Беседа 54

John 8:31–32. Then Jesus said to the Jews who believed in Him: If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. 1. Jesus Christ promises the Jews that if they follow His teaching, it will deliver them from slavery to sin. – 2. If they were true sons of Abraham, they would not have sought His death. – 3. Not being sons of Abraham, they are even less sons of God: the devil is their father. – 4. To comprehend and know the truth, you need to lead a good and righteous life. – We must strive with all our might to achieve the kingdom of God. - How to achieve it. 1. We need great patience, beloved! And patience happens when dogmas are deeply rooted in us. Truly, just as an oak tree, deeply rooted in the bowels of the earth and carefully tied up, cannot be uprooted by any gust of wind, so no one will be able to overthrow a soul nailed by the fear of God, because nailing is even stronger than rooting. This is what the prophet prays about, saying: “my flesh trembles at Your fear” (Ps. 119:120). So you nail yourself and fasten yourself, as if with a nail driven deep. Just as it is difficult to conquer a man who has been nailed down, so on the contrary, it is easy to conquer and not difficult to overthrow someone who is not nailed down. This is what happened to the Jews at that time: they listened and believed, and again turned aside. That is why Christ, wanting to deepen their faith so that it is not superficial, pierces their souls with the most striking words. Of course, it would be natural for them, as believers, to endure reproof; but they immediately became indignant. How does (Christ) act in this case? First he exhorts: “If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:31–32). As if he were saying this: I intend to inflict a deep wound on you, but do not be afraid. However, by this very same He had already humbled the pride of their souls. What, tell me, should I be freed from? From sins. What are these proud people? “We are Abraham’s seed and were never slaves to anyone” (John 8:33). Immediately their thoughts fell, and this happened because they were extremely partial to worldly objects. “If you abide in My word.” By this He showed that He knows the secrets of their hearts, knows that, although they believed, they were not firm in the faith. At the same time, He promises them something great, namely, that they will be His disciples. Since some had previously fallen away from Him, then, alluding to them, He says: “if you continue”; after all, they also listened and believed, but fell away because they were not firm in the faith. In fact, “many of His disciples departed from Him and walked with Him no more” (John 6:66). “You will know the truth,” i.e. Me, because “I am the truth” (John 14:6). Everything Jewish was an image, but you will learn the truth from Me and it will free you from your sins. Just as He said to those: “You will die in your sins” (John 8:24), so He said to these: “He will make you free.” He did not say: I will deliver you from slavery, but he left them to understand it themselves. What are they? “We are Abraham’s seed and have never been slaves to anyone.” But if one should have been indignant, then it would have been more fair to respond to what He said before, namely: “you will know the truth,” and to say: what then? Don't we know the truth now? Does this mean that the law and our knowledge are lies? But they did not care about any of this, but are worried about worldly affairs, assuming this kind of slavery. There are, truly there are, and now there are many who are ashamed of indifferent things and this slavery; but they are not ashamed of sinful slavery, and would rather be called slaves a thousand times in this regard than once in that. Such were the Jews. They did not know any other slavery, and therefore they say: You called the people who descended from the family of Abraham slaves - noble people, who, for this very reason, should not have been called slaves. We, they say, have never been slaves. This is what the Jews are proud of! We are the “seed of Abraham”, we are the Israelites; and they never mention their affairs. Therefore, John appealed to them, saying: “Do not think to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father” (Matthew 3:9). But why didn’t Christ rebuke them? After all, they were enslaved many times: by the Egyptians, and by the Babylonians, and by many others. Because He spoke not to compete with them, but for their salvation and benefit: that’s what He cared about. He could, of course, talk about four hundred years of slavery; could say about seventy; could speak of slavery during the time of the judges, sometimes for twenty years, sometimes for two. Sometimes seven; could say that they never ceased to be slaves. But He tried to prove not that they were slaves of people, but that they were slaves of sin. And this slavery is the most difficult thing; Only God can deliver from it, because no one else can forgive sins, which they themselves admitted. And since they recognized this as the work of God, He leads them to this and says: “Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34), showing that He is talking about this freedom, about freedom from this very slavery. “But the slave does not stay in the house...; the son abides forever” (John 8:35). And here He quietly overthrows the provisions of the law, pointing to former times. So that they do not refer (to the law) and say: we have the sacrifices prescribed by Moses; they can free us - that’s why He added those words. Otherwise, what sequence would His words have? “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace” (Rom. 3:23–24), even the priests themselves. That is why Paul says about the priest that he “must offer sacrifices for sins both for the people and for himself, because he himself is overcome with infirmity” (Heb. 5:2-3). This is what is expressed by the words: “a slave does not stay in the house.” And besides this, here Christ shows His equality of honor with the Father and the difference between a free man and a slave. The tributary saying has precisely this meaning, i.e. that the slave has no power, which is what is meant by the word: “does not abide.” 