Беседа 41

John 5:39–40. Search the Scriptures, for through them you think you have eternal life; and they testify of Me. But you do not want to come to Me to have life. 1. One should not read the Holy Scriptures in fits and starts and frivolously. – 2. The Jews will have Moses himself as their accuser. – 3. Refutation of the pretexts and empty apologies of the Jews. -Their anger and stiff-neckedness. – Virtue is the mother of prudence. – Sin is born from stupidity. - The wisdom of the one who fears God, and the foolishness of the one who does not fear Him. 1. We, beloved, must have much concern for spiritual matters; and let us not think that for salvation it is enough to deal with them somehow. If in everyday affairs nothing great can be achieved by one who performs them carelessly, and as it happens, then all the more so should it be in spiritual affairs, because they require the greatest care. Therefore, Christ, sending the Jews to the Scriptures, did not send them for simple reading, but for an accurate and deliberate test of them. He did not say, “read the Scriptures,” but, “search the Scriptures,” because what was said about Him in the Scriptures required a lot of attention (as something said in secret for the benefit of the people of that time). So, He now commands them to delve carefully into the Scriptures, so that they can find the hidden things in their depths. What is said about Christ is not said superficially and is not laid out in plain sight; but, like some treasure, it is placed in great depths. And whoever, looking for what is found in the depths, does not search with diligence and labor, will never find what he is looking for. Therefore, having said: “search the Scriptures,” Christ added: “for through them you think to have eternal life.” He did not say: “you have,” but: “you think you have,” showing that those who hope to be saved by reading alone, without faith, cannot acquire any great and important fruit. He seems to be saying this: do you not respect the Scriptures? Do you not consider them sources of life? Now I also rely on them, because they testify about Me. “You do not want to come to Me to have life.” So, rightly He said: “You think”, because they did not want to obey the Scriptures, but only boasted in their mere reading. Further, so that, for the sake of His great care for them, they would not suspect Him of being pious, and so that they would not think that, desiring their faith in Himself, He was observing His own benefit (and He mentioned the voice of John, and the testimony of God the Father, and His deeds, and promised life, and used everything to attract them to Himself) - since, I say, many probably suspected that He spoke such words out of love for glory, then listen to what He adds: “I do not receive glory from men” (John 5:41), i.e., I have no need of it. My nature, he says, is not such that I need human glory. If the sun does not receive an increase in light from the lamp, all the more am I far from having a need for human glory. Why are you saying this, they could have told Him, if you don’t need glory? “That you might be saved” (John 5:34); He said this before. But the same thing is expressed here with the words: “in order to have life” (John 5:40). But He also gives another reason; which one? “I know you: you do not have the love of God in yourselves” (John 5:42). The Jews often persecuted Him, as if out of love for God, because He made Himself equal to God (John 5:18); on the other hand, He knew that they did not want to believe in Him. So, if someone asked: why are you saying this? “He answers: in order to expose you that you are not persecuting Me out of love for God.” And He Himself testifies of Me both by deeds and by Scriptures. Just as before you persecuted Me, considering Me an opponent of God, so now that I have shown this, you should have turned to Me if you loved God. But you do not love Him: that is why I said this, to show that you are too arrogant and boast in vain, covering only your envy. But He proves this not only from present circumstances, but also from subsequent ones. “I came,” he says, “in the name of My Father, and you do not receive Me; But if another comes in his own name, you will receive him” (John 5:43). You see how He says about Himself both here and here that He was sent from the Father, and received judgment from Him, and cannot do anything on His own, precisely in order to cut off any pretext for unrighteousness. But about whom does He say: “He will come in his name”? Here Christ alludes to the Antichrist, and together presents irrefutable proof of their dishonesty. If you persecute Me, He says, out of love for God, then it would be much more appropriate to do the same with the Antichrist. He will not say anything like that, that is, that he was sent from the Father, that he came according to His will; but quite the opposite, he will forcibly steal everything that does not belong to him, and call himself God above all, as Paul writes: “above all that is called God or that is worshiped, ... showing himself to be God” (2 Thess. 2:4). This precisely means that he “will come in his own name.” But I, says Christ, did not come in this way, but in the name of My Father. This was enough to prove that they did not love God, since they did not accept the one who told them about himself that he was sent from God. But in the present case, He shows their shamelessness from the opposite side - from the fact that they are ready to accept the Antichrist. Since they did not accept what told them about themselves that He was sent from God, but were ready to bow to the one who does not recognize God, but exalts himself and presents himself as God above everyone, it is clear that the persecution (of Christ) was a matter of envy, and not love for God. Thus, Christ presents two reasons for what he said about Himself: first, a more condescending one, saying: “so that you may be saved,” and “so that you may have life”; then, since they intended to ridicule Him, he presents a more striking reason, showing that even if those who listened did not believe Him, God would in any case do what was pleasing to Him. 2. Paul, speaking about the Antichrist, prophetically said: “God will send them strong delusion... that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth, but loved unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12). But Christ did not say that the Antichrist would come, but: “if he comes,” sparing the listeners, because their wickedness was not yet fully revealed. That is why He kept silent about the reason for the coming of the Antichrist; and Paul precisely defined this reason for people who can understand, and thereby deprived the Jews of any excuse. But then Christ shows the reason for their unbelief, continuing: “How can you believe when you receive glory from one another, but do not seek the glory that is from the One God?” (John 5:44); Thus, it again makes it clear that they really did not care about the glory of God, and under such a pretext they only wanted to justify their passion. In such actions they were so far from the desire for the glory of God that they themselves sought human glory rather than God’s. How could they have such hostility because of the glory of God, which they so neglected that they even preferred human glory to it? Having said that they do not have love for God, and proving this by two reasons - their actions in relation to Him and future relations with the Antichrist, having explained that they do not deserve any forgiveness, Christ brings Moses to reprove them, and thus amazes them: “Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father: you have an accuser, Moses, in whom you trust. For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed Me, because he wrote about Me. If you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” (John 5:45–47). He seems to be saying this: by your actions against Me, you insult Moses before Me, because you do not believe in Moses even more than in Me. See how He deprives them of all justification on all sides. Are you saying that by persecuting Me you prove your love for God? But I showed that you do this out of dislike for Him. Are you saying that I break the Sabbath and break the law? I rejected this accusation too. Do you claim that by faith in Moses you allow yourself to do such things against Me? I explain to you again that this is especially how you prove your disbelief in Moses. I am so far from intending to go against the law that your accuser will not be anyone else, but the one who gave you the law. Just as Christ said about the Scriptures: “for through them you think you have eternal life,” so he says about Moses: “in whom you trust,” binding the Jews in any case with their own words. How can it be seen, they would say, that Moses will accuse us, and that You are not boasting of this in vain? What do you have in common with Moses? You are breaking the Sabbath, which Moses ordained to be preserved: how then can he accuse us? And how can we see that we will believe in another who will come in his own name? You say all this without evidence. But all this (Christ answers them) comes out of the previous one. As soon as it is confirmed by My works, the voice of John, and the testimony of the Father that I came from God, it is clear that Moses will accuse you. What did he say? Is it not that if a man appears who works miracles, leads people to God and correctly predicts the future, one must obey such a person with full confidence? Didn't Christ do all this? He performed miracles that were undoubtedly true, and attracted everyone to God, and justified His predictions by fulfilling them. But how can it be seen that they will believe in someone else? Out of their very hatred of Christ. Those who reject the one who comes according to the will of God will, without a doubt, accept the enemy of God. If He now points to Moses, and before said: “I do not receive testimony from man” (John 5:34), - do not be surprised at this: He does not refer them to Moses, but to the divine Scriptures. But since the Scriptures did not frighten them much, He turns the word to the face of Moses, presenting them with an accuser in the lawgiver himself, and thus produces in them a much stronger fear and refutes everything that was said by them. Notice: they said that they were persecuting Him out of love for God - He shows that they are doing this out of dislike for God. They said that they were holding on to Moses; He shows that they were doing this out of distrust of Moses. If they were zealous for the law, then they should have accepted the one who kept the law. If they loved God, then they had to obey the one who drew them to God. If they believed Moses, then they should have worshiped the One about whom Moses prophesied. And if they did not believe him even before Me, then it is not surprising that you also persecute Me, who was preached by him. And then, just as the Jews revered John, Christ proves their unbelief, and thus everything with which they dreamed of justifying themselves, He constantly turns on their own heads. I, He says, am so far from the idea of ​​distracting you from the law that I call upon the legislator himself to accuse you. However, although He said that the Scriptures testify about Him, He did not add where they testify, wanting to instill even greater fear in them, to turn them to the test of the Scriptures and to make it necessary to ask Him about this. And if He had warned them and explained it without question on their part, they would have rejected the testimony of the Scriptures. Now, if they were attentive to His words, they should first of all ask about it and find out from Him. For this reason, He especially spreads not only His evidence against them, but also reprimands and threats, so that at least the fear of the words spoken to them will bring them to their senses. But despite this, they are silent. Such is the wickedness! No matter what they say, no matter what they do, she is not touched, but persists, retaining her poison within herself. 3. Therefore, one must cast out all malice from the soul and never weave any intrigues. “The path of a corrupt man is corrupt,” it is said (Proverbs 21:8), and “the Holy Spirit of wisdom will shun wickedness and turn away from foolish speculations” (Wisdom 1:5). Nothing makes people stupid like anger. In fact, when a person is treacherous, ill-intentioned, unappreciative (and these are types of malice), when he is irritated without being offended by anything, and builds cunning, then doesn’t this represent proof of his extreme madness? On the other hand, nothing makes people more reasonable than virtue: it makes them grateful, well-intentioned, humane, quiet, meek, humble; it usually gives birth to all other perfections. Who could be wiser than a person with such dispositions? Truly, virtue is the source and root of wisdom, just as every vice originates from unreason. And an arrogant and angry person is carried away by these passions due to a lack of prudence. That is why the prophet said: “My wounds stink and fester because of my madness” (Ps. 37:6), showing that every sin gets its beginning from foolishness. On the contrary, a virtuous person who has the fear of God in himself is wiser than everyone else; That’s why a certain sage says: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7). If to fear God means to have wisdom, and the wicked does not have this, then, without a doubt, he is devoid of wisdom; and he who is deprived of true wisdom is the most senseless of all. Although many are surprised at vicious people because they can do harm and harm to others, they do not understand that such people should be considered the most unfortunate of all, because, thinking of harming others, they plunge the sword into themselves; and this is a sign of extreme madness when someone, striking himself, does not realize it, but thinks that he is harming another, while he kills himself. That is why Paul, knowing that by afflicting others, we kill ourselves, says: “Why would it be better for you not to endure hardship?” (1 Cor. 6:7). In order not to be offended, there is no need to offend; in order not to tolerate evil, there is no need to do evil, although this may seem like a mystery to ordinary people and those who do not want to philosophize. So, knowing this, let us consider as unhappy and mourn not those who are offended and insulted, but those who cause insults and insults to others. These are the people who suffer the most, because they arm God against themselves, open the mouth of a thousand accusers, acquire bad fame in this life, and bring upon themselves a great execution in the next century. On the contrary, those who are offended and generously endure everything incline both God to mercy and all people to compassion for them, to praise and goodwill. Such people, presenting the greatest proof of their wisdom, acquire great glory in this life, and in the future they will receive eternal blessings, which may we all be able to achieve, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to the Father with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: