Беседа 86

“Jesus stood before the ruler. And the ruler asked Him: Are you the King of the Jews? Jesus said to him: You speak. And when the chief priests and elders accused Him, He answered nothing.” (Matt. 27:11–12) In what sense does Christ confess himself to be king? - Why didn’t He answer the slander of the accusers? - Guilt of Pilate and the people. – Vices must be eradicated at the very beginning. – Small sins require more work and care than large ones. – Despair destroys more than sin. – Sin sometimes covers itself with the guise of piety. – Knowledge of Scripture is a means to protect oneself from the paths of destruction. 1. Do you see how, first of all, they examine that which has always particularly troubled the Jews? Since they saw that Pilate did not pay any attention to matters of the law, they turned to the charge of a civil crime. This is what they did with the apostles; They always put the same thing on display and said that the Galileans went everywhere and preached a certain king Jesus: as if they were some kind of simple person, they mentioned Jesus, and tried to arouse suspicion against Him of plans of lust for power. From this it is clear that both the tearing of the vestments and the horror of the high priest were just pretense. They all led and directed to expose Him to death. So, this is what Pilate asked! What does Christ answer? "You say". He confesses Himself to be a king, but a king of heaven; So He said more clearly in another place when He answered Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36) - and this so that neither the Jews nor Pilate, who accused Him for declaring Himself king, would have an excuse. And he gives an indisputable reason for this, saying: “If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would fight for Me, so that I would not be betrayed.” That is why, in order to ward off such suspicion, He paid tribute himself and ordered others to pay, and when they wanted to make Him king, He withdrew. Why, you say, didn’t He discover this when they accused Him of plotting to lust for power? Because they, having in His deeds countless proofs of His power, meekness, humility, blinded themselves, plotted evil, and carried out lawless judgment. Therefore He does not answer anything, but is silent; and in order not to incur the reproach of pride by constant silence, he answers briefly, as, for example, when the bishop conjured, when the hegemon questioned. He did not respond to their slander, since he did not intend to convince them. The prophet, predicting this, said: “in His humility His judgment will be taken” (Is. 53:8). The hegemon marveled at this. And one had to be surprised to see such meekness and silence in the One who could say a lot. They themselves accused Him not because they recognized anything bad in Him, but out of sheer envy and hatred. In fact, when the false witnesses they put forward did not have anything to say, why did they still insist? Why, seeing how Judas died and Pilate washed his hands, were they not brokenhearted? Even then He did so much to bring them to repentance, but that did not make them better. What about Pilate? “Do you not hear how much they testify against you” (Matthew 27:13)? Pilate wanted to free Him if He would defend Himself, and therefore said this; When Jesus did not answer, he invents another means. Which one? It was their custom to release one of the culprits. It was by this means that Pilate tried to free Him. If you do not want, he said, to release Him as innocent, then release Him at least as guilty - for the holiday. Do you see the perversion of order? The custom was such that the people asked for those convicted, and the hegemon had to release them. Now the opposite is happening: the hegemon asks the people about this, and, however, they are not tamed, but become even more ferocious and raise a cry, frantic with envy. They could not say anything to accuse Him, even though He was silent; There was so much evidence of Christ’s correctness that they were exposed even in His silence. The silent conquered the incessantly speaking and raging. “While he was sitting in the judgment seat, his wife sent him to say: Do not do anything to the Righteous One, because now in a dream I have suffered much for Him” (Matthew 27:19). Look, here is another circumstance that could distract them all from their intention. After the evidence contained in the deeds, a dream was not an unimportant thing. But why doesn’t Pilate himself see it? Either because his wife was more worthy of him, or because if he had seen it, he would not have believed him, and perhaps would not even have spoken about him. Therefore, it is arranged that the wife sees this dream, so that it becomes known to everyone. And she’s not just dreaming; but he also suffers a lot so that the husband, at least out of compassion for his wife, hesitates to commit murder. The timing also contributed to this: she had a dream that same night. But for him, they will say, it was not safe to let Jesus go, since they said that He was making Himself a king. Therefore, it was necessary to demand and consider evidence, evidence, all signs of lust for power that could be found - for example, whether He was recruiting troops, collecting money, preparing weapons, or planning something similar. But Pilate simply leans towards their side, and therefore Christ does not leave him innocent either: “he who delivered Me” to you, says, “he has greater sin” (John 19:11). So, weakness was the reason that he yielded and, beating with whips, betrayed. He had no courage, he was weak; The bishops were evil and crafty. After he found some pretext, namely the holiday law, which commands the release of the convicted person, what do they do against this? They convinced the people, it is said, to “ask Barabbas” (Matthew 27:20). 2. Do you see with what forethought He takes care to deliver them from sin, and with what care they try not to leave even a shadow of their own justification? What should be done: should the convicted criminal be released, or the doubtful one? If it was allowed to release one of the convicted criminals, then even more so the dubious one. And, of course, Jesus did not seem to them worse than obvious murderers. The Evangelist did not just say: they had a robber, but: a famous robber, famous for his atrocities, who committed countless murders. And yet, they preferred him to the Savior of the universe, and were not ashamed of either holy time, or the laws of philanthropy, or anything else like that. Envy completely blinded them. Being themselves evil, they corrupted the people, so that for seducing them they would suffer the most severe punishment. So, when they asked Barabbas, Pilate said: “What will I do to Jesus” (Matthew 27:22)? With this question he again wanted to reason with them; giving them freedom of choice, he wants them, at least out of shame, to ask Jesus, and thus everything would become a matter of their generosity. If he had said that Jesus had not sinned in anything, he would have only caused them to become more stubborn; when he asked to save Him out of a sense of love for mankind, there was nothing for them to argue against this request and conviction. But they, despite this, said: “Let him be crucified.” The ruler said: what evil has He done? But they shouted even more loudly: let him be crucified. Pilate, seeing that nothing helped, but the confusion was increasing, took water and washed his hands before the people, and said: “I am innocent of the blood of this Righteous One” (Matthew 27:22-24). Why are you betraying? Why didn’t the centurion kidnap Him like Paul? And this one also knew that he would please the Jews; and because of Paul there was indignation and confusion; and yet he bravely stood against everything. But Pilate acts very cowardly, weakly. Everyone was guilty: neither Pilate rebelled against the mob, nor the mob against the Jews; and there is no justification for any of them: they “shouted even more loudly,” that is, they shouted even more: “let him be crucified.” They wanted not only to kill, but also to kill as if it were something bad, and when the judge resisted, they only persisted, shouting the same thing. Do you see how much Christ did to win them? Just as He often turned Judas away from his intention, so He restrained these too, both during the entire time of His gospel and during the judgment itself. In fact, when they saw that the hegemon-judge washed his hands and said: “I am innocent of the blood of this Righteous One,” then both words and deeds convinced them to repentance, just as when Judas hanged himself, and Pilate himself exhorted them to take someone else to execution instead of Jesus. When the one who accused and betrayed Him condemns himself, and the one who must pronounce the decision absolves himself of responsibility, and the vision appears that same night, and Pilate asks them of Him as a condemned man, how can they be justified? If they did not want to declare Him innocent, then at least they should not have preferred a robber to Him, a notorious and very famous robber. What are they? When they saw that the judge washed his hands and said: “I am innocent, they shouted: His blood be on us and on our children” (Matthew 27:25). And then, as they themselves pronounced a determination on themselves, he allowed them everything. Look how great their madness is here too! Such is rage, such is evil passion: it does not allow you to see what you should see. Let it be that you cursed yourself; Why do you bring a curse on children too? However, the humane Lord, although they raged so madly against themselves and the children, did not confirm with his consent this sentence not only in relation to the children, but also in relation to themselves; but even from among them he accepted those who repented and awarded countless benefits. And Paul was one of them, and many thousands of those who believed in Jerusalem (“you see, brother,” said James, “how many thousands of Jews believed” - Acts 21:20) were also from these. If some remain, then they must impute to themselves the torment that awaits them. “Then he released Barabbas to them, and beat Jesus and handed him over to be crucified” (Matthew 27:26). Why did he beat? Either as a condemned person, or to give the appearance of a trial, or to please the Jews. In any case, it was necessary to resist. And before this he said: “Take Him, and judge Him according to your law” (John 18:31). Yes, and there was a lot that could stop both him and the Jews, namely: signs, and wonders, and the great kindness of the Sufferer, and especially His inexpressible silence. If He showed by His defense and prayer that He was a man, then on the other hand, by His silence and contempt for their words He revealed His greatness and high dignity - with all this making them wonder at Him. But nothing had any effect on them. 3. So, when, as if intoxicated, the mind is overwhelmed by some insane passion, it is difficult to come to its present position, unless the falling soul has special courage. It is a bad, very bad thing to succumb to such bad passions, and therefore one must repel them in every possible way and prohibit their entry. As soon as they occupy the soul and begin to possess it, then, like fire falling on dry wood, they kindle a terrible flame in it. Therefore, I pray you, use everything to block their entrance, and do not give room to any evil, calming yourself with soul-destroying reasoning: what is the importance of this or that? This is where countless types of evil are born. The insidious devil uses great (cunning and violence and) relaxation for the destruction of a person, and begins his actions from small things. Look: he wanted to bring Saul to the point where he would go and listen to the chatter of the ventriloquist. If he had begun to suggest this to Saul at the beginning, Saul, of course, would not have listened to him. How, in fact, would someone who himself pursued sorcery listen? Therefore, he quietly and little by little leads him to this. And, firstly, when Saul did not listen to Samuel, and in his absence dared to offer a burnt offering, then, being accused, he says that great need insisted on the part of the enemies; and while he should have been crying, he remained calm, as if he had done nothing. Then God commanded the destruction of the Amalekites, but he did not fulfill this either. Then his evil intentions against David followed, and thus, slipping unnoticeably and little by little, he could no longer stop until he finally plunged himself into the very abyss of destruction. This is what happened to Cain. The devil did not immediately entice him to kill his brother, since he would not have had time to convince him; but, firstly, it persuades him to sacrifice the worst, instilling in him that there is no sin in this; secondly, he kindled hatred and envy in him, assuring him that there was nothing in this either; thirdly, he convinced him to kill his brother and shut himself up before God in the vile murder; and did not retreat from him until he brought him to extreme evil. So, it is necessary to repel evil at the beginning; even if the first crimes did not entail further ones, and then they cannot be neglected; Meanwhile, they reach even more when the soul becomes remiss. Therefore, you need to use all means to exterminate vices at the very beginning. Do not look at the fact that sin in itself is small, but remember that it can be the root of great evil when people neglect it. Shall I tell you something worthy of surprise? Great sins do not require so much care and labor as, on the contrary, small and insignificant ones. The very nature of sin causes the former to turn away; and the small ones, by the very fact that they are small, dispose us to laziness and do not allow us to courageously rise up to exterminate them. That’s why they soon become great if we sleep. This usually happens with the body. So this great evil was born in Judas. If he had not thought that it was an unimportant thing to steal the property of the poor, then, of course, he would not have fallen into the sin of betrayal. Also, if it had not seemed unimportant to the Jews that they were captivated by vanity, then, of course, they would not have reached the point of killing Christ. And all evil is usually committed this way. After all, no one falls into wickedness quickly and suddenly. In our soul, undoubtedly, there is a certain innate shame of sin and respect for good, and it is impossible for it to suddenly reach such shamelessness as to reject everything at once; on the contrary, it descends to extreme destruction imperceptibly, little by little, when it becomes negligent. This is how idolatry entered the world, when they began to honor people beyond measure, both living and dead. They also began to worship the statues. So, finally, fornication and other vices increased. See also: one laughed untimely, the other reproached; another rejected fear, saying: it’s nothing. What is the importance of laughing? What could happen from this? From this comes empty talk, hence profanity, and then shameful actions. Still another, when he is reproached for slandering his neighbor, mocks and slanders, despises this, and says that slandering another does not mean anything. In fact, this is where immeasurable hatred, irreconcilable enmity, and endless reproaches are born; and from reproaches - fights; and fights often lead to murder. 4. So, this crafty demon leads from small things to big things, and from big things leads to despair, thus inventing another method, no less harmful. Truly, it is not so much sin that destroys as despair. The one who has sinned, if he remains awake, soon corrects his offense through repentance; and whoever despairs and does not repent is left without correction because he did not use the medicine of repentance. There is also a third, most dangerous, trick of the devil, namely: when he dresses sin in the guise of piety. But where, you say, can you see the devil getting so strong that he even reaches this point in his deceptions? Listen - and beware of his plans. Christ commanded through Paul (1 Cor. 7) that a wife should not be separated from her husband, and that they should not deprive each other, except by consent; but some, out of love for abstinence, left their husbands, as if this were really a matter of piety, and plunged them into adultery. So, think about what a misfortune it is that those who have suffered so much labor are accused as if they had committed a great evil, and just as they themselves are subjected to extreme punishment, so those who lived with them are thrown into the abyss of destruction. Also: others, abstaining from food according to the commandment of fasting, little by little came to the point that they abhor food; and this brings them the greatest punishment. The same thing happens when one justifies one's preconceived opinions contrary to the meaning of Scripture. Some of the Corinthians thought that eating everything without distinction, even what was forbidden, meant perfection (1 Cor. 8); but this was not a matter of perfection, but of extreme error. Therefore, Paul strongly forbids them to do this and says that they are subject to extreme punishment for this. Others still think that keeping your hair on your head means piety. On the contrary, this is prohibited and is a very shameful thing. To others, again, it seems that they will receive great benefit if they begin to grieve immensely for their sins; but this also refers to the devil’s intentions, as Judas showed himself, who hanged himself because of it. Therefore, Paul was afraid that he would suffer something like this, and he exhorted the Corinthians to quickly forgive him, “so that he would not be consumed by excessive sorrow” (2 Cor. 2:7). Then, showing that this is one of the devil’s snares, he says: “so that Satan does not harm us, for we are not unaware of his plans” (2 Cor. 2:11), that is, that he approaches us with great cunning. In fact, if he had fought openly, it would have been easy and convenient to defeat him. But it will be easy for us to defeat him even now if we stay awake; God has provided us with weapons against all these deceits. Listen to what He says, wanting to convince us so that we do not neglect anything small: “Whoever says to his brother, ‘You are a fool,’ will be subject to fiery hell” (Matthew 5:22); and he who looks with lustful eyes is a perfect adulterer. He also calls those who laugh unhappy; and everywhere he destroys the firstfruits and seeds of evil and says that even for an idle word we will give an answer. That is why Job even purified the thoughts of his children (Job 1:5). And the Scripture says this about the fact that there is no need to despair: “When they fall, do they not get up, and when they turn from the way, do they not return” (Jer. 8:4)? And again: “Do I want the death of the wicked? Is it not that he should turn from his ways and live” (Ezek. 18:23). Also: “if only you would listen to His voice today” (Ps. 94:7). And many other similar words and examples are found in Scripture. And to ensure that we do not perish under the guise of godliness, listen to what Paul says: “lest he be overcome with excessive sorrow” (2 Cor. 2:7). Knowing this, let us protect ourselves from all paths that are disastrous for the carefree, with the knowledge of Scripture. Don't say: what if I stare at a beautiful woman? If you commit adultery in your heart, you will soon dare to commit adultery in your flesh. Don't say: what if I pass by this beggar? If you pass by him, you will pass by another, and after that a third. And again, don’t say: what if I covet my neighbor’s property? This is precisely what destroyed Ahab, although he gave a price, he took against the wishes of the owner (1 Kings 21). The buyer should not do violence, but must persuade. If the one who gave the due price was so condemned only for taking against the consent of another, then what punishment is worthy of the one who not only does this, but steals by force, and at the same time living under grace? So, in order not to incur punishment, let us keep ourselves clean from all violence and predation, we will protect ourselves not only from sins, but also from their beginnings, and with all diligence we will zeal for virtue. Thus, we will enjoy eternal blessings, grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. You might be interested in: