Глава девятая

Luke 9:1. Having called the twelve, he gave power and authority over all demons and to heal diseases, And from here the superiority of the Divinity of Jesus is revealed. For He not only performed miracles Himself, but also gave the same power to His disciples. And to communicate such gifts to your friends, without any doubt, is possible not for man, but only for God. Luke 9:2. and sent them to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. Having given the disciples power over evil spirits, the Lord did not limit them to the use of this power only, but commanded them to preach the Gospel. The one who has been entrusted with teaching must both preach and perform miracles. In this case, the sermon is confirmed by miracles, and miracles by the sermon. For many often performed miracles by the power of demons, but their preaching was not true; and therefore their miracles are not from God. Luke 9:3. And he said to them: take nothing for the road: neither staff, nor scrip, nor bread, nor silver, and do not have two clothes; The Lord, sending his disciples, commands them such moderation that he does not command them to take either bread or anything else that many of us gather for ourselves. Luke 9:4. and whatever house you enter, stay there and from there go on your journey. He also commands them not to run from one to another, but to stay in whichever house they enter, so as not to seem somehow fickle and very changeable. Luke 9:5. And if you are not received anywhere, then when you leave that city, shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them. “Shake off,” he says, “the dust on those who will not accept you, “as a testimony against them,” that is, to expose and condemn them, showing them that, although for their sake you have made many journeys, you have not received any profit from them. Luke 9:6. They went and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. Some commandments to the apostles - not to carry a bag or a staff, not to have two clothes - are understood as follows: do not collect treasures - for the bag, containing a lot, means collecting; do not carry a staff, that is, do not be angry and pugnacious; do not have two clothes, that is, do not be changeable in morals and double-minded in thoughts. Luke 9:7. Herod the tetrarch heard about everything that Jesus did and was perplexed: for some said that it was John who rose from the dead; Luke 9:8. others that Elijah appeared, and others that one of the ancient prophets was resurrected. This Herod was a little one, the son of the great Herod, who beat up infants. That one was a king, and this one was a “tetrarch”. He “wondered” who Jesus was. Luke 9:9. And Herod said: I have beheaded John; Who is this one about whom I hear such things? And I sought to see Him. However, “I beheaded John,” he says, “and therefore if he rose from the dead, then when I see him, I will recognize him; “and sought an opportunity to see” Jesus. Look: Jews believe the resurrection of the dead is in carnal life, in food and drink. They think wrongly, for the resurrection is not in food and drink or in the life of the flesh, but the resurrected live like the Angels of God. Luke 9:10. The apostles returned and told Him what they had done; and He, taking them with Him, withdrew separately to an empty place, near a city called Bethsaida. Jesus, having the intention of performing a miracle over the loaves, goes into an empty place so that no one would think of saying that the loaves were brought from a nearby city. Luke 9:11. But the people, having learned, followed Him; and He, having received them, talked with them about the Kingdom of God and healed those who needed healing. Having received the people, He taught and healed, so that you would know that our chastity is divided into word and deed, and that just as we should not say what is inconvenient to do, so we should not do what is absurd to talk about. Luke 9:12. The day began to turn towards evening. And the twelve came to Him and said to Him: Let the people go, so that they can go to the surrounding villages to spend the night and get food; because we are in an empty place here. When the day was approaching evening, the disciples, who had already begun to be distinguished by their philanthropic and pastoral dispositions, took pity on the people and said: “let them go,” that is, quickly heal their illnesses, fulfill their petitions. Luke 9:13. But He said to them: Give them something to eat. They said: We do not have more than five loaves and two fish; Should we go buy food for all these people? And the Lord says to the disciples: “Give them something to eat.” He says this not because he did not know about the poverty, but because he wanted to force the disciples themselves to express how many loaves they had, and thus, through their confession, through the announcement of the number of loaves, to reveal all the greatness of the miracle. Luke 9:14. For there were about five thousand of them. But He said to His disciples: Seat them in rows of fifty. Luke 9:15. And they did so, and seated everyone. Commanding the disciples to seat the people in rows of fifty, he shows that when we receive a stranger, we must calm him down and take every care for him. Luke 9:16. He took the five loaves and two fish and looked up to heaven, blessed them, broke them and gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. He looks at the sky to show that we, intending to eat food, must send thanks to God. He Himself gives to the disciples, and then they give to the people; this is so that they do not forget about the miracle, but remember it when they think that they took the loaves into their hands. Luke 9:17. And they all ate and were filled; and the pieces that remained with them were collected into twelve boxes. There were twelve boxes left over, so that we would know the power of hospitality and how our wealth increases when we help the poor. However, this is discussed at greater length in the explanation of the Gospel of Matthew (see Chapter 14 Luke 9:18. At one time, when He was praying in a solitary place, and the disciples were with Him, He asked them: Who do the people say that I am? Luke 9:19. They answered: for John the Baptist, and others for Elijah; others say that one of the ancient prophets has been resurrected. Luke 9:20. He asked them: Who do you say that I am? Peter answered: for the Christ of God. Luke 9:21. But He strictly ordered them not to tell anyone about this, Luke 9:22. saying that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and on the third day rise again. The Lord, questioning the disciples, does not directly ask what they themselves say, but first asks about the people’s opinion, and then about their own opinion. He does this in order to show the injustice of the people’s rumors about Him and to lead the disciples to the true understanding, which is what was done. For when the disciples said that some call You John, others Elijah, He “and you,” that is, you are different from everyone else, you are chosen, you are set apart, who do you call Me? Then Peter precedes the others and, having become the mouth of all, confesses Him as the Christ of God, about whom it has long been preached. He did not just call Him the Christ of God, but that Christ of God, who is actually the Christ of God. For many have been anointed, but that Christ (Anointed) of God is the One and Only. Luke 9:23. To all he said: If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. Since Christ said about Himself that the Son of Man must “suffer much,” he adds something general and universal, namely: I will not suffer death alone, but all who want to follow Me must deny themselves, have no communication with the flesh, but despise themselves. “Cross” here calls death the most blasphemous; for there was no other death so inglorious as death on the cross. So, He declares that the one who wants to be His disciple must die not a glorious death, but a blasphemous one, will be killed as a condemned person. Since many are killed blasphemously as robbers and evildoers, therefore He added: “and follow Me,” that is, practice every virtue. Luke 9:24. For whoever wants to save his soul will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. “Whoever wants to save his soul will lose it,” that is, if someone wants to live in a worldly way, he will die in soul. Luke 9:25. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, but destroy or harm himself? Luke 9:26. For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father and the holy Angels. He is ashamed of Christ who says: How can I believe in a crucified and mocked God? And he is ashamed of His words who mocks the simplicity of the Gospel. The Lord will be ashamed of such “in His glory,” that is, at the second coming. He says something like this: just as a householder, having a wicked servant, is ashamed to call him his slave, so I am ashamed to call him my slave who has denied Me. Luke 9:27. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God. Since He said above: “Whoever loses his life for My sake will save it,” now, wanting to show what benefits such will be awarded, he says: “There are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the Kingdom of God,” that is, the glory in which the righteous have to be. He said this about His Transfiguration. For the Transfiguration was an image of the future heavenly glory, and just as Jesus in the Transfiguration miraculously shone like lightning, so then the righteous will shine in the same way (Matthew 13:43). There are, he says, several (John, Peter and James) who will not die before they see the glory in which My confessors will be. And they will see this during the Transfiguration. Luke 9:28. After these words, eight days later, Evangelist Matthew says that Jesus ascended the mountain when six days passed after these words (Matthew 17:1), and Luke says that eight days passed. For Matthew speaks only about intermediate days, and Luke does not only speak about intermediate days, but he means both the day on which these words were spoken and the one on which the Transfiguration took place. taking Peter, John and James, Jesus took with Him only three: Peter as loving, John as beloved and James as burning with zeal for Him, or as capable of hiding the event, keeping it in silence and not telling anyone. He went up the mountain to pray. To pray, Jesus goes up the mountain; for we must pray in solitude, with ascension, without bowing to anything earthly. Luke 9:29. And when he prayed, the appearance of His face changed, and His clothes became white and shining. His appearance became different, not, however, as if He Himself had become different in essence, for He remained the same as He was, but the appearance of His face appeared much brighter than before. The same thing happened with His clothes. For only her appearance shone with lightning; the substance of the clothing did not change, only the appearance. Luke 9:30. And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah; As He prayed, Moses and Elijah stood before Him to show that He was not opposed to the Law and the Prophets. For if He were an enemy, then Moses, who gave the Law, and Elijah, the most zealous of the prophets, would not have allowed themselves to serve Him (like bodyguards), or even to be with Him. Luke 9:31. appearing in glory, they spoke of His exodus, which He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem. They spoke about the exodus that He had to accomplish in Jerusalem, that is, about His death. Luke 9:32. Peter and those with him were burdened with sleep; but when they awoke, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him. Luke 9:33. And when they departed from Him, Peter said to Jesus: Master! It’s good for us to be here; We will make three tabernacles: one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah, not knowing what he said. While Christ was in prayer, Peter was “heavier with sleep,” for he was weak and, serving sleep, paid tribute to human nature. When Peter woke up, he saw the glory of Christ and two men. Finding such a stay here pleasant because of the light and contemplation of the prophets, Peter says: “It is good for us to be here”! He thought that now the end of the world and the kingdom of Jesus had come. But he didn't know what he was saying. For then the end had not yet occurred, the day of the kingdom and enjoyment of the blessings that the saints would possess had not yet arrived. Peter said this (it is good for us to be here) together also because he feared that Christ would be crucified. He heard from Christ that He must be killed and rise on the third day; That’s why he said this, expressing it like this: let’s not leave the mountain, we’ll stay here to avoid the Cross and suffering; if the Jews come against us, then we have Elijah as an assistant, who brought down fire from heaven and destroyed the leaders of the fifty; we have Moses, who defeated so many and such nations. He said this without knowing what he was saying. For he thought that the cross was evil, and, moreover, painful, and therefore, wanting to avoid it, he said this. Meanwhile, the Lord longed to be crucified, since otherwise the salvation of people could not be accomplished. Luke 9:34. While he was saying this, a cloud appeared and overshadowed them; and they were afraid when they entered the cloud. Then, as Peter also said: “let us make three tabernacles,” the Lord suddenly creates a canopy not made with hands and enters it with the prophets to show that He is no less than the Father. For just as in the Old Testament the Lord appeared in a cloud, and Moses entered it, and thus received the Law (Ex. 19:9, 20:20-21), so now the cloud has embraced Christ, and the cloud is not dark (for the shadow of the Law and the darkness of ignorance has passed), but a bright cloud. For the truth has come, and the grace of the Lord has shone, and therefore now nothing is dark. Luke 9:35. And there came a voice from the cloud, saying: This is My Beloved Son; listen to Him. And a voice came out of the cloud, just as in the Old Testament the voice of God was heard from the cloud. Luke 9:36. When this voice came, Jesus was left alone. Jesus remained alone, so that no one would think that the words: “This is My Beloved Son” were spoken about Moses or Elijah. However, this perhaps also means that the Law and the Prophets existed only for a certain time, just as Moses and Elijah were visible here, and then, when their time passed, only Jesus remained. For now the gospel reigns, while much of the law has passed away. And they kept silent and did not tell anyone in those days what they saw. The apostles remained silent and did not say anything about what they saw. Before the Cross, one should not have said anything decent to God about Jesus. For what opinion would those who heard this and then saw Him crucified form about Him? Would they not consider Him a deceiver and a dreamer? That is why the apostles do not preach about a single miraculous and God-worthy deed of Jesus before the Cross. However, we have said enough about this subject in our explanation of the Gospel of Matthew (see Chapter 17) Luke 9:37. The very next day, when they came down from the mountain, many people met Him. Luke 9:38. Suddenly one of the people exclaimed: Teacher! I beg You to look at my son, he is the only one I have: Luke 9:39. the spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out, and torments him, so that he emits foam; and forcibly retreats from him, having exhausted him Luke 9:40. I asked Your disciples to drive him out, but they could not. This man (about whom we are talking) was a very unbeliever. Therefore, the demon did not leave his son. For unbelief prevailed over the strength of the apostles. His disbelief and insolence are evident from the fact that he came to accuse the disciples in front of everyone. Luke 9:41. Jesus answered and said: O faithless and perverse generation! How long will I be with you and endure you? But the Lord declares that his son was not healed because of his unbelief, and before everyone he reproaches him, and not just him, but everyone else in general. For having said: “Oh, an unfaithful generation,” he means by this all the Jews, and by the word “corrupt” he shows that their evil is not from the beginning and not from nature. They were good by nature (for they were the holy offspring of Abraham and Isaac), but they were corrupted by their wickedness. The words: “as long as I am with you and will endure you” mean that He wants to accept death and wants to get rid of them as quickly as possible. For how long,” he says, “will I endure your unbelief? bring your son here. Luke 9:42. While he was still walking, the demon overthrew him and began to beat him; but Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him to his father. The Lord, to show that He has the power to overcome the unbelief of the Jews, says: “Bring your son here” and, having healed him, “gave him to his father.” The possessed man did not previously belong to his father, but to the evil spirit that possessed him; and now the Lord gave him to his father, who lost him and then found him. Luke 9:43. And everyone was amazed at the greatness of God. When everyone was amazed at everything that Jesus did, He said to His disciples: Luke 9:44. put these words in your ears: The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men. The others “all marveled at everything that Jesus did,” and not just at this miracle. But Jesus, leaving the others, talks with the disciples and says: “put all this, miracles and words about miracles, into your ears.” For what? Since I am about to be betrayed and crucified, so that when you see Me crucified, you do not think that I endured this out of My powerlessness. For whoever performs such miracles might not have been crucified. Luke 9:45. But they did not understand this word, and it was hidden from them, What was this for? So that they do not prematurely fall into sadness and are not embarrassed from fear. So, God, condescending to their weakness and guiding them as if they were children, allowed them not to understand what was said about the Cross. so they did not comprehend it, but were afraid to ask Him about this word. Accept and the reverence of the disciples, for which they did not dare, they were even more afraid to ask the Lord. For fear enhances reverence, just as reverence is fear dissolved by love. Luke 9:46. The thought came to them: which of them would be greater? The apostles were overcome by a passion for empty glory. It seems that this passion was aroused in them because they did not heal the demoniac. Probably on this occasion they argued, each claiming for his part that the boy was not healed not because of my powerlessness, but because of the powerlessness of such and such, and from here a dispute broke out about which of them would be greater. Luke 9:47. But Jesus, seeing the thoughts of their hearts, took the child and set him before Him But the Lord, knowing everyone’s heart, anticipates and, before this passion grows, tries to nip it at the very root. For it is easy to overcome passions at the beginning, but when they grow, then it becomes very difficult to drive them out. How does the Lord stop evil? “Taking, it is said, a child,” shows it to his students, letting them know through this that we must bring our mind to the state in which it is in childhood; for children are inexperienced in evil, very simple and are not worried by thoughts of either love of glory or the desire for primacy over others. Luke 9:48. and he said to them, “Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for whoever is least among you will be great. “Whoever,” he says, “receives this child in My name, receives Me.” These words have this meaning: although you think that many will like you and that you will be accepted by many in this case if you seem proud and glory-loving, I tell you that simplicity is especially pleasing to Me and that it serves as a distinctive sign of My disciples, so that whoever accepts a simple and gentle man as My disciple (for this means the expression “in My name”) will accept Me. For whoever accepts the proud does not accept either My disciple or Me. Luke 9:49. At this John said: Mentor! We saw a man casting out demons in Your name, and we rebuked him, because he did not walk with us. John, entering into the conversation, said: “Mentor! We saw a man casting out demons in Your name, and we rebuked him.” What is the sequence between the words of John and the words of the Lord? Very close. Since the Lord said that “he who is least among you will be great,” John began to fear that they had acted badly when they powerfully and proudly forbade that man. For forbidding someone to do something reveals that the one prohibiting is no less, but thinks of himself somewhat more than the one to whom he forbids. So, John was afraid that he had acted proudly in forbidding the man. Why did the disciples forbid this man? Not out of envy, but because they considered him unworthy to work miracles, since he did not receive the grace of working miracles with them, was not, like them, sent from the Lord to do this, and did not follow Jesus at all. What about the Lord? Luke 9:50 Jesus said to him, “Do not forbid, for whoever is not against you is for you.” Leave him, he says, to do this; for he also breaks the power of Satan. Since he does not hinder you in the work of preaching, does not act in concert with the devil, it means he is for you. For whoever is not against God is for God, just as he is with the devil who does not gather with God. Marvel, perhaps, at the power of the name of Christ, how grace acted at the mere pronunciation of it, even though those pronouncing it were unworthy and were not disciples of Christ. In the same way, grace works through priests, even if they are unworthy, and everyone is sanctified, even if the priest is not pure. Luke 9:51. When the days of His taking away from the world were approaching, He wanted to go to Jerusalem; What do the words mean: “When the days of His taking were drawing near”? This means that the time had come when He needed to endure saving suffering for us and then ascend to heaven and be reunited with God and the Father. When the time came for His suffering and taking away from the world, He decided not to go here and there, but to ascend to Jerusalem. The expression: “desired to go” (in Church Slavonic - “establish your face”) means that He determined, decided, laid down a firm intention to go to Jerusalem. Luke 9:52. and He sent messengers before Him; and they went and entered the village of the Samaritans; to prepare for Him; Luke 9:53. but they did not receive Him there, because He appeared to be traveling to Jerusalem. Luke 9:54. Seeing this, His disciples, James and John, said: Lord! Do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and destroy them, just as Elijah did? Luke 9:55. But He, turning to them, rebuked them and said: You do not know what kind of spirit you are; Luke 9:56. for the Son of Man came not to destroy the souls of men, but to save. And they went to another village. He sends “messengers before His face” so that they prepare some kind of reception for Him. Although He knew that the Samaritans would not accept Him, He nevertheless sent messengers to take away any excuse from the Samaritans, so that later they could not say that we would have accepted Him if He had sent someone before Him. He did this together and for the benefit of His disciples, namely: so that when they saw Him on the Cross in an insult, they would not be tempted, but from the present case they would learn that just as He now kindly endured contempt from the Samaritans and even forbade the disciples themselves to arouse anger in Him against the offenders, so then He endures crucifixion not because He is powerless, but because He is long-suffering. This is also useful for the disciples in the sense that the Lord, by his own example, teaches them to be gentle. For they, looking at Elijah, who twice destroyed by fire fifty people with their leaders, and being still imperfect, aroused the Lord to take vengeance on those who had offended Him. But the Lord, showing them that His Law is higher than Elijah’s life, forbids them and leads them away from such a way of thinking, but on the contrary, taught them to endure insults with meekness. What do the words mean: “but they did not receive Him there, because He appeared to be traveling to Jerusalem”? Do they not say that they did not accept Him because He intended to go to Jerusalem? And if we understand in this way that the Samaritans did not accept the Lord because He intended to go to Jerusalem, then do not those who did not accept Him turn out to be innocent? We can say that the evangelist says this: they did not receive Him, and He did not enter Samaria; then, as if someone asked: why didn’t they accept Him against his will and He didn’t enter; Was it really because He was powerless or could not enter, even if they did not want to? To resolve this, the evangelist says: not because the Lord did not enter, as if it was not possible for Him, but because He Himself did not want to enter there, but intended to go straight to Jerusalem. For if the Lord had not had such an intention, He would have entered the village of the Samaritans even if they did not want this. Luke 9:57. It happened that while they were on the way, someone said to Him: Lord! I will follow You wherever You go. Luke 9:58. Jesus said to him: Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head. This one, who came to Jesus and asked permission to follow Him, came with a crafty thought. Seeing that many people were following the Lord, he thought that the Lord was collecting money from them, and he himself came to the idea that he would make an estate for himself if he followed Jesus. Therefore, the Lord rejected him, telling him something like this: you think that by following Me you will make an estate for yourself, believing that this is My life, but in reality it is not so; I teach and preach such poverty that I do not even have my own house, while other animals have holes. And thus rejected him. Luke 9:59. And he said to another: follow me. He said: Lord! let me first go and bury my father. Luke 9:60. But Jesus said to him: Let the dead bury their dead, and you go and preach the Kingdom of God. And he allows the other, who did not ask, to follow. When this one asked permission to go and “bury his father,” the Lord did not allow, but said: leave the dead to bury their dead. This hints that his father was an unbeliever and therefore unworthy to be nourished in his old age by his son, who believed. Grant,” he says, “to the relatives of the “dead,” that is, the unbelievers, to feed your unbelieving father in his old age and until the grave. For to bury here means to have care until the very grave, since in ordinary conversation we say: such and such a son buried his father, and by this we mean not that he buried him and did not do him any other good, but that he had care of him until his death and burial. So, let these dead, that is, unbelievers, bury their dead, that is, your father. And since you have believed, then, as My disciple, preach the Gospel of God. The Lord, having said this, does not forbid us to feed our parents, but teaches us to prefer God to unbelieving parents and not to have any obstacle to virtue, but to despise nature itself. Luke 9:61. Another one said: I will follow You, Lord! but first let me say goodbye to my family. Luke 9:62. But Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” So to the man who asked permission to follow Him, but first to pay his due to his family, He did not allow this, that is, to go to his house and pay his due, or, to put it more simply, to say goodbye. For such a person reveals in himself an attachment to the world and a lack of apostolic disposition; for the apostles, as soon as they heard the calling from the Lord, immediately followed Him, did not do anything else, and even abandoned saying goodbye to their relatives. And it often happens that while a person is saying goodbye to his relatives, among them there are those who keep him from a godlike life. Therefore, it is good, having a disposition for good, to immediately do it, without any delay. For no one who has taken up the spiritual plow and looks back at the world is capable of the Kingdom of Heaven. By “foxes” you mean crafty demons; they are also called birds of the air, that is, birds of the air; for it is said: “according to the will of the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2). So, the Lord says to the mentioned person: since demons have holes in you, then I, the Son of Man, have no place to lay my head, that is, in your heart, full of demons, I see no place for faith in Me. For the head of Christ is faith in Him. Whoever believes that Christ is God receives the head of Christ. And the sinner is dead; he buries his dead, that is, evil thoughts, by not confessing them. So, the Lord forbids those who intend to be His follower to bury an evil thought and hide it, but commands them to reveal it through confession.