2. But why did He, speaking about sins, mention the house? To show that as master over the house, so He rules over everything. The expression “does not abide” means he does not have the power to give gifts, since he is not a householder. And the son is the landlord; This is what the words mean: “remains forever,” in a figurative expression from human things. So that they don’t say: Who are you? “He seems to say this: everything is Mine, because I am the Son and dwell in the Father’s house,” calling power home. So in another place He calls the authorities the house of the Father: “In My Father’s house are many mansions” (John 14:2). Since the speech was about freedom and slavery, He rightly used such a figurative expression, saying that they did not have the power to forgive (sins). “Therefore, if the Son sets you free” (John 8:36). Do you see Him being one in essence with the Father, how He shows that He has the same power as Him? “If the Son sets you free,” then no one will contradict this, and you will have true freedom, because “God justifies them. Who is judging? (Rom.8:33–34). By this he shows that He is free from sin, and together alludes to freedom in name only. The latter is given by people, but the former is given by God alone. And through this He convinces them to be ashamed not of that slavery, but of sinful slavery. And to show that, even though they were not slaves, since they rejected that slavery from themselves, they were nevertheless slaves, He immediately added: “You will be truly free” (John 8:36). And by this addition He shows that their freedom is not true. Then, lest they say that they have no sin (and one might think that they would say that too), see how He accused them of it. Without denouncing their entire life, He exposes the atrocity that they still wanted to commit, and says: “I know that you are Abraham’s seed; yet you seek to kill Me” (John 8:37). Imperceptibly and little by little it removes them from this kinship, teaching them not to be proud of it, because both freedom and slavery, and kinship depend on deeds. And He did not immediately say: you are not the children of Abraham, you are murderers, but He is a righteous one; but for now he still agrees with them and says: “I know that you are Abraham’s seed,” but that’s not the point; and then pronounces a stronger rebuke against them. And very often one can see that He, intending to do something great, after doing it, speaks with great boldness, since the testimony of works stopped their lips. “Yet you seek to kill Me.” Well, what will they say if it’s fair? On the contrary, it is completely unfair. Therefore, He also presents the reason: “because My word cannot fit into you.” How was it said that they believed? But I already said that they were postponed again. That is why He strongly rebukes them. If you are proud of your relationship with him, then you need to show off his life. And He did not say: you do not contain words, but: “My word does not fit in you,” thereby showing the height of His dogmas. And for this they should not have killed. On the contrary, to honor and respect even more in order to learn. Well, they could say, maybe You are saying this on Your own behalf? Therefore He added: “I speak what I have seen with My Father; but you do what you saw your father do” (John 8:38). Just as I, he says, show the Father in words and truth, so do you with your deeds. I have not only the same being with the Father, but also the same truth. “They said to Him...: Our father is Abraham. Jesus said to them: If you were children of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me” (John 8:39–40). Often He speaks here of their criminal intention and mentions Abraham; and this is in order to deviate them from this kinship, and to destroy their excessive vanity, and to convince them to place the hope of salvation no longer on Abraham and not on kinship by nature, but on kinship by spiritual disposition. It was precisely this that served as an obstacle for them to approach Christ, that they considered this kinship sufficient for their salvation. But what truth is He talking about? About the fact that He is equal to the Father. Indeed, for this the Jews sought to kill Him, as He says: “You seek to kill Me... who told you the truth which I heard” from My Father (John 8:40). To show that this is not disgusting to the Father, He again resorts to Him. “They said to Him: We were not born of fornication; We have one Father, God” (John 8:41). What are you saying? Do you have God as your father, and blame Christ when He says this? Do you see that He called God His Father in a special sense? 3. Since He removed them from kinship with Abraham, they, having nothing to say against this, dare to do something even greater - they resort to God. But He deprives them of this honor, saying: “If God were your Father, then you would love Me, because I proceeded from God and came; for I did not come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you cannot hear My words. Your father is the devil; and you want to do the lusts of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and did not stand in the truth... When he speaks a lie, he speaks his own way” (John 8:42-44). He removed them from kinship with Abraham; but since they dared to do more, He already strikes at them, saying that they are not only not the children of Abraham, but that they are the sons of the devil. Through this He inflicted on them a wound equal to their shamelessness. And this does not leave without evidence, but confirms with evidence, because killing, he says, is characteristic of the evil of the devil. And he did not simply say: works, but: do his “lusts,” showing that both he (the devil) and they are extremely prone to murder, and that the reason for this is envy. In fact, the devil destroyed Adam not because he could accuse him of anything, but out of envy alone. This is what Christ points to here too. “And did not stand in the truth,” i.e. in a good life. Since (the Jews) constantly condemned Him - that He was not from God - He says that this (accusation) also comes from the same place (from the devil), because He was the first to give birth to lies, saying: “On the day that you eat of them, your eyes will be opened” (Gen. 3:5). He was the first to use it. People use it not as their own, but as someone else’s, and he uses it as his own. “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me” (John 8:45). What is the sequence in these words? Without accusing Me of anything, you want to kill Me. You persecute Me because you are enemies of the truth. If not because, then say My guilt. That’s why he added: “Which of you will convict Me of unrighteousness?” (John 8:46). The Jews also said: “We were not born of fornication.” Although many of them were born from fornication, because they also had illegal marriages, He does not accuse them of this, but continues to talk about the former. Having proved to all of the above that they are not from God, but from the devil, because killing is the work of the devil, and lying is the work of the devil, and you do both, now shows that love is a sign of origin from God. “Why do you not understand My speech?” Since they always asked in bewilderment: what is it that He says: “Where I go, you cannot come” (John 8:22)? - then He answers: you do not understand My conversation because you do not contain the word of God within yourself. And this happens to you because your thoughts creep on the earth, while My words are much higher. What if they really could not understand? But here the word “you can’t” means: you don’t want to, because you have taught yourself to grovel and don’t think about anything great. And since they said that they were persecuting Him out of jealousy, as if for God, He tries everywhere to show that to persecute Him means to hate God; on the contrary, he says, to love Him means to know God. “We have one Father, God.” This is what they boast about – honor, not deeds. So, that you do not believe, this does not prove that I am alien to God; on the contrary, your lack of faith serves as a sign that you do not know God. The reason for this is that you want to lie and do the works of the devil, and this comes from the poverty of the soul, as the apostle says: “If there is envy, disputes and disagreements among you, are you not carnal?” (1 Cor. 3:3). Why can't you? Because “you want to fulfill the lusts of your father” - (about this) you try, you are jealous. Do you see that the word “you cannot” means unwillingness? “Abraham did not do this” (John 8:40). What are his affairs? Meekness, forbearance, obedience; but you do the opposite: you are disobedient and cruel. But where did they get the idea to resort to God? Christ showed that they were unworthy of Abraham. So, to avoid this, they resorted to more. Since He reproached them for murder, they say this, as if to justify themselves in some way, that they are taking revenge for God. But (Christ) shows that this very thing serves as a sign of the opponents of God. The expression “came forth” means that He is from God. He says “he came out,” indicating His coming to us. And since one could expect them to say: You are saying something strange and new, He adds that He came from God. Therefore, he says, it is natural that you do not listen to My words, since you are from the devil. Really, why do you want to kill Me? What can you blame Me for? If in nothing, then why don’t you believe Me? Having thus proved, from their deceit and tendency to murder, that they come from the devil, He also showed that they are alien to Abraham and God, since, on the one hand, they hate a person who has not done anything bad, and on the other, they do not listen to His words. Thus, He shows everywhere that He is not an adversary of God and that it was not for this reason that they did not believe in Him, but because they were strangers to God. In fact, if they do not believe the One who did not commit sin, who says that He came from God and was sent from Him, who speaks the truth, and speaks the truth in such a way that it causes everyone to refute, then it is obvious that the unbelievers do not believe in Him because they are carnal people. He knew, truly knew, that sins destroy the soul. That is why it is said: “because you have become unable to listen” (Heb. 5:11). Truly, whoever cannot despise earthly things can ever philosophize about heavenly things? 4. Therefore, I beg you, let us try in every possible way to correct our lives, to cleanse our souls, so that nothing unclean will serve as an obstacle for us. Shine the light of knowledge within yourself, and do not throw seeds among the thorns. Who does not know that covetousness is a vice, how will he know anything more? Whoever does not turn away from this (earthly) how will he desire that (heavenly)? It’s good to delight, but not perishing things, but the kingdom of heaven: “those who use effort,” it is said, “take him away” (Matthew 11:12); therefore, one can achieve it not by laziness, but by diligence. What does it mean: “using effort”? A great effort is required, because the path is narrow, you need a youthful and vigorous soul. Those who admire want to precede everyone, do not look at anything, neither at censure, nor at condemnation, nor at punishment; they think of only one thing, how to take possession of what they want to delight, and warn everyone in front. Let us begin to delight the kingdom of heaven. This admiration is not sinful, but praiseworthy; The sin here is not to admire. Here our wealth does not harm others. Let us try to delight, and if we are oppressed by anger, if we are disturbed by lust, then we will conquer nature, we will become meek, we will work a little in order to calm down forever. Do not steal gold, but steal wealth that makes gold look like dirt. Tell me: if lead and gold lay before you, what would you steal? Isn't it obvious that it's gold? So, in the case when the kidnapper is punished, you prefer the better thing: then, when the kidnapper deserves honor, will you not give preference to the better? After all, wouldn’t you choose (out of two things) preferentially this (better), if there was a punishment for stealing one and the other? But there is nothing like that here, but on the contrary, there is bliss. How can you, you ask, steal (the kingdom of heaven)? Drop what you have in your hands. As long as you hold it, you cannot kidnap it. Imagine me a man whose hands are filled with silver: will he be able to steal the gold while he holds the silver, and not throw it away and become free? The kidnapper should not be bound by anything in order not to be detained. After all, even now there are hostile forces that attack us and try to take away (the kingdom of heaven) from us. Let us run away from them, let us run away, leaving nothing behind us for them to grab onto. Let us cut off the threads and expose ourselves to the objects of everyday life. What need do you have for silk clothes? How long will we wrap ourselves in these ridiculous clothes? How long will we bury gold in the ground? I would like to stop talking about this every time; but you don’t allow it, always giving reason and motivation for it. Now, at least, let us leave this, so that, having taught others through our lives, we may receive the promised blessings, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and 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: