Беседа 19

Hebrews 10:19–23. Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter into the sanctuary through the Blood of Jesus Christ, by a new and living way, which He again revealed to us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a great Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart, with full faith, having cleansed our hearts from an evil conscience by sprinkling, and having washed our bodies with pure water, let us hold fast the confession of hope steadfastly, for He is faithful. Promised. 1. (The Apostle) showed what a difference there is between the high priests, the sacrifices, the tabernacle, the covenant and the promises, and namely, the great one, because one is temporary and the other eternal, this is transitory, this is abiding, this is imperfect, this is perfect, this is a type, and this is the truth: “not according to the law,” he says, “the commandment of the flesh, but according to the power of unceasing life” (Heb. 7:16); and again: “You are a priest forever” (Heb. 7:17), - this is the eternity of our Priest; and about the covenants he says that this one is old: “what decays and grows old is close to destruction” (Heb. 8:13), and this one is new and has remission of sins, the same is not at all like that: “the law brought nothing to perfection” (Heb. 7:19); and again: “You did not desire sacrifices and offerings” (Heb. 10:5); this one was made with hands, and this one was not made with hands, this one had the blood of goats, and this one had the blood of the Lord, this one had the blood of a standing priest, and this one had the blood of a sitting one. Since everything is less, and this is more, then (the Apostle) says: “having boldness.” Why “boldness”? Because of the remission of sins. Just as shame comes from sins, so from the forgiveness of all of them comes boldness; and not only from this, but also from the fact that we became joint heirs (of Christ) and were made worthy of His love. "Enter the Sanctuary". What does he mean by this entry? Entrance to heaven and access to spiritual secrets. “Which He again revealed to us,” that is, which He arranged and through which He Himself first passed; renewal is the beginning of use; He himself, he says, arranged it and went through it himself. “In a new and living way”: here he expresses the fullness of hope. “New,” he says; he tries to show that we have everything higher, since now the gates of heaven are open, which was not the case even in the time of Abraham. He said well: “a new and living way”: the first path was the path of death, leading to hell, and this one is the path of life; he did not say: “life,” but called it “living”; expressing that he remains so constantly. “Through the veil,” he says, “that is His flesh.” This flesh first paved the way, which, as (the Apostle) says, He renewed and along which He himself was pleased to walk. The flesh is rightly called a veil, because when it ascended, then the heavenly things were revealed. “Let us begin,” he says, “with a sincere heart.” Who - “let’s get started”? Who is holy by faith, by spiritual service. “With a sincere heart, with full faith,” because there is nothing visible here: the priest, the sacrifice, and the altar are invisible. Although even there the priest was not visible, he stood inside, and all the others, the whole people and the people, were outside, but here (the Apostle) expresses not only that our Priest entered into the holy - he indicated this with the words: “the great Priest over the house of God” - but that we also enter. That is why he says: “with full faith”; You can, after all, believe with doubt, as for example, even today there are many people who say that for some there will be a resurrection, but for others there will not be; it is not the fullness of faith. We must believe as much as (we are confident) in visible objects and even much more; here, regarding visible objects, one can make a mistake, but there not; here we perceive with feeling, and there with spirit. “Having cleansed the hearts from an evil conscience by sprinkling”: here he proves that not only faith is required, but also a virtuous life, and not being aware of anything bad in oneself. Those who do not behave quite like this are not allowed into the holy place, because it is holy and the holy of holies; therefore, none of the unclean is included here. They washed the body, and we washed the conscience; You still need to wash yourself, but this time virtuously. “And washed the body with clean water.” Here he speaks of the baptismal font, which cleanses not the body, but the soul. “For He who promised is faithful.” To what is “He who promised” faithful? The fact that you need to leave (from this life) and enter the kingdom (heavenly). Therefore, do not investigate, do not demand proof: our (subjects) require faith. “Let us be attentive to each other, encouraging each other to love and good deeds. Let us not forsake meeting ourselves together, as is the custom of some; But let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see that day approaching” (Heb. 10:24–25). And again in another place: “The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything” (Phil.4:5-6). “Now salvation is nearer to us” (Rom. 13:11); and also: “the time is already short” (1 Cor. 7:29). What does it mean: “let us not forsake our assembling together”? What he means is that great power comes from meeting together and communicating with one another. “For,” says (the Lord), “where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20); and again: “whom You have given Me, that they may be one, just as We are” (John 17:11); and one more thing: everyone “had one heart and one soul” (Acts 4:32). But not only because (he points) to the meeting, but also because love increases from it; The increase in love is necessarily followed by deeds according to God. “The Church,” it is said, “prayed diligently to God for him” (Acts 12:5). "As is the custom of some". Here he offers not only admonition, but also reproach. “Let us be attentive to each other, encouraging each other to love and good deeds.” He knows that this too comes from the meeting. Just as iron sharpens iron, so communication with each other increases love. If a stone, hitting a stone, emits fire, then how much more so the soul, communicating with the soul? Notice that he does not say: in (encouraging) jealousy, but: “encouraging love.” What does it mean: “encouraging love”? To love and be loved more and more. He also adds: “and good deeds” so that they are imbued with competition. And rightly so: if deeds have more power for edification than words, then you, he says, have many teachers who justify their teaching by deeds. What does it mean: “let us approach with a sincere heart”? This means – without hypocrisy: “Woe to timid hearts and weak hands” (Sir.2:12). Let there be no lies among you, he says; Let us not say one thing and think another, because this is a lie; Let us not be cowardly, because this is not characteristic of a sincere heart - cowardice, after all, comes from unbelief. And how to achieve this? If we have complete faith in ourselves. “Having cleansed our hearts from an evil conscience by sprinkling.” Why didn’t he say: purified, but “sprinkled”? To show the difference between sprinklings and the fact that one is from God and the other from us: to sprinkle and wash the conscience is from God, but to approach sincerely and with full faith is from us. Further (the Apostle) strengthens faith, pointing to the truth of the Promiser. What does it mean: “and having washed the body with clean water”? He speaks (of water) either making one clean or having no blood. Then he adds (that which constitutes) perfection - love. “Let us not abandon our assemblies,” he says, “as some do who dissolve their assemblies.” He forbids them to do this - because “an embittered brother is more impregnable than a strong city” (Proverbs 18:20). But “let us be attentive to each other, encouraging each other to love.” What does it mean: “let us be attentive to each other”? That is, whoever is virtuous, we will imitate him, we will look to him in order to love and be loved; and from love come good deeds. 2. The great good is the meeting. It makes love more ardent, and all good things come from it; There is no good that does not come from love. Let us strengthen our love for one another, because “love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13:10). We do not need any labors or exploits if we love each other; this is the path that by itself leads to virtue. Just as on a high road, whoever finds its beginning walks along it without needing a guide, so in love: just catch its beginning, and right away it will lead and guide you. “Love,” says (the Apostle), “suffers long, is kind, ... thinks no evil” (1 Cor. 13:4-5). Let everyone think with himself about how he acts in relation to himself; Let him do the same in relation to his neighbor. No one envies himself, wishes himself all the best, prefers himself to everything, tries to do everything in his own favor. If we are disposed in the same way towards others, then all disasters will cease, there will be no enmity or covetousness. Who would really take away from himself? Nobody, but rather quite the opposite. So, let us have everything in common and never stop gathering together. If we do this, there will be no room for rancor. And really, who would hold a grudge against himself? Who would be angry with himself? On the contrary, don’t we forgive ourselves everything? If we are disposed in the same way towards our neighbors, then there will never be rancor. But is it possible, you say, to love your neighbor as yourself? If others did not do this, then you might rightly think that it is impossible; if they did, then it is obvious that this does not happen with us due to our negligence. On the other hand, Christ does not command anything impossible, so that many even surpassed His commandments. Who did this? Paul, Peter, the whole host of saints. However, if I say that they loved their neighbors, I will not say anything important; they loved their enemies in a way that another could not love those closest to them. Which of us would dare to go to Gehenna for those close to us, having the opportunity to enter the kingdom? Nobody. But Paul decided to do this because of his enemies, who threw stones at him and scourged him. What excuse will we have, what excuse, if we do not show our friends even the slightest part of the love that Paul showed his enemies? And even before him, blessed Moses, because of the enemies who wanted to stone him, wanted to be blotted out from the book of God (Ex. 32:32). Also, David, seeing the death of his enemies, says: “Behold, I have sinned, I have acted lawlessly; and these sheep, what did they do? (2 Samuel 24:17) - and, having Saul in his hands, he did not want to kill him, but left him alive, while he himself was in danger. If this was the case in the Old Testament, then what kind of forgiveness will we receive, living in the new, and not even achieving the measure of love that they (reached)? If we do not enter the kingdom of heaven, “unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees” (Matthew 5:20), then how will we enter it if we have less than them? “Love,” says (the Lord), “your enemies,” and you will be like your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:44, 48). Love the enemy; It is not him who you (through this) benefit, but yourself. How? By doing this, you become like God. If he is loved by you, he will gain a little, because he will be loved by a slave like himself; and if you love a servant like yourself, you will gain much, because you will become like God. Do you see that you are not doing good to him, but to yourself? The reward is not for him, but for you. But what do you say if he is vicious? The greater the reward is prepared for you; and for his very viciousness you should be grateful if, despite many good deeds, he remains vicious; if he had not been very vicious, then the great reward would not have been prepared for you. Thus, this very reason for dislike, the objection that he is vicious, should be an incentive to love. If there is no enemy, then there will be no opportunity to receive crowns. Don't you see how wrestlers fill bags with sand and practice in this way? And you don't need to resort to this; life is full of people who can exercise you and make you strong. Do you not see how trees, the more they are swayed by the winds, the stronger and denser they become? Let us also be long-suffering and become strong; “A patient man,” it is said, “has a lot of understanding, but a quick-tempered man shows foolishness” (Prov. 14:29). Do you notice what praise there is for the former, and what reproach for the latter? “Strongly mad”, i.e. absolutely. Therefore, let us not be cowardly in our attitude towards each other. This does not come from enmity, but from weakness of the soul; if it is strong, then it will easily endure everything, will not sink from anything and will enter a quiet haven, which may we all be worthy to achieve, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father with the Holy Spirit be glory, power, honor, now and ever, and to 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: