Беседа 67

“And Jesus entered into the church of God and drove out all those who were selling and buying in the church, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves, and said to them, “It is written, “My house will be called a house of prayer.” and you made it a den of robbers." (Matthew 21:12–13) The bitterness of the Jews. – The meaning of the praise of the youths. - Why is the fig tree cursed? – Why doesn’t Christ tell the Jews about the right of His power? “Christ makes them condemn themselves. - Why does he present them with harlots and tax collectors as examples? – No sinner should despair of correction, just as no virtuous person should indulge in carelessness. – The superiority of work for virtue over worldly works. 1. John also speaks about this, only he speaks at the beginning of the Gospel, and Matthew at the end. Therefore, it is likely that this happened twice, and at different times. This is clear both from the circumstances of the time and from the response of the Jews to Jesus. John says that this happened on the very feast of Easter, and Matthew says that this happened long before Easter. There the Jews say: “By what sign will You prove it to us” (John 2:18)? but here they are silent, although Christ reproached them - they are silent because everyone was already amazed at Him. The accusations of the Jews are all the more worthy of the fact that Christ did this more than once, and they still did not stop trading in the church, and called Christ the enemy of God, then, just as from here they should have seen the honor given by Him to the Father, and His own power. They saw how He performed miracles, and how His words agreed with His deeds. But they were not convinced by this either, but were indignant, despite the fact that they heard the prophet speaking about this, and the youths glorifying Jesus beyond their years. Therefore, He, denouncing them, quotes the words of the prophet Isaiah: “My house will be called a house of prayer.” And not only by this does Christ show His power, but also by the fact that he heals various diseases. “And the blind and lame,” it says, “came to Him in the church, and He healed them” (Matthew 21:14). And here He reveals His strength and might. But the Jews were not moved by this either, but, seeing His last miracles and hearing the youths glorifying Him, they were greatly indignant and said to Him: “Do you hear what they say” (Matthew 21:16)? It would have been better for Christ to say to them: “Do you hear what they say?” After all, the youths sang Him as God. What about Christ? Since the Jews contradicted such obvious signs, Christ, in order to more strongly convict them and correct them together, says: “Have you never read: from the mouths of babes and sucklings You have ordained praise” (Matthew 21:16)? And He said well - “out of the mouth,” since their words did not come from their minds, but His power moved their still imperfect tongue. This also depicted the pagans, who had previously been silent, but then suddenly began to broadcast great truths convincingly and with faith - and at the same time they consoled the apostles a lot. Namely, so that the apostles would not doubt how they, being simple and uneducated people, could preach to the nations, the youths first destroyed all anxiety in them and instilled in them the firm hope that He who taught the youths to glorify the Lord would make them eloquent. This miracle also showed that He is the Lord of nature. Children who had not yet reached adulthood spoke great things worthy of heaven; and the men spoke words filled with all kinds of madness. Such is the wickedness! So, since there were many reasons for which the Jews were irritated, for example, crowds of people, the expulsion of merchants from the church, miracles, the singing of youths, Christ again leaves them to appease their anger, and does not want to offer them His teaching, so that they, consumed by envy, would not become even more indignant at His words. “And in the morning, returning to the city, he became hungry” (Matthew 21:18). Why is He hungry in the morning? By yielding to the demands of the flesh, He thereby showed its weakness. “And seeing a fig tree by the way, he approached it and found nothing on it except some leaves” (Matthew 21:19). Another evangelist says: “For the time was not yet” (Mark 11:13). If the time for gathering figs has not yet come, then how does this other evangelist say: “He went, will he find something on it?” Obviously, this was said by the evangelist because the disciples, who were not yet perfect, thought so. Evangelists often present the thoughts of disciples. And not only did the disciples think this, but also that the fig tree was cursed because there was no fruit on it. So, why is the fig tree cursed? For the sake of the students, precisely to encourage them. Since Christ always did good and did not punish anyone, meanwhile He had to show the experience of His justice and vengeance, so that both the disciples and the Jews would know that, although He could wither, like the fig tree, His crucifiers, however, He voluntarily surrenders Himself to crucifixion and does not wither them, He did not want to show this over people, but showed the experience of His justice over the plant. So, when this happens either with some places, or with plants, or with dumb animals, then do not be curious. Do not say: if the time has not yet come for the gathering of fruit from the fig tree, is it rightly withered? Such words are extremely reckless. Better look at the miracle, and marvel and glorify the miracle worker. This is how many people judge the drowning of pigs, looking for the cause of justice here. But even in this case one should not listen to them. Just as plants are soulless, so are animals without reason. So, why is this type of matter given and why is this the reason for the curse? This, as I said before, is described by the evangelist as the disciples thought. If the time for gathering fruit has not yet come, then in vain some say that the law is depicted under the fig tree. The fruit of the law was faith; and the law has already brought this fruit, and the time to gather this fruit has already come. “The fields,” it is said, “are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35); and: “I have sent you to reap that for which you did not labor” (John 4:38). 2. So, the law is not indicated here, but, as I have already said, Christ, cursing the fig tree, thereby presents a proof of His power and authority to take vengeance; and this is evident precisely from the words: “for the time was not yet.” These words show that Christ approached the fig tree with a special intention, not to satisfy his hunger, but for the sake of the disciples, who were very surprised that the fig tree had dried up, although there were many miracles that were more important than this. But for the disciples, as I said, such a miracle was new and unexpected, because Christ showed His justice and vengeance for the first time. Therefore, the Lord performed a miracle not on any other tree, but on the fig tree, the tree that is the most succulent of all, so that the miracle seemed even more extraordinary. But so that you know that this was done for the sake of the students, precisely to encourage them, listen to the following words. What does Christ say? You will do great miracles if you have faith combined with prayer and hope. Do you see that everything was done for the disciples so that they would not fear or tremble at the enemy’s machinations? Therefore, he repeats the same thing another time in order to confirm them in faith and prayer. Not only will you do this, He says, but by the power of faith and prayer you will move mountains and perform other, even greater miracles. Meanwhile, the proud and arrogant Jews, wanting to interrupt the conversation with the disciples, approached Him with the question: “By what authority are You doing this” (Matthew 21:23)? Since the Jews could not humiliate His miracles, they expose His deed to Him in the church with the merchants. They asked a similar question from the Evangelist John, although not in the same words, but in the same sense. They say there: “By what sign will you prove to us that you [have] [the authority] to do this” (John 2:18)? There Christ answers them: “Destroy this church, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19), but here He leads them into extreme difficulty. From this it is obvious that the incident described by John was at the beginning of the ministry of Jesus, when He had just begun to work miracles, and that described by Matthew was at the end of his ministry. The meaning of the question of the Jews was this: have you received a teaching chair, or have you been ordained a priest, that you show such authority? Although Christ did nothing to show pride, but only showed concern for church decorum, the Jews, having absolutely nothing to say against Jesus, accuse Him of this too. However, due to miracles, they did not dare to say anything to Him at the time when He expelled the traders from the church; but they reproached Him after they saw Him. What about Christ? He does not directly answer their question, showing that they could know about His power if they wanted, but He Himself asks them, saying: “Where did the Baptism of John come from: from heaven, or from men” (Matthew 21:25)? But how does this relate to the matter? you ask. And very much. If they had said, “from heaven,” He would have answered them, “Why didn’t you believe him?” - because if they believed, they would not have asked about it, since John said about Him: “The thong of His sandals is not worthy to untie” (Luke 3:16); and again: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29); and also: “This is the Son of God” (John 1:34); and again: “He who comes from heaven is above all” (John 3:31); and again; “His shovel is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor” (Matthew 3:12). Therefore, if the Jews believed John, there would be no difficulty for them to know by what authority Christ does this. Further, since the Jews answered Him with cunning: “We do not know,” Christ did not say to them: “Neither do I know; but what? “Neither will I tell you” (Matthew 21:27). If they really did not know, then it would be necessary to teach them; but since they acted evilly, Christ rightly does not answer them. Why didn’t the Jews say that John’s baptism was “of men”? They were afraid of the people, it is said. Do you see a corrupt heart? God is neglected everywhere, but everything is done for people. And they feared John for the sake of the people, respecting the holy man not for his own sake, but for the sake of the people; For the sake of the people, they did not want to believe in Jesus Christ - and this is where the source of all evil is for them! Further, Jesus Christ says to them: “What do you think? One man had two sons; and he, approaching the first, said: son! Go today and work in my vineyard. But he answered: I don’t want to; and then, repenting, he left. And going up to the other, he said the same thing. This one said in response: I’m going, sir, but I didn’t go. Which of the two fulfilled the will of his father? They say to Him, “First” (Matthew 21:28–31). Christ again denounces the Jews in parables, hinting both at their disobedience and at the obedience of the previously rejected pagans. Here by two sons we mean what happened to the Gentiles and the Jews. The first, without making promises in obedience and without hearing the law, showed obedience by deed; and the latter, although they said: “We will do everything that the Lord has said” (Ex. 19:8), in fact did not show obedience to the law. Therefore, so that the Jews would not think that the law benefits them, Christ shows that this very thing condemns them. According to this, Paul also says: “It is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but those who do the law will be justified” (Rom. 2:13). Therefore, in order for the Jews to condemn themselves, the Savior forces them to pronounce the sentence themselves. He does the same thing in the next parable about the grapes. 3. Here Christ makes the Jews also condemn themselves in another person. Since they did not want to directly admit their guilt, Christ uses a parable to bring them to their intended goal. When they, not understanding the purpose of the parable, pronounced the sentence, then He already reveals to them the very meaning of the parable, and says: “Publicans and harlots go ahead of you into the Kingdom of God, for John came to you by the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the publicans and harlots believed him; But even when you saw this, you did not repent afterward to believe him” (Matthew 21:31–32). If He had simply said: Harlots will enter the kingdom of God before you, then His words would have seemed heavy to them; but now that they themselves have declared their opinion, His words do not seem so heavy to them. He also gives a reason for this. Which one? “John came to you,” He says, and not to them, and, moreover, by the way of righteousness. You cannot blame him as a careless and useless person. He led an impeccable life and had great care; and yet you did not listen to him. After this comes another condemnation, i.e. that is, that the publicans believed; then another accusation, namely: you did not believe him even after them, and this you should have done before the tax collectors; the fact that you did not do this even after them does not deserve any forgiveness, and therefore there is great praise for the tax collectors, and condemnation for you. John came to you and you did not accept him; he did not come to the publicans - and they accepted him, but you were not taught by their example. Notice how much evidence there is for the praise of the tax collectors and the condemnation of the Jews. John came to you, He says, and not to them; you didn’t believe it – it didn’t seduce them; they believed - it did you no good. The word: “ahead of you” (or “will precede”) is not said because the Jews will follow the publicans, but that they, if they want, can enter the kingdom of God. Truly, nothing excites rude people more than jealousy. Therefore Christ always says: the last will be first, and the first last. This is why He presents harlots and tax collectors as examples, so that the Jews would become jealous. The sin of harlots and the sin of tax collectors are two of the greatest sins, stemming from rough love, in the first case for the body, in the latter for money. Moreover, Christ teaches that to believe John means to truly obey the law of God. So, harlots enter the kingdom of God not by grace alone, but also by righteousness, because they enter not as already harlots, but as obedient and believing, pure and changed. Do you see how Christ, first by a parable and then by pointing to harlots, makes His word not so difficult for the Jews, and yet very strong? He did not suddenly say to them, “Why didn’t you believe John?” but - what was much more striking - he first points to tax collectors and harlots, and then says this, proving by his deeds themselves that the Jews were unworthy of forgiveness, and showing that they do everything out of fear of people and for the sake of vain glory. Indeed, they did not believe in Christ out of fear, so as not to be excommunicated from the synagogue; Likewise, they did not dare to condemn John, not out of piety, but also out of fear. Having exposed the Jews in all this, Christ finally deals them the heaviest blow, saying: “But you, having seen this, did not repent afterward to believe him.” It is bad not to do good at the very beginning; but the one who does not correct himself after this is worthy of even greater condemnation. This especially makes many wicked. Even now I see how the same thing happens to some due to their extreme hardness of heart. But let no one be so insensitive, and even if someone fell into the greatest wickedness, let him not despair of his correction; it is easy to emerge from the deepest abyss of wickedness. Or have you not heard how one harlot, who surpassed everyone else in her debauchery, later surpassed everyone else in piety? I’m not talking about the gospel harlot, but about the one who in our lifetime was in the Phoenician city, the most lawless. This harlot was once among us, she was considered the first actress in the theater, and her name was known everywhere, and not only in our city, but even among the Cilicians and Cappadocians. She ruined many; she left many as orphans; many even suspected her of witchcraft, as if she lured her into her nets not only with her physical beauty, but also with witchcraft. This harlot deceived even the queen’s brother: so great was her power! But suddenly - I don’t know how, I just know for sure - she voluntarily changed, attracted the grace of God to herself, despised everything that had happened before and, abandoning the devil’s charm, ran to heaven. And although there was no one more shameless than her when she was on stage, afterward she surpassed many with her great chastity - and dressed in sackcloth, she labored like this all her life. And when the leader of the city, at the instigation of some people, wanted to return her to the stage, the soldiers he sent with weapons could not bring her back and take her from the virgins who took her to themselves. Honored with ineffable mysteries, having demonstrated a zeal worthy of grace, she ended her life, washed from all sins, and after baptism she already demonstrated great piety. She did not even want to look at her former friends who came to her, and, locked in solitude, she spent many years as if in a dungeon. So the first will be last, and the last first! So we need to always be zealous, and then nothing will prevent us from becoming great and wondrous. 4. So, no sinner should despair, just as no virtuous person should indulge in carelessness. And let the latter not rely on himself, since it can happen, and very often happens, that a harlot precedes him. Likewise, let the sinner not despair, and it is still possible for him to surpass even the first. Listen to what God says to Jerusalem: “I said: ‘Return to Me’; but she did not return” (Jer. 3:7). When we turn to God with fiery love, He does not remember our previous sins. God is not like a man: He no longer reproaches us for what has passed, and when we repent, He does not tell us: why have you been moving away from Me for so long? but He already loves us when we come to Him, if only we come to Him as we should. So, let us unite with the Lord with the fiery love of our hearts. Examples of this kind can be seen not only in the New, but also in the Old Testament. Who was worse than Manasseh? But he was able to appease God. Who was happier than Solomon? But he, giving in to carelessness, fell. I can even show both in one person, namely in the person of Solomon: he was both virtuous and sinful. Who was more blessed than Judas? But he became a traitor. Who was worse than Matthew? But he became an evangelist. Who was more worthy of pity than Paul? But he became an apostle. Who was more zealous than Simon? But he also became the most unhappy of all. How many other examples can you see of similar changes that happened in ancient times and are now happening every day! That is why I say that neither the one who plays on stage should despair, nor the one who remains a faithful son of the Church should not be arrogant. The Lord says to the latter: “If anyone thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12); and to the first: “Do they not rise when they fall” (Jer. 8:4)? And again: “Strengthen your weak hands and strengthen your trembling knees” (Isa. 35:3). Watch, He says again to the pious; and to the wicked: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead” (Eph. 5:14). Some must keep what they have; others must acquire what they do not have. Some must preserve their health, others must recover from illness, since they suffer a lot. But many sick people regain their health, and healthy people, if careless, fall into illness. Therefore, the Lord says to some: “Behold, you have recovered; Sin no more, lest anything worse happen to you” (John 5:14); and to others: “Do you want to be healthy?... get up, take up your bed and walk” (John 5:6, 8; Matt. 9:6). And truly, sin is a serious, very serious illness of relaxation, or better - not only this illness, but something even more serious. Such a person not only does nothing good, but also does evil. However, even if you were in this state, if you want to rebel a little, your entire illness will go away. Even if you suffered for thirty-eight years, if you only wish to be healthy, nothing will hinder you. And now Christ stands and says: “Take up your bed!” Just wish to rebel, don’t despair. Don't you have a person? But you have God. Don't you have someone to put you in the pool? For this reason you have One who will not allow you to have need of a pool. Don't you have anyone to help you? But for this you have One who commands you to take the bed. That is why you cannot now say: “When I come, another has already gone down before me” (John 5:7). If you just want to go to the source, no one will stop you. Grace does not become exhausted and does not become scarce. This source flows ceaselessly, and from its fullness we can heal both our souls and our bodies. So let's get started now. And Rahab was a harlot, yet she was saved; and the robber was a murderer, but he also settled in the abodes of paradise. Judas, being with the teacher, died, and the thief, being on the cross, became a disciple. The ways of God are so incomprehensible! The Magi pleased God, the publican became an evangelist, and the persecutor of God became an apostle. 5. Imagine it and never despair, but always hope and encourage yourself. Just hasten to take the path leading to heaven as soon as possible, so that the doors are not closed for you and the entrance is not blocked. The present time is short, and the work is not great, but even if it were great, then even in this case there is no need to renounce it. Even if you do not work in this better field, the field of repentance and virtue, you still must work and suffer in the world in a different way. If you need to work both here and there, then why not choose for yourself that work that brings both abundant fruits and a great reward? However, one cannot compare work for virtue and work for peace. In the labors of everyday life there are continuous dangers, incessant losses, deceptive hope, great servility, exhaustion of soul and body, waste of money - and yet the fruits of our labors, even if they actually happen, are far from meeting our expectations. Our labors in everyday affairs do not always bear fruit. But let us assume that our labors will not remain without success, but will bear great fruit; yet these fruits will be for a short time. Your labors will be rewarded in your old age, when you are completely unable to enjoy their fruits. You work in blooming years; and you collect the fruits and enjoy them in old age, when you become decrepit, when time dulls your feelings, and if it does not dull, then the thought of death will prevent pleasure. On the contrary, the works of virtue are not like that. Here labors are accomplished in a weak and mortal body, and the reward is rewarded in an incorruptible, immortal, infinitely abiding body. Labor precedes and is short-lived; and the reward follows and is unlimited, so that you can calmly enjoy the fruits of your labors, without fear of anything unpleasant. There should be no fear of any change, no misfortune, as happens here. What are these goods that are impermanent, but fleeting, insignificant, that disappear at their first appearance, and yet are acquired with great difficulty? And how can they compare with those blessings that are unchangeable, do not age, do not require any labor, and adorn you with crowns even during your exploits? He who despises earthly goods already finds a reward for himself in this very fact: that he is free from anxiety, hatred, slander, deceit, and envy. He who leads an immaculate and honest life, even before leaving this life, is crowned and comforted, freed from all dishonor, ridicule, danger, accusation and all other evils. In the same way, all other types of virtue here still provide us with a reward. So, in order to achieve present and future benefits, let us flee from vice and strive for virtue. Thus, here too we will be comforted and will be rewarded with future blessings, which may we all be deemed worthy to receive through the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. You might be interested in: