “judgment,” that is, justice. Since they were contemptuous of God, stretching out their hand to sacred matters without reasoning, the Lord commands them to have “the love of God.” For whoever loves God does not approach His works with disdain. But it seems to me that since there are two types of love: love for God and love for one’s neighbor, then perhaps the Lord is making a hint at these two types: the word “judgment” means love for one’s neighbor, since justice and non-oppression of one’s neighbor come from love for him, and the word “love of God”, without a doubt, means complete disposition towards God. And when someone loves his neighbor not out of some worldly or shameful disposition, but for the sake of God, then this love can be called the love of God, since it is commanded by God and is pleasing to Him. Luke 11:43. Woe to you Pharisees, because you love presiding in synagogues and greetings in public assemblies. They (the Pharisees) loved that every person would give them honor and that “in public assemblies” they would be called by the title: “teacher” (Matthew 23:7); this means the words: “greeting”, “presiding”. Luke 11:44. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you are like hidden tombs over which people walk and do not know it. The Lord says: you are like tombs, which are full of all rottenness, and outside shine with marble; people do not recognize them by their appearance, by what rules they are guided in life (by what they walk), and if they knew, they would turn away because of their inner filth. Luke 11:45. To this one of the lawyers said to Him: Teacher! By saying this, You offend us too. The lawyer recklessly exposes himself to reproof. The lawyers were different from the Pharisees. The Pharisees were considered ascetics and cut off from others, and the lawyers were scribes and teachers and resolved questions from the Law for those who wished. Luke 11:46. But He said: woe to you lawyers too, because you impose unbearable burdens on people, but you yourself do not even touch them with one finger. They (the lawyers) imposed on people “heavy and unbearable burdens”; but they themselves did not touch these burdens “and ... with their finger,” that is, they themselves did not observe anything of what they commanded others. For when the teacher himself does what he teaches, then he lightens the burdens, setting an example in himself and encouraging his students. When he does nothing of what he teaches, then the burdens seem truly heavy to the students, since the teacher cannot fulfill them. Luke 11:47. Woe to you, for you build tombs for the prophets whom your fathers killed: Luke 11:48. By this you testify to the deeds of your fathers and agree with them, for they killed the prophets, and you build tombs for them. Luke 11:49. Therefore, the wisdom of God said: I will send prophets and apostles to them, and some of them will be killed, and others will be driven out, Luke 11:50. that the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world, may be required from this generation, Luke 11:51. from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the church. She, I tell you, will be required of this generation. The Lord also reveals that the Jews are the descendants of Cain and the heirs of his malice when he says that all “the blood shed... from Abel to... Zechariah... will be exacted from this generation.” You, he says, killed the prophets, your brothers, just as he killed Abel. Why, not without reason, did some take Cain for the image of the people who beat the prophets, for which they were avenged seven times, that is, with the lightest punishment, and Lamech - for the image of the people who killed Christ, for which they were avenged seventy times seven (Gen. 4:24), namely: dispersion into irrevocable captivity. Who was Zechariah, who was killed between the church and the altar? Some say that this is the ancient Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, who was stoned, as is known from the book of Kings (2 Chron. 24, 20-21). Others say that this is the father of the Forerunner. He did not exclude the Virgin Mary from the ranks of virgins after she gave birth to Christ, but placed her in the same place where they stood; and this place was between the church and the outer copper altar. For this they killed him. Since some expected their future king in Christ, while others did not want to be under the king’s authority, they therefore killed this saint because he claimed that the Virgin had given birth and that Christ, their future King, had been born, which was disgusting to them, for they wanted to be without a king. Luke 11:52. Woe to you lawyers, because you took the key of understanding; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who entered. The Lord called “the key of understanding” teaching and guidance through the Law, which can lead to Christ. For the Law, without a doubt, serves as a guide to Christ (Gal. 3:24). So, the lawyers apparently explained the Law, and yet maliciously withheld the “key of understanding” and did not open the doors of the Law, through which they themselves and the people could come to Christ. The law serves as a door to Christ. But this door remains closed unless someone explains the dark side of the Law and thus opens the door. For the Lord also said: “If you had believed Moses, you would have believed Me” (John 5:46). And again: “Search the Scriptures... they testify of Me. But you do not want to come to Me” (John 5:39–40). As an example, I will point to one. Among the Jews, as you know, the lamb was slaughtered, the thresholds were anointed, they ate this meat, and this was their victory over the destroyer (Ex. 12:1-13). All this prefigured the Sacrament of Christ. When Christ was slain as the Immaculate and Most Pure Lamb, then our thresholds, that is, the heart and will, and their upper doors, that is, the mind, were anointed, and we tasted the flesh of the Son of Man and defeated the destroyer of our spiritual strength. And many of the provisions of the Law pointed to Christ. Although the Law was, as it were, covered and locked by the darkness of the letter, as if by some kind of door, but if the teaching was entrusted to someone, he had the key of understanding; and if he so desired, he could open it, and he himself would enter, and he would bring others in. But the lawyers did not do this, but “took the key of understanding,” that is, they hid it, hid it from sight; When this key, that is, the interpretation of the Law, was taken from the environment (hidden), then its door remained locked. By “key of understanding” you can also understand faith. For knowledge of the truth occurs through faith, as the prophet Isaiah says: If you do not believe, you will not understand (Is. 6:10). So, the lawyers took the “key of understanding,” that is, faith, from the environment and hid it. For they did not allow some to believe in Christ, the Savior of all. He performed miracles, and the people, believing for the sake of these miracles, would have recognized Him as God, but they (the lawyers) said that He performed these miracles by the power of Beelzebub. Do you see how they took the key of understanding, not allowing them to believe what would themselves lead to knowledge? He (Christ) taught the will of God in the synagogues, but they (the lawyers) said: he has a demon and is raving, why do you listen to Him? So, they (that is, the Pharisees and scribes), truly, took the key of understanding, but they themselves did not enter and did not let others in, and, moreover, “those who entered,” that is, those already capable of knowing God. Luke 11:53. When He told them this, the scribes and Pharisees began to press hard on Him, forcing Him to answer many things, Luke 11:54. looking under Him and trying to catch something from His mouth in order to accuse Him. “While He was still speaking” this, instead of admitting their powerlessness, as if in refutation of His words, they declared themselves to be wiser than Him and began to block His mouth, that is, to constantly question Him and bewilder. For a difficulty usually occurs in speeches when one person is suddenly asked by many people, and, moreover, about different subjects. Then this person, not being able to answer everyone, gives reason to the unreasonable to consider himself defeated. These damned ones plotted the same thing against Christ. Many of them, asking one, thought to confuse Him in speeches and put Him in difficulty, as if He was unable to answer them: which was and was probable. For how can one suddenly answer many different questions? This can also be taken in this meaning: “to catch Him... from his lips” and expose him. For when someone is caught in his own words, he seems to close his own mouth, that is, he is convicted with his own lips and condemned. This meaning can be seen from what follows. For it is said: “trying to catch something from His mouth.” What was named a little earlier is now replaced by the words “to catch from His mouth.” Questions were asked to Him either regarding the Law (of Moses), in order to expose Him as a blasphemer who blasphemes Moses (for they suspected Him of this), then regarding Caesar, in order to declare Him a rebel and a seeker of power, and about everything else that wicked souls and filled with all malice could come up with.