Беседа 41

“Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and every city or house divided against itself cannot stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, then he is divided with himself: how can his kingdom stand?” . (Matt. 12:25–26) Exposition 12:25–32. Refutation of the slander of the Pharisees and its purpose. – In what sense is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit not forgiven? – Self-condemnation and heartfelt contrition are the path to perfection and deliverance from punishment. 1. The Pharisees had previously accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub. But He did not reprove them then, in order to give them time to learn His power from even greater miracles and His greatness from His teaching. But since they did not stop saying the same things about Him, He finally denounces them. And, firstly, He proves His divinity by revealing their secret thoughts; and secondly, because it easily casts out demons. And no matter how shameless their accusation was (and envy, as I said, does not care what to say, as long as it says something), Christ still does not neglect it, but defends itself with His characteristic meekness, teaching us to act meekly with our enemies; and even if they accuse us of something of which we are, in our own conscience, innocent, even if their accusations have no basis, do not be embarrassed and do not lose peace of mind, but with all patience defend yourself before them. This is what the Savior did with the Pharisees, clearly showing that they were telling lies. It was unusual for someone who had a demon to show such great meekness and to know secret thoughts. The Pharisees, partly because their opinion was too shameless, and partly because of the fear of the people, did not dare to reveal their accusations, but kept them in their minds. But the Savior, wanting to show them that He knows their very thoughts, does not mention what they accused Him of, and does not reveal their malice, but refutes their objections, leaving their own conscience to convict them of lies. He had only one concern - to benefit those who sinned, and not to discover their sins. If He wanted to continue His defense and disgrace the Pharisees, and then subject them to the most severe punishment, He could very easily do it. But the Savior, having abandoned all this, tried only to destroy in them the love of debate, to teach meekness, and through this to make them more capable of correction. How does He defend himself before them? He does not give them the words of the Scriptures (because they did not listen to the Scriptures and would have distorted its meaning), but uses general proofs. “Every kingdom,” He says, “divided against itself will be desolate; and every city or house,” if divided, will soon be destroyed. Truly, external wars are not so much disastrous as internal ones; the same thing happens in societies, the same thing in all matters. But the Savior takes his example from what is better known. What on earth is stronger than the kingdom? There is nothing; but it also dies from disturbances. If someone admits that the kingdom, divided, with all its greatness, is crushed, then what will he say about the city and the house? Whether something is small or great, if it rebels against itself, it perishes. So, if I, having a demon in me, use it to cast out other demons, then it means there is disagreement and strife between the demons, and they rebel against each other; if they rebel against each other, then their strength is lost and destroyed. “And if,” says the Savior, “Satan casts out Satan” (He did not say demons, showing that there is great agreement between them), “then he is divided with himself.” If he was divided, he lost his strength and died; and if he perishes, how can he drive out another? You see how ridiculous their accusation is, how reckless it is, what a contradiction it is! The same person cannot say that he is both strong and casts out demons, and, moreover, strong because of what would cause him to lose strength. Here is the first refutation. The second, following it, concerned the disciples. The Savior, refuting the Pharisees opposing Him, always cites not one, but two and three proofs, wanting to completely curb their shamelessness. This is what He did in the dispute about the Sabbath, pointing to David, to the priests, and to the testimony of Scripture: “I want mercy, not sacrifice” (Hos. 6:6), and to the reason for the establishment of the Sabbath: “for man,” He says, “the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). The same applies here. After the first refutation, He gives another, clearer one. “And if I cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub, by whose power do they cast out your sons” (Matthew 12:27)? 2. Look with what meekness He speaks to them here too. He did not say: My disciples, or apostles; but: “your sons” - so that if the Pharisees want to think as nobly as His disciples, give them an opportunity; and if they continue in their former ingratitude and do not abandon their shamelessness, deprive them of all justification. The meaning of His words is as follows: by whose power do the apostles cast out demons? The apostles had already cast out demons, having received authority to do so from the Savior; but the Pharisees did not accuse them. They armed themselves not against deeds, but against persons. Therefore, Christ, wanting to show that envy alone is the reason for their accusation, points to the apostles. If, as you say, I cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub, then how much more do they, since they have received the power to do so from Me. However, you don’t say anything like that about them. Why do you accuse Me, who gave them such power, and release them from accusations? However, this will not save you from punishment, but will subject you to even greater punishment. That is why the Savior added: “they will be your judges.” If My disciples, being of the same kind as you and having received the same education, believe in Me and obey Me, then it is obvious that they will condemn those who do and say the opposite. “If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has certainly come upon you” (Matthew 12:28). What does “kingdom” mean? My coming. See how He again draws them to Himself, heals them and tries to bring them to a knowledge of Himself, and shows them that they are arming themselves against their own goods and rebelling against their salvation. You, He says, should rejoice and rejoice that I have come to bestow those great and ineffable blessings that the prophets announced from ancient times, and that the time of your prosperity has come; but you do the opposite, and not only do not accept benefits, but you also slander and invent false accusations against the One who offers them to you. Saint Matthew says: “if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God”; and Luke: “if I cast out demons with the finger of God” (Luke 11:20), showing by this that casting out demons is a matter of the highest power and special grace. From these words one could draw the following conclusion: if this is true, it means that the Son of God has come. But Christ does not say this directly; so as not to arouse their hatred, He only hints at this with the words: “then, of course, the Kingdom of God has come to you.” What wisdom! For what the Pharisees accused the Savior of, He clearly proved to them His coming. Further, in order to attract them to Himself, He did not simply say: “the Kingdom has reached”, but added – “up to you”; as if He were saying this: the time of your bliss has come. So why don't you rejoice in your blessings? Why are you arming yourself against your salvation? Now the time has come, which the prophets predicted from ancient times. This is the sign of the coming they preached: demons are cast out by divine power. That they are expelled, you yourself know; and that they are expelled by divine power, this is evidenced by deeds. Satan cannot be strong now; he, of necessity, became weak. But the weak cannot, like the strong, cast out a strong demon. The Savior spoke this way in order to show the strength that comes from love, and the powerlessness that comes from disagreement and discord. That is why He constantly encourages His disciples everywhere to love, and especially because the devil is trying in every possible way to destroy it. After the second refutation, He gives a third, saying: “How can anyone enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? and then will he plunder his house” (Matthew 12:29)? That Satan cannot drive out Satan is clear from the previous one, and that it is impossible to drive out Satan other than by defeating him first - and everyone agrees with this. What do the words of Christ mean? Nothing more than they reinforce what He said before. Not only do I not want to have the devil as an accomplice, as if He were saying so, but I even fight with him and bind him; the proof is that I plundered his vessels. Notice how Christ refutes the slander that the Pharisees tried to level against Him. They wanted to prove that He does not cast out demons by His own power; but He, on the contrary, proves that not only the demons, but their leader himself, first of all, He bound by His power, and defeated him by His own power. This is confirmed by the case itself. If the devil is the boss, and the demons are his subordinates, then how can these latter be captured when he himself is not defeated and subjugated? In these words, it seems to me, one can also see a prophecy. Not only demons are the vessels of the devil, but also people who do his deeds. So, obviously, what is said here is not only that He casts out demons, but also that He will dispel all the darkness of error in the universe, destroy all the machinations of the devil and make them invalid. He did not say: he will steal, but he will “plunder,” showing that He has the power to do this. 3. Christ calls Satan strong not because he is so by nature - no! - but pointing to his previous great power, which he had over us due to our carelessness. “He who is not with Me is against Me; and whoever does not gather with Me scatters” (Matthew 12:30). Here is the fourth refutation. What is My intention? says Christ. Bring people to God, teach them virtue, proclaim the kingdom to them. What do the devil and demons want? The opposite of this. So, how will one who does not gather with Me and who is not for Me help Me? And what am I saying – help? On the contrary, he still tries to waste Mine. How, therefore, can one who not only does not help Me, but also wastes Mine, have such agreement with Me that he begins to cast out demons with Me? He spoke this, it seems, not only about the devil, but also about Himself, since He himself opposes the devil and squanders what belongs to him. Why does He say: whoever is not with Me is against Me? Because he does not gather together with Him. If this is true, then this must be exactly who is against Him? If he who does not cooperate with Christ is called an enemy, then even more so is he who arms himself against Him an enemy. Yet this, He says, is in order to show His great and irreconcilable enmity with the devil. Tell me, do you mind someone who doesn't want to help when you have to fight someone? If He says in another place: “Whoever is not against you is for you” (Luke 9:50), then this does not contradict what was said here. Here He indicated who their adversary is, and there He shows who their accomplice is, because it is said: “In Your name” they cast out “demons” (Matthew 7:22)? It seems to me that here Christ also hints at the Jews, placing them together with the devil. And they were against Him, and they wasted what He had collected. And that He here also hints at them is proven by the following words of the Savior: “Therefore I say to you: every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven to men, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven to men” (Matthew 12:31). Thus, having destroyed their slander, resolved their objection and shown their reckless stubbornness, He finally frightens them, since in the matter of advice and correction it is not unimportant not only to answer all questions and convince, but also to threaten, which is what the one who gives laws and advice often does. Although the words of Jesus Christ seem very unclear, if we look closely, we will easily understand them. So, first, let us listen carefully to these words: “All sin and blasphemy,” He says, “will be forgiven to men, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven to men.” If anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; But if anyone speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come” (Matthew 12:31–32). What do these words mean? You have said a lot about me, that I am a deceiver, that I am an adversary of God. I will forgive you this and will not demand your punishment if you repent; but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven even to those who repent. How is this possible? After all, this guilt was also forgiven by those who repented. Many of those who spewed blasphemy against the Spirit subsequently believed, and everything was forgiven to them. What do these words mean? That sin against the Holy Spirit is predominantly unforgivable. Why? Because they did not know Christ who He was; and we have already received sufficient knowledge about the Spirit. So, whatever the prophets said, they spoke according to the inspiration of the Spirit, and in the Old Testament everyone had a very clear concept of Him. So, the words of Christ have this meaning: let you be offended by Me according to the flesh in which I have put on; but can you say about the Spirit that we do not know Him? That is why your blasphemy will be unforgivable, and here and there you will suffer punishment for it. Although many were only punished here, such as the fornicator who unworthily shared the mysteries of the Corinthians, you are both here and there. So, I forgive you everything with which you slandered Me before the cross, even the fact that you want to crucify Me on the cross, and your very unbelief will not be held against you. Those who believed before the cross did not have full faith, therefore He everywhere forbids announcing Himself to anyone before suffering, and on the cross itself He prayed that the Jews would be forgiven their sin. But what you said about the Spirit will not be forgiven you. And that Christ points to the blasphemy that the Jews spoke against Him before the cross, this can be seen from the following: “If anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; But if anyone speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him.” Why? Because the Holy Spirit is known to you, and you are not ashamed to reject the obvious truth. If you say that you don’t know Me, then you undoubtedly know that casting out demons and performing healings is the work of the Holy Spirit. So, you do not only blaspheme Me, but also the Holy Spirit. Therefore, your punishment, both here and there, is inevitable. Some are punished both here and there; others are only here; others only there; and others are neither here nor there. And here and there - like, for example, these same blasphemers of the Holy Spirit. They suffered punishment here too, when they were subject to terrible disasters, after the capture of their city, and there they will suffer the most severe, like the inhabitants of Sodom and many others. There, just like, for example, a rich man who was scorched by flames and did not have even one drop of water. Here, like, for example, the fornicator of Corinth. Neither here nor there - like the apostles, like the prophets, like blessed Job: and their suffering was not the result of punishment, but exploits and struggle. 4. So, let us try to have the same fate as them; if not with them, then at least with those who were cleansed of sins here. Truly, that judgment is terrible, punishment is inevitable, torment is unbearable. If you don’t want to be punished here, then condemn yourself and demand an account from yourself. Listen to what Paul says: “For if we had judged ourselves, we would not have been judged” (1 Cor. 11:31). If you do this, gradually stretching along the path to perfection, you will reach the crown. But you ask: how to demand an account from yourself? Cry, groan bitterly, humble yourself, exhaust yourself and remember your every sin; This is no small torment for the soul. Anyone who has experienced heartbreak knows that the soul is tormented most of all by this; whoever remembered his sins knows the sorrow that comes from here. That is why God offers justification as a reward for such repentance, saying: “Speak, that you may be justified” (Is. 43:26). A significant, truly significant means of correction is to, having recognized all your sins, constantly imagine and reflect on them. Whoever does this will become so contrite that he will recognize himself as unworthy to live. And whoever thinks like this will be softer than any wax. And not only condemn yourself for fornication, adultery and other sins, which are recognized by everyone as serious; but collect in your mind also secret slander, slander, slander, vanity, envy and all the like. And these vices will suffer a lot of punishment. And the slanderer will be thrown into hell; and he who is drunk with wine will have no place in the kingdom of heaven; and he who does not love his neighbor offends God so much that even through his martyrdom he is not pleasing to Him. And he who does not care for his household has denied the faith; and he who despises the poor is thrown into the fire. So, do not consider these vices unimportant, but collect everything in your mind and write them as in a book. If you write, God will erase them. If you do not write, then God will write them down and demand your punishment. It is better for us to write them down ourselves and see them blotted out by God, rather than, forgetting about them, forcing God himself to present them before our eyes on the day of judgment. So, to prevent this from happening, let’s look at everything carefully, and then we will find that we are guilty of many things. Who, for example, is pure from covetousness? Don't point out to me that you weren't too covetous; and for small things you will suffer the same punishment. Think about it and repent. Who doesn't insult another? And this plunges one into Gehenna. Who has not secretly slandered his neighbor? And this deprives the kingdom. Who hasn't been arrogant? And this one is the most unclean of all. Who hasn't looked with lustful eyes? And this one is considered on par with a fornicator. Who has not been angry with his brother without reason? And such a one is guilty of the court. Who didn't swear? And this is from the evil one. Who has not broken his oath? And this is more than from the evil one. Who has not served mammon? And such a one fell away from the lawful service of Christ. I could enumerate for you many other vices; but even these are enough to lead to contrition for those who have not hardened their hearts and have not yet reached the point of insensibility. And if each of these crimes leads to Gehenna, then what will they not do when they copulate together? How, you say, can one be saved? Using equivalent medicines against ailments - mercy, prayers, sorrow, repentance, humility, a contrite heart, contempt for earthly goods. God has offered countless ways to salvation if only we are willing to pay attention. Let us be attentive, let us try in every possible way to heal our wounds, giving alms, holding back anger towards those who have offended us, thanking God for everything, fasting as best we can, praying with a sincere heart, making friends for ourselves “from the riches of unrighteousness” (Luke 16:9). Thus, we can receive forgiveness for our sins, and be rewarded with the promised benefits, which may we all be worthy of, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. You might be interested in